A/N: thank you to everyone who liked, followed, favorite and/or reviewed this fic so far, you guys are awesome! I'm afraid no ita/Saku again in this chapter, but it's an important plot piece. Anyway, here is chapter 8, enjoy!

As always, a special thank you to Agrestebug for editing this!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto!

Chapter Eight

As Sakura prepared for bed that night, snuggling up into her warm blankets the events of the day came swimming into the forefront of her mind. Ino, when she was not teasing, gave good advice. If the blonde was an expert on anything, it would be boys. That girl flitted in and out of relationships in such a fleeting manner that made Sakura inwardly cringe in disgust.

On more than one occasion Ino had hinted, prodded, and outright suggested that Sakura stop procrastinating and find herself a man to warm her bed. According to her floozy of a friend, being a virgin at twenty was borderline depressing since no one held to those romantic ideals anymore. The life of a Shinobi was precarious, tethered to the earthly plane by a thread. One mission was all it took and that was it, the shinobi's life would be snuffed out like a candle was Ino's way of explanation on more than one occasion. Sakura knew that most kunoichi, lost their v-card before going on seduction missions at eighteen. Not that all of those missions demanded the kunoichi have sex, and more often than not the kunoichi didn't. But, provocative touching and sometimes kissing was involved as a means of distraction before the target was killed or captured for interrogation.

Sakura, herself had seduced a few men when the situation called for it, using her exotic pink hair and womanly curves to her advantage. However, she never had to commit the full act. She completely disagreed with Ino's logic, holding firm to her own beliefs and morals. Sakura was a romantic at heart and liked to think that she was saving herself for love, a man that wanted all of her, flaws and all. Casual relationships were not something she did, which is why she was so wary of Sasuke's brother to begin with.

Itachi was handsome - in a tall, dark and mysterious kind of way. He had the money and the prestige that would get him any girl he wanted. But, he was choosing to flirt with her, a lowly civilian kunoichi with no amount of family influence or money to her name. It was just weird that he wanted anything to do with her when he never had before. Sakura could remember the few times she saw him hanging around Sasuke when they were younger. Itachi was always polite but distant and he never seemed to bother with trying to get to know her beyond an acquaintance basis, but then again she did not try to get to know him either. There was no point, Itachi was five years older and would not have much in common with his little brother's teammate. Besides, he was away on missions more often than not. It was extremely rare she saw him around the village. In fact, the past month she saw more of him than ever before. Sasuke had mentioned something about Itachi preparing to take over as clan head soon which would demand that he retire from ANBU and head the Police Force in his father's stead which could have something to do with him being at home more.

Struggling to stay awake, Sakura was just about to fall asleep when something dawned on her. Tired green eyes shot wide open. In a fluid motion Sakura bolted up in bed, how in the hell was she supposed to do nothing? Itachi affected her like no other man had before and he seemed to be intentionally trying to goad her. It was maddening the way her body acting on its own accord from the tingling sensation she got whenever he touched her, the flash of arousal the day she saw him nearly naked, and the heated blush she knew stained her cheeks from his attention.

But, she was a kunoichi dammit, and kunoichi were trained in the art of concealing what they were really feeling especially when it came to doing the more feminine parts of their jobs. The target could be an ugly dirty old man and the kunoichi would have to flirt and smile even if the mere thought sent chills down her spine. It was degrading work, but for the sake of their village it must be done. Sakura, on the other hand, had difficulty with those particular lessons as a child, easily led by her emotions which was only exacerbated when she became the Hokage's apprentice. But, when push came to shove, she could fake it til she made it, then either cry or go on a rampage of destruction when she returned home.

It seemed like this was one of those times. If she could ignore and by extension avoid Sasuke's brother like the plague, then he would get sick of whatever game he was playing. Yes, that would work. Thankfully, she had a mission with Sasuke, Naruto, and Sai tomorrow which meant some time out of the village. In times of peace, it was a simple diplomatic mission to Suna. Naruto was beyond excited to see Gaara again.

Yawning, she laid back down and closed her eyes thinking that yes, getting out of the village will do some good.

xXx

Itachi was fuming, a rare state for the usually apathetic shinobi to be in. The wildlife on the outskirts of the village scurried away in fear at the killing intent rolling off of him. He could feel his ire pulsing in time with his heartbeat. Ignore him, as if she could. His usually organized thoughts were tumultuous, no one thought sticking around for long before being discarded.

Briefly, the idea of getting rid of the source of his blossom's latest evasion tactic. This time being Ino Yamanaka. It would be so easy to make it look like an accident. However, to his chagrin he could not. The blonde slut was important to Sakura and he could not go around, getting rid of everyone who stood between him and Sakura, even if the urge was strong. No, unfortunately, he'd have to leave Yamanaka alone.

Sasuke was finally healed well enough to return to the mission roster and so Team Seven was going on a three month mission to Suna. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Itachi forced himself to assume a meditative position once he returned to his room after checking on his beloved who was fast asleep. He needed to calm himself and think, and not allow the calm and collected demeanor in which he was known for slip.

Sucking in a deep calming breath he forced his muscles to relax and cleared his mind. Itachi sat like that, lotus style, for an hour and when he had come out of the meditation, he felt more relaxed and composed. Lazily, he stretched pulling his arms above his head snapping his spine, relishing in the quiet popping sounds of bones that were forced back into alignment. With a clear head an idea had emerged and the smirk that slid its way onto his face could not be erased. After a quick shower and changing into a sleeping kimono, Itachi went to sleep knowing that he would only get a few hours at best. He had to be awake at dawn to set his plans into motion.

xXx

Sleepily, Sakura met Naruto and Sauske in the Hokage's office to get the final mission briefing before heading out. It was standard procedure even for a simple mission as the one she was about to go on. When she opened the door not surprised to see Sasuke, looking as grumpy as ever, and Naruto who was nearly bursting at the seems in his excitement. Three months in Suna was more like a vacation for him. "Morning Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted excitedly and Sakura could not help but smile and return his sentiments. She nodded to Sasuke who nodded back, the black haired teen wasn't much for unnecessary words and she did not want to waste energy on a greeting he would not care for anyway. Looking around Sakura realized that they were missing Sai. It was unusual for the Root-nin to be late. Turning to meet a stern yet warm set of honey brown eyes Sakura bowed and bid her teacher a good morning.

The Hokage waved her off, requesting that she shut the door behind her. Quizzically, Sakura nodded and didn't ask questions knowing that in due time they would be answered. Lady Tsunade did not like to leave loose ends untied. It was one of the things that made her an excellent medic and Hokage even if she was allergic to paperwork.

"Good, you all are finally here." Tsundae started, resting her chin on her clasped hands. "There has been a change to your team formation" she continued looking all three of her young shinobi in the eye. Just when Naruto was about to say something outrageous, most likely demanding the reason, the office to her door opened. "Ah, perfect timing Uchiha." At the sound of her Shisou's greeting Sakura turned around and for a second heart stopped beating. Standing in the threshold of the doorway, dressed in the standard gear for Leaf shinobi was none other than the person she was trying to avoid.

"Why is he here?" Naruto asked rudely, crossing his arms and looking the opposite direction of Sasuke's brother with his lips pursed. "Quiet brat!" Tsunade's demanding voice reached her ears as Sakura watched Itachi walk to her and come to stand beside her. Something undescribable flickered across his eyes before it disappeared. Sakura forced herself to look away and pay attention to the Hokage instead. "I removed Sai from this mission, it came to my attention that he had been lacking some important immunizations from his time in Root. Tsunade paused allowing the information to sink in, "apparently Danzo felt it was unnecessary to keep his shinobi healthy. I can not allow him to leave the village until forty-eight hours after his vaccinations."

Naruto was outraged, "how could you not know Root had not had all their vaccines baa-chan!" He cried, miffed with the whole situation.

Sakura watched as her Shisou narrowed her eyes, red painted lips turning down into a scowl. She knew what was coming.

"Silence!" Tsundae screeched slamming her hands down onto the oak desk. Surprisingly it did not collapse under the pressure of the Hokage's legendary temper. "You know Root is not under my jurisdiction, I had no reason to check." Tsundae's voice was quivering with righteous anger, her entire village could be potentially exposed and she hadn't known.

As the leader of the Hidden Leaf she liked being in control and not knowing everything about her people including the machinations of Danzo was frightening. She would keep a closer eye on the Root leader, more so than she already was. She did not trust the warmonger, this was another thing to add to the growing list of sketchy things that her senior had done.

Taking a calming breath, Tsundae continued, "However, since this information came upon my desk I will personally make sure that the rest of Root has their vaccines as well. Now, speak to me like that again and I will give you D-ranked missions for a month!" Her voice lowered with the threat and Naruto had the gumption to at least look abashed and turn his head. "I still don't get why Teme's brother is here!" Naruto mumbled under his breath. To be quite frank Sasuke's older brother creeped him out.

At that Sasuke spoke up, a dark eyebrow arched, "yeah..why are you here, aniki?" He asked bluntly in a calm curious manner, as he was not being the one to beat around the bush. However, he knew better than to piss off the Hokage.

Tsundae sighed, rubbing her temples in an attempt to massage away a headache. Shizune hid the Sake again. Team Seven somehow or another always made her want to have a drink which was mostly Naruto's doing.

The elder Uchiha did not answer but nodded at the Hokage for her to explain. "Because, I asked him too, Kakashi and Yamato are on a mission and I had no one else available who was versatile enough to work with a new team on such short notice." Sakura watched as her Shisou grabbed the mission scroll on her desk and handed it to Itachi who simply bowed in thanks.

With a "now get out of my sight" as a way of dismissal Sakura held back a groan. The whole idea of ignoring Sasuke's brother was to stay away from him. It was hard to avoid him on a mission especially one that was rather lengthy. With a sigh she bid her Shisou farewell while trying to quell the nervous fluttering of butterflies in her stomach.

Sakura could not help but think that it was going to be a long three months.