Sakura found herself taking longer that she actually should before responding back. "If you ever escape, please leave Sasuke-kun alone.."

"On one condition..."

She waited. She hoped it wasn't something vile or, even worse.

"Only if you came to visit me.."

For some reason, a few tints of rogue found themselves on Sakura's cheeks. He wasn't serious, was he?

"A Beautiful Mind"

chapter three: Getting to know you

Sakura didn't know whether to pinch herself, or run away. Regardless, neither of those two options could be carried out. If she could've pinched herself earlier, she would have done so. Running away was futile, Itachi would've caught up with her. She looked at him, still uncertain exactly why Itachi had requested what he did.

"Why would you want me to visit you?"

"You're interesting, to say the least.." he remarked, fidgeting his wrists again. "I respect you for coming down here to speak and actually think that I'll do this favor for you"

She was shocked. Certainly there was more to the reason why Uchiha Itachi, the man who single handedly killed his entire clan, would want someone like her visiting him every once in awhile.

'But in order to help Sasuke, even if I can't kill him, I can at least do this for him..'

She clenched her fists, and looked at the S-ranked criminal with determined eyes. 'This is for Sasuke..'

"How often?"

When he first saw her, he could tell right away that this girl, Sakura, had a determination in her to do whatever needed possible, for her goals. The elder Uchiha found this, quite amusing. He looked straight at her, and responded."Once a day, or twice. Whichever is most convenient for you, Sakura-chan."

She couldn't visit twice a day, it would be too suspicious. Even more suspicious than her visiting once everyday. "Once a day, then?"

"That's fine, but a word of caution.."

She looked at him, prepared for whatever would come out of the S-ranked criminal's mouth. A bit afraid of his reply.

"If you don't keep up with your promise, I will find you."

With those words, a chill ran down her spinal cord. "H-How could you if you're binded by those chains Tsunade-Shishou placed on you?"

"It is just like you said earlier, Sakura-chan. These chains aren't enough to bind me. Do not underestimate me."

She nodded. From the beginning she knew that she could never underestimate this man...

Those onyx colored eyes of his couldn't help but notice her figure. They glanced at her up and down.

Sakura looked at him, uncertain if she should leave or not. It was already late, and she didn't want to seem suspicious. She promised Tsunade that it wouldn't take that long to speak with him, and she wanted to keep her promise. She played with her fingers, as she opened her rosy pink lips to speak once more. Itachi took notice of this, and awaited her remark. "It's..late, I should be leaving now.."

"Then leave, but come back tomorrow." she took notice that his voice sounded demanding, making sure that she kept true to her word. She wouldn't want to anger the elder Uchiha. Who knows what he would do to her.

She then nodded, turned her heel and left the room. She grabbed the keys from her pockets and closed the door. She quickly ran up the long flight of stairs and waiting for her in that room was Tsunade.

Tsunade had placed herself on a red armchair, it seemed like she was waiting for a while. "So, how did it go?"

She couldn't tell Tsunade about the deal, she would deny his request. "It was, alright.."

"Did you get the answers that you were seeking?"

"Yes.."

She walked past Tsunade and was about to leave the room before Tsunade stood up and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Sakura looked up at her for a couple of seconds, and then lowered her head. Her fingers would caress the pink tresses of hair that fell down towards her face when she went to look back up at Tsunade. She smiled, "If he was about to try something, you would've sensed his chakra right Tsunade-Shishou?"

Tsunade was a bit taken aback, but nodded. "Right, you should be going on home then.." she couldn't help but notice that there was something diffrent about her apprentice. 'Sakura..'. She nodded, and then left the room. Tsunade stood there, glancing back at where the secret passageway was hidden by the portrait of the second hokage. She squinted her eyes, and then sighed. 'What have you done, Sakura?'

After she left the Hokage building, Sakura realized how late it actually was. The street lights were on, and most of the lights in the houses and buildings were off. She teased some of her pink hair, gently caressing the ends. She felt as if she was carrying a heavy burden in her heart, a sort of guilt that she could never get rid of. She couldn't help but noticing one fact...

This man, Uchiha Itachi, surely intrigued her in a way she never thought possible. Here he was, a man who is feared throughout all Shinobi countries, who allowed himself to be captured by only a squad of ANBU forces. Tsunade probably noticed the same thing, too but decided to keep quiet about it, she thought. 'I bet he could have escaped if he wanted to at this very instant..' after all, he was the one who said to never underestimate him. She made sure to engrave that into her mind...

It didn't take her that long to get home, since the Hokage building wasn't an hour away. When she entered her house, she instantly ran to her room and laid herself down on her bed. The lights were off, and the only light that came through was from the moon coming through the window. She looked up at the ceiling, placing her hands against her stomach. It now occured to her what she had to deal with..

She sighed. 'What did I get myself into?'

The next day:

"Ah, Sakura-chan good morning! you're here quite early.." the nurse smiled, greeting her politely as Sakura entered Konoha Hospital.

She nodded. "I have a mission today, and I wanted to visit Sasuke-kun before I left.."

"That's so sweet of you, Sakura-chan. I'm sure Sasuke-kun enjoys your visits.." the nurse couldn't help but notice that Sakura didn't carry any bouqet of flowers, like she usually did whenever she came to visit him. "Eh, Sakura-chan no flowers today?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, I didn't have time to. Besides, the flowers I brought yesterday will be enough for a couple of days." Usually, she would bring fresh flowers everyday...

"Ah, I see. Well then Sakura-chan, I wish you good luck on your mission." She smiled, as Sakura signed in her name and Sasuke's name in the visitor's notebook that they kept in the front desk. Once she finished, she waved to the nurse and went upstairs.

When she opened the door, she noticed that Sasuke was still laying there helpless. She briefly smiled, and sat on the chair that was already beside his bed. She looked at him, her eyes much sadder and deeper than before. "Sasuke-kun, good morning. Today, I have a mission with Shikamaru, Hyuuga-san, Lee-san and Naruto. I remembered to pack all of my things before I left to come visit you. You should see it, Shikamaru's always telling Naruto off about something while Lee-san becomes the peacemaker of the group, heh.."

But Sasuke didn't open his eyes, or respond back to her words..

"And after missions, we would head to Naruto's house to hang out for awhile. We can't go to Shikamaru's house because he says its too troublesome to pick up after our mess, heh.."

He layed there, motionless..

"Oh! and Shikamaru proposed to Ino the other day. You should've seen it, Sasuke-kun. Shikamaru was so scared that he almost didn't go through with it. That is, until Naruto pushed him towards Ino and the ring came out of his pocket." the hands that she had placed on her lap were now fidgeting. "Also, Lee-san brought flowers for Tenten-san, and she loved them. I helped him pick them out at Ino's store..."

She knew that as much as she talked to him, he would never respond back..

"Hyuuga-san was promoted to ANBU a couple of days ago, and Hinata-san was promoted to Jounin status as well..."

She sighed, there really was no point to talking to someone who can't even talk back to you, nonetheless interact with you. She made it her duty to come visit him everyday, even if it hurt her seeing Sasuke the way he was now. Ironically, she had promised herself to visit the very man who made it possible for Sasuke to suffer every single day of his life.

She hated how it felt like she had sold her soul to the devil..

The devil known as Uchiha Itachi..

She looked at the clock that was nailed above his bed, and then stood up. "Sasuke-kun, I have to go now. If I arrive late, then Hyuuga-san's going to be angry at me.." she briefly smiled, and reached to touch his cheek. "Until later..."

The Gates of Konoha:

The group was already assembled, but it was missing one person.

"Oy, where's Sakura?" Shikamaru asked Naruto, checking over a couple of scrolls that Tsunade had given him.

Naruto looked back at him, and shrugged. "Sakura-chan's probably visiting Sasuke and didn't notice the time, don't worry she'll be here!" he nodded.

"Well either way, I'm sure we can wait a couple of minutes for Sakura-san, eh Shikamaru-kun?" Lee looked at their leader with those odd eyes of his and smiled assuring him that Sakura wouldn't arrive that late.

The Hyuuga genius closed his eyes and sighed. "If Haruno isn't here soon, then the mission could be considered a failure.."

"I'm sure Sakura-san won't let us down, Neji.." Lee remarked, glancing towards the gates.

"Sorry I was late!"

They turned around and saw Sakura before them. She was panting, and they noticed by her sweat that she was running in a hurry. "I was looking for one of my equipment and then I realized that I left it at Tsunade-Shishou's ..."

"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan!" Naruto remarked.

"Alright, now that Sakura's here, we should head out." Shikamaru replied. "After all, our mission is a rescue mission, and it is possible that with every that we waste, then there could be lives hanging in the balance."

They all nodded. Shikamaru took out the scroll and began reading their directions. Their mission was to escort a few Jounins who had run into the enemy, and were badly wounded. Unfortunately for them, they didn't have the necessary weapons and medicine to continue on with their mission, so Tsunade requested that they returned the Jounins safely back to Konoha.

"We have to be careful as well, " Shikamaru replied once more. "According the Hokage-sama, the enemy is still out there, particularly where the other Jounins were attacked which is.." he pointed his finger towards the woods which lead out of Konoha. "There."

"What happened to their medical assistance?" Sakura asked.

"Their medical ninja was killed off by the enemy, and now they only have a few supplies to take care of themselves.."

She nodded.

With a few words of encouragement, Shikamaru led the others towards the forest..

Later on:

The mission was a success.

Shikamaru and the others arrived just in time to save the fallen Jounin. Sakura rushed to give medical assistance to those who had survived while Neji and Lee kept their guards up incase the enemy decided to attack again.

Unfortunately, the enemy did attack but were defeated.

They brought back the fallen Jounins, and Tsunade congratulated them on their success.

"Your next mission will be scheduled in two weeks, understood?" she told them, before dismissing them.

When they left the Hokage building, they all headed to Naruto's house to stay for awhile. Most of the members on her team had a couple of wounds and little scratches, which Sakura took care of when they arrived at his house.

"Thanks a bunch, Sakura-chan!" Naruto smiled.

She nodded and smiled. "Your welcome, you weren't that badly injured anyways.."

"We thank you, Haruno." Neji replied, glancing outside a window. "If it wasn't for your medical status, our mission wouldn't have been that successful.."

"If it wasn't for your byakugan, Hyuuga, we wouldn't have been able to spot the enemy coming from afar to attack again.."

He nodded. "Either way, I'm glad the mission was a success and that we were able to help those Jounins.."

"I'm just glad the next mission is in two weeks.." Shikamaru replied, sitting on one of the chairs. "If the mission was tomorrow, Ino would've killed me.."

"She misses you already eh Shikamaru?" Naruto grinned, nudging his comrade.

Shikamaru sighed. "Shut up Naruto."

Naruto kept grinning and bothering Shikamaru while Lee and Neji began to discuss what they think their next mission will probably be. Sakura sat on the couch and sighed. She didn't notice how tired she actually was. All that chakra that she had used during the mission had exhausted the medical kunoichi.

"Sakura-san, are you feeling alright?"

She glanced up at Lee who had been looking at her for awhile now, most likely concerned. "Actually, I am a bit tired.." she scratched her head and smiled briefly. "Maybe I should leave.."

"Oy, Sakura-chan! If you want, you could always sleep over here.." Naruto grinned, blushing a bit.

Before anyone could say anything to Naruto, he was already against the wall with a few cracks coming out of it. Sakura had just given Naruto a nice good ol' punch that she learned from Tsunade-Shishou.

Shikamaru sighed. "You idiot, that's what you get for pissing Sakura off.."

"Umm, Sakura-san.."

Sakura turned around. "Lee-san?"

"If you want, I could walk you home.."

She smiled. "It's alright Lee-san, I can walk home on my own. After all, I only live a couple of blocks down. Either way, thank you."

He nodded. "Alright, take care of yourself."

She nodded. "I will, thanks."

She left, and proceeded to walk down towards her house. She took out a pocket watch that Kakashi-sensei had given her for her 16th birthday, and glanced at the time. It was exactly nine o'clock...

When she arrived home, she took into account about the 'promise' she had made with Itachi the other day. She started to think about it and realized that she probably couldn't keep her end of the promise. She couldn't keep asking Tsunade-Shishou to visit every single day, surely she would find that suspicious.

She also couldn't sneak her way in, because there was probably some kind of Jounin or ANBU keeping guard of Itachi's room..

Now that she thought about it, it was almost impossible.

'Don't underestimate me, Sakura-chan..'

That voice began to haunt her. What would happen if she didn't go to visit him tonight? or the other night? Would he come to give her a little visit? Or would he even threaten her with her life?

'Remember what you're doing this for..' she thought to herself, walking out of her house.

'You're doing this for Sasuke-kun, it's for his own good..' She sighed, walking into the Hokage building.

'This is the only thing you could do for him...'

Her heart began to beat faster as she entered Tsunade's room. This time, she had to beg once more to see him.

'I have to, no matter what...'

She had already sold her soul to him..

"Tsunade-Shishou..?" Sakura asked, glancing around the room. She almost didn't notice that Tsunade was already fast asleep on her desk, covered once more, in piles of books and scrolls.

She sweatdropped and then sighed. 'Looks like I can't ask her, then..'.

Her eyes would focus on a pair of keys that laid on the desk. They looked oddly familiar, and then she remembered that those were the keys that led to the secret passageway to Itachi's room...

She grabbed the keys, and then walked out quietly towards the other room. It didn't take her that long until she found herself standing before the door that led into his room. She gulped, and held the doorknob to open the door. Her green eyes would peek in, and then her whole body would find itself standing inside of his room. "Hello?"

The moon beamed on him, revealing his pale figure. She was shocked to find new cuts, bruises, and blood trailing from his mouth, as well as some stains on the ground beneath him. Yesterday, he looked like a handsome god covered with dew from the moonlight and tonight...

He looked, almost fragile..

She was unaware that her legs were moving her as she reached closer towards him. "Did you try to escape?" she asked him as she placed one knee on the ground, followed by the other. She kneeled before him, a hand almost yearning to reach out.

"No.." he replied, his head bowed. "I was tortured.."

"Why?" she foolishly asked. Of course she knew why he would be tortured.. "They tried to get information out of you?"

He glanced up at her, most of his raven locks covering half of his face. "Why else, would I be kept alive?"

She began to feel a surge of emotions strike her. She felt bad for him. Even though the elder Uchiha had killed his entire clan and had done dispicable things, she felt sad for him. Nobody deserved to be tortured, and she wasn't the type of person who would allow it, either. Neither was Tsunade-Shishou, so this was probably done without her consent. Her lips would open to speak, unaware of what she would say. "..I'm sorry.."

"You don't need to be sorry for me." he remarked. "Besides, it's my own fault for staying here when I could easily break free of these chains.."

"Then why do you stay?" she wanted to lean closer, but decided not to.

"How else will I be able to see that beautiful face of yours?"

She blushed lightly. 'He called me beautiful again..'

Surely the elder Uchiha was trying to get at her again...

He knew that that remark had some affect on her. "I can tell from a couple of wounds that still remain that you were on some kind of mission.."

She nodded, and instantly began to trace a cut that she had received in an earlier mission, that was near her collarbone. It was the wound she last received before Sasuke was placed in a coma..

Before Uchiha Itachi arrived back to Konoha..

Before their lives were full of joy..

"I'm guessing you're a medical ninja?"

She nodded again, but curious to know as to why he had asked. "Why?"

"No wonder, I can tell that you have a frail figure.."

She gulped, and opened her mouth to speak. "I..I may be weak, but at least now, I'm worth something.."

Itachi glanced at her with quite interest, and remained quiet. 'She's weak inside and on the outside..'

She clenched her fists, and then sighed. "Back then, when I first became a ninja and went on several missions with my team, I was always in last place. I hated feeling week, I felt worthless. I felt like I was never going to be able to help Naruto or Sasuke-kun when they needed me, but then..

'Tsunade-sama, please make me your apprentice!'

when Tsunade-Shishou accepted me as her apprentice, I felt that, I was finally becoming stronger. I finally had a purpose. Knowing that, I was so.." she sniffled a bit, and then smiled. "I was so happy."

He noticed that this girl was suffering...

From the beginning he knew that she had suffered..

"But you wouldn't understand.." she remarked once more, wiping away a few tears that rolled down her cheeks. "All you life, you were a genius and everyone praised you..."

'Just like Sasuke-kun, and Hyuuga-san. For once, I wanted to be like them..'

Itachi now found himself silent, and Sakura could tell that silence had loomed itself over the two once more. The only sounds that could be heard were coming from her sniffling. She didn't want to stay here, and let him see her like this. It would only please him to see her suffer. Just like how he enjoyed watching Sasuke suffer.

She stood up, and began to walk away but before she could..

"I understand.."

She turned around, and glanced at Itachi. Again, the elder Uchiha spoke words that seemed foreign for him to speak of.

"If you feel weak, then become stronger.." he replied.

For some reason, she couldn't help herself to give a smile. "...Thank you.." she never thought that she would find herself saying those words to him. She glanced at him, and began to think.

The devil whom she thought he was, seemed more like a mask...

And as she stood there, watching him in the silence of his dark room, she wanted to know more about him. She wanted to remove that devilish mask, and discover who he truly was...

The angel that was Haruno Sakura, intrigued the devil that was Uchiha Itachi..

And he, wanted to know more about her as well...

"I have to go now.." Sakura remarked, breaking the silence. "It's almost late, and I have to do something important tomorrow.."

"Farewell, then.."

She couldn't help but notice how his words became weak, and nodded. She left the room, and proceeded to walk up the stairs once more.

After her depature, Itachi couldn't help himself but smirk. "My little brother, he truly is foolish.."

And that's it for chapter 3! I wanted to write the mission out, but then noticed that I suck at action sequences and such. So, now the two are starting to realize about each other, heh heh. Chapter 4 should be out the following week, as always. And if I take too long updating, its probably because I'm having another case of writer's block. Also, I already finished writing the first draft of this story..and I'm thinking about writing a sequel to it! So if this story gets popular, then I promise to write a sequel,'till next time!