Itonami: Chapter 8, yall! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto.

Chapter 8

Sasuke was half sitting, half lying on his bed, as he counted with his fingers how many hours it had been since they had fallen asleep. A pink haired woman lay beside him, perfectly resting on her side, her face calm and facing him. He glanced back at his hands and hesitantly touched her face, asking himself mentally if she was real. Sakura slightly pressed her face deeper into the pillow, as if shying away from his touch.

His slender fingers recoiled automatically at her movement, and the room became silent. Sasuke let out a sigh, his usual, unruly black bangs brushing against his face.

"Sasuke?" A voice murmured sleepily. "What time is it?" Sakura asked, tiredly rubbing her eyes with a hand.

"It's only three in the morning. Go back to sleep." His voice was soft and it gently eased the medic nin back into sleep.

The Uchiha went over what had happened in the last few hours. The two of them had talked, or more like Sasuke was listening Sakura was talking, but that was beside the point. It had been oddly comforting to listen to her tales of home, the home she had said 'that also belongs to you.' He didn't believe her, but rather fantasized but the home that existed the first nine years of his life.

It hurt to think now, about them and the time he was able to spend with them. He didn't know whether that was a sin or not, but it made him guilty inside. Unconsciously, his hand slipped beneath the covers and found one of hers. He grasped it for comfort, and closed his eyes. Sakura and Sasuke had talked until she fell asleep on the bed, and he simply joined her, almost savoring the quiet condolence she provided unknowingly.

Sakura…made him question his leave from Konoha in the first place, why the only thing he had said to her before he left was a simple thank you. He didn't want to find her gone the next morning and thus, the lack of sleep he was getting. Sasuke didn't want to sleep, just in case his mind was playing cruel tricks on him. He tightened his hold on her hand again, and then released it slowly, making her open up her hand to accept his.

'Sasuke, promise me, if you complete your ambition and reach your goal, please come back. I can't beg you this time, but I can remind you that you still have a home in Konoha. You still have me. Don't forget it. This is all I want from you.'

If he was able to survive his revenge, he would go back. Even if the Leaf didn't accept him, he knew that she would. And that was sufficient.

The Leaf jounin stirred slightly. The body beside her offered her warmth that she couldn't help but snuggle against. Sakura had a vague idea that she was in bed with a man, a man that she met only a day or so ago. But then, the year that she spent with him when they were twelve counted for something, right? But the man beside her was an enigma, a stranger yet not quite a complete stranger. She knew him, but then still had no idea of who he was, sometimes making her uneasy. But all of her fears had melted away when Sasuke reassured her that nothing would happen to her.

It was late in the morning when Haruno Sakura woke up. The sun wasn't shining for the storm last night still left some clouds in the sky. She woke up alone and slightly colder than she had been in her sleep. The space next to her was unoccupied and she felt a slight twinge of disappointment sink into her stomach. Shaking it off vigorously, Sakura decided to wash up and head out for breakfast and look for the missing nin.

When she was out of inn, a collected looking Sasuke was leaning against the wall next to her, his arms crossed and his eyes staring at her appearance. A slight arrogant smirk that reminded Sakura of the young Sasuke was on his face. He used his body to push himself off the wall smoothly and took his place next to her.

Sakura looked questioningly at him. Without another word or acknowledgement, Sasuke started walking towards the direction of the forest. She snapped out of her confusion and caught up with him, silently enjoying the peace they had mutually come to after five years of separation.

It was surprising when he led her to a different part of the river that she had bathed in yesterday. It was beautiful. The greenery matched perfectly with the clear stream of water and the dark, smoothness of the rocks planted everywhere. Twenty meters south was a small waterfall, perfect in its form as water tumbled over its edge. Sasuke looked at her as she surveyed the area with delight and admiration.

"I found it this morning when I was training." He mentioned quietly.

"Come on, Sasuke, let's play!" She giggled as she grabbed his hand and ran fast into the river.

Cool water splashed around them, as she laughed, gleefully spraying a stunned Sasuke with the water. He stood in the water, rather displeased that he got wet still in his clothes. But his face couldn't help but break into a slight smile as she expertly and gracefully jumped from rock to rock, around him, testing her balance on the slippery boulders underneath her feet.

Sasuke shed his sweater and sat under the waterfall, relaxing and letting the deafening roar of water drown out unnecessary thoughts from him. Sakura was in his field of vision, as she trained her creaky body again to its original form. He got to see her warm up routine, very different from his own.

The Konoha jounin started with a series of stretches, her body bending very flexibly and elegantly. Then, after the dance-like group of stretches, she got serious and trained her chakra control, circulating the chakra swiftly all over her body for easy access. She then started to punch and kick the air harshly, focusing on form and power. Her speed was quite impressive and her reaction time was impeccable, but her chakra control still amazed him. She had grown in skill, even more than he would have expected her to.

After their relaxing ordeal, they headed back into the village, still wet from Sakura's water fight. Sasuke bought them lunch and they ate, while Sasuke planned for Sakura to return to her team. Sakura secretly wished that she could spend just a little bit more time with him before she had to go.

Naruto sat, facing his ANBU team minus their presently missing medic, and he took a deep breath. "Look, there's been some new information concerning Sakura. Some citizens in the village north from where we are recall seeing a pink haired woman yesterday. We're close. We think the best way to retrieve her is to go there. All of us, together. We can put aside our real mission for now, but I think this rescue mission is more important than two Uchiha bastards.

"Since we know Itachi has her as a hostage, we need to be careful. His Akatsuki is all over the place. We split up and we approach from the north and the south. Neji and Hinata are our eyes. We get Sakura and we high tail it out. Then we start the mission over again. Got it? Any questions?"

Everyone smirked. "When do we start?"

Soon, the Konoha ANBU team darted north. Hinata and Neji had their Byakugan activated, chakra veins bulging from the sides of their eyes. They kept watch as they bounded from tree to tree, almost flying through the air in order to reach their teammate.

Naruto was right behind Hinata, who was scouting first, then came Shikamaru with Rock Lee following quickly behind. Tenten took Sakura's place in the wake of Lee and Neji took up the rear with his 359 degree vision around him.

"Alright, team, we're almost there. Let's just hope we're in time." Naruto called back to everyone.

Sasuke didn't know where to begin with the issue of finding the other ANBU. They had no idea where they were, so Sakura couldn't find her way back. Her radio transmitter was taken by Itachi, so there was no way to contact them. Going to look for them aimlessly was a slight problem because finding their target would be as possible as trying to find a needle in a haystack. Perhaps they could come and search for Sakura instead.

"Sasuke, can I ask you a question?" A melodic voice asked beside him. They were currently sitting under a tree, its leaves providing a soothing relief from the bustling village.

"Hm?"

"Did you ever miss Konoha?"

Sasuke almost flinched at the question. Had he? He decided to remain silent. She got the message, almost tempted to turn back into the timid girl five years ago. It was a hot, humid afternoon and Sakura didn't feel like pestering him, since she would be irritated also.

"It's nice today, isn't it?" She murmured quietly, half speaking to herself. Sakura leaned back on her hands as she tried to ignore the pressuring silence building up around them.

Without a sound, Sasuke fell charmingly on his back, his hands providing a small support from the grass. His line of vision was the tree's leaves, green and gently swaying the stifling breeze. He felt her body still sitting rather than join him on the grass. A very, very miniscule quantity of discontentment flushed in his chest. The silence filled the air like the heat almost to the point of unbearable.

"Sakura—"

"Sasuke—"

They blurted out at the same time. The pair looked caught off and looked away, fighting the small blush that made their way into their cheeks.

Sasuke suppressed his uneasiness. "Go ahead." He muttered, still not meeting her eyes.

"It's nothing. What were you going to say?" She said, trying to pass it off casually.

"It's not important. Nevermind." He said quickly.

Sakura lay down beside him on her side, her head resting on her hand. "Sasuke, I just wanted to say that…it was good to see you again." She gave him a toothy grin as he stared at her in surprise.

The missing nin of Konoha closed his onyx eyes and smiled a little at the sky. "Likewise, Sakura. Likewise."

The Akatsuki were on the move. They were mere shadows in the forest as they headed towards Itachi's destination. The Uchiha was well ahead of them, a prick of annoyance at their leisure pace. Kisame caught up with him quickly, the large sword on his back was strapped tightly so that it wouldn't bother him in such a fast travel. Usually, Itachi took his time getting to his business unless it was desperately urgent—which was never. Now this guy was speeding like a bullet, not caring whether he left the rest of the Akatsuki or not. He bit back the urge to growl in frustration. Damn that kunoichi.

Itachi had given orders that his orders were to be disobeyed and the one simple order was not to touch the woman with pink hair. The rest of the Akatsuki remained impassive, but a few of them allowed a confused, inquiring look to pass in their eyes.

"Kisame, tell the others to hurry. We're almost there."

Once again, the Sharingan user was left alone as he kept up his fast pace. His hands grew impatient inside his black robe and to keep them occupied, he let them play with a kunai from his holster. His eyes desired to see blood…her blood. He wanted to see it fly through the air and to tell her that love is only an imagination of the weak. He wanted to feel her lifeblood pool around them like he had once left his parents like so many years ago. Itachi's face remained expressionless as he felt twenty nine other chakras gaining up behind him. It did not occur to him that the village that confined his Sakura-san would be burned to the ground by sunrise. If he did know, he did not care.

"Itachi, what is up with you and that little brat of a kunoichi?" Kisame hissed softly so that only the man that could hear him was Itachi.

The S-class criminal looked at him, his eyes the same furious red. "She is a hard kunoichi to break. I want to try again." A hint of amusement was laced in his voice.

Kisame rolled his eyes. "You never cease to make me angry, Itachi. You better know what you're doing."

"Oh, yes, quite." He replied effortlessly.

The words further grated on the shark-like shinobi's nerves. A dangerous, aggravated growl made its way up his throat, making few of the subordinates glance at the pair for a moment. Itachi's eyes widened for a split second as they spotted a small outline of the village. "There." He disappeared quickly, making Kisame sigh again.

Sakura had fallen asleep beside Sasuke under their tree, blissfully unaware of the oncoming danger. Sasuke had left to train in the woods again, and he left a hastily scribbled note under the security of her hands that were resting on her stomach.

Pedestrians gazed curiously at the sleeping pink haired lady underneath the giant oak.

It wasn't until the sunset when Sakura woke up. Children were being called into homes and people were reaching their houses back to their families that awaited them anxiously. Sakura's eyes fluttered open, and sat up, the note falling on her lap. Picking it up, she scanned it quickly and a smile played prettily on her lips.

Stretching grandly, she felt refreshed and ready to go back to the inn. The jounin walked slowly, seeing no reason to hurry since Sasuke wasn't there with her. It was getting cooler and the sky was lit up into brilliant shades of oranges and reds. Admiring the colors, she kept walking and almost stopped when she felt enormous amounts of chakra around her, surrounding her. Keeping her eyes straight and her pace easy and steady, she continued on her way. Enemy nins were quick to catch a difference in movement. Her mind raced around in her head, forcing herself to be calm and act like she had not noticed. Her senses were heightened dramatically.

A kunai flew straight and true, speeding towards her back at an amazing velocity. But the ANBU nin whipped around to catch it expertly and twirled it excitedly as she launched herself at an unknown Akatsuki. Their robes stood out like Naruto's orange shirt. Her speed caught the unfortunate ninja off guard and she slashed through him viciously, her shinobi instincts and experiences kicking in automatically.

Sakura found herself in an attack position with the kunai in hand, with a crowd of Akatsuki members trapping her in a circle. One dared to throw a shuriken, bracing himself for her agility. It never came. Instead, she caught that one too, then threw both of her new weapons to the sides, catching one on the arm and another in the neck.

Suddenly, as if from an invisible signal, half of them darted out in different directions until the medic nin couldn't feel their chakras anymore. A sickeningly familiar Akatsuki stepped forward.

"Uchiha Itachi…" She snarled as she crouched lower. Itachi was out of her league, even though it hurt her pride to admit it, but she wouldn't go down without fighting.

"Sakura-san, I'm afraid I can't be as forgiving as last time. I warned you to stay put. I do not like my orders disobeyed." Itachi said monotonously.

Sakura looked annoyed. "I guess you don't know me so well, Uchiha-san. I'm a very stubborn girl."

The lightest hint of a smile graced the older Uchiha's face. "Then, it would be my pleasure to know you well."

She flushed as she heard some of the other Akatsuki chuckle. Gripping her kunai better, her olive orbs narrowed into treacherous slits. "Bastard." She spat out in a disgusted voice.

She saw him disappeared and quickly dodged when he reappeared behind her. His gaze calculated her quickly. "Impressive, Sakura-san. I didn't know you were this fast."

The kunoichi didn't reply but decided to engage him head on. He couldn't read taijutsu easily with his Sharingan, no matter how powerful. She was strong in genjutsu, and would be able to hold off his genjutsu at bay.

Quickly darting to the left, she was surprised by a firm kick to her side. Sakura regained balance on her feet, as she slid back a couple of feet with her heels digging into the dirt, leaving a trail. She breathed heavily and each inhale agitated her fresh bruise even more. Itachi was fast. It was inhuman how fast he was.

Outmatched in speed, she decided to try distraction. Pulling out two kunais and shurikens, she threw them hard at him and disappeared soon after. Itachi parried off the weapons with a kunai of his own smoothly. Sakura came from behind, her vengeful fist circulating with chakra as she punched his chest in a direct hit. Instantaneous chakra release would have done significant damage on a person…only if it was on an actual person.

Itachi's shadow clone disappeared in a wisp of smoke. An iron blow fell on her stomach and she doubled over in pain, feeling blood ooze out from the corner of her mouth. Whipping out another weapon from her pouch, she swung out but hardly grazing his robe.

"Love is weakness, Sakura-san." He struck again, sending her reeling back at his contact.

Sakura's head spun as she tried to comprehend his logic. Her arm was clutching tightly to her stomach as she cough up blood, trying to get rid of its bitter, metallic taste. "You're not the happiest person in the world are you?" She muttered mockingly under her breath.

She decided on the Killing Hands jutsu, but it would be virtually useless unless she could go for his heart. Her hands initiated the seals and dangerous, pink chakra emitted from them. Her unique chakra color made an impression on the Uchiha.

Flitting in and out of view, she made her path unpredictable but it was still no match for the Sharingan. Itachi braced himself for her attack in three seconds and she was there at his predicted time. Reaching out swiftly, he tightly grabbed her wrists carefully avoiding them and bending them back so that she couldn't move.

The jounin growled as she stood her ground and tried to push against him with all her might to at least lay a finger on his chest. But his strength surpassed hers by a mile and he kept her trapped. She raised her leg to kick him in the face, but he blocked it easily by kicking it down. His sandal scraped her shin, causing her to grit her teeth at the pain, making an effort to ignore the feeling of her blood dripping down from the wound.

The red eyed Akatsuki leader agonizingly twisted her arms, almost to the point where he disconnected her elbows. But he abruptly let go, using her vulnerable surprise to grab her around the neck with his arm, turning her around so that her back was pressed against his. He found himself enjoying the feeling of her resting on him. She struggled valiantly, trying every maneuver that she knew how to get out of his hold. It was like trying to stop Sasuke from training.

"You smell nice, Sakura-san." He whispered into her ear as he slipped out a sharp kunai. His velvet voice sent a fearful shiver down her spine, causing her to be frightened out of her wits.

Without thinking, she screamed at her top of her voice, "SASUKE!"

Uchiha Sasuke snapped his head up from his current position as he rested from his training. "Sakura?"

He bolted from his rock and sped towards the village where he last saw her. Seeing the edge of the forest, he took of at a full speed sprint. It was then that he felt a group of powerful chakras in the direction of the inn. Taking out five shurikens, he spotted the circle of familiar, hated black robes, decorated with red outlines of clouds. Akatsuki!

Throwing the metal weapons in his hands capably, he slew five of them, clearing a path for him to enter the ring.

Itachi almost invisible smirk faded and was replaced by a frozen, detached countenance. He still held Sakura, now holding her for a completely different unknown reason. The medic nin couldn't have been any happier to see Sasuke's handsome face.

But Sasuke stood unmoving, staring at his brother that waswith a kunai in hand while he had his other arm around Sakura's neck. Her usually pretty face was beaten up and dried blood caked a corner of her lips. It was clear she had given Itachi a fight. He never thought his revenge would be this way. But he would take it in any way. It was going to end today. Itachi was going to die for all he had done to him.

Sakura watched his angry expression now taking control. What was going to happen? I will not die here. I will die if Sasuke dies. Until then, I will live. This is my promise to you, Sasuke. She slammed her heel on his toes, taking his arm and swinging it off of her as if it wasa hot piece of burning coaland dartedbehind Sasuke. He did not seem to notice her. His bloody crimson eyes were fixed on his brothers.

There was going to be a massacre tonight of one Uchiha…or two.

Author's notes: Well, chapter 8 is finished! Did you like it? Finally, the long awaited match between the two Uchiha brothers. I hope Sakura or Sasuke or Itachi aren't annoying or OOC. I tried my best. Sasuke is still awkward with emotions, like his brother, and Sakura is still more or less as emotional asbefore. Please notify me if you think the characters are a little off. I beg you!

I don't believe I was too late with this one. But I'm sorry for the wait. This took awhile to write. Thanks for all of your reviews! I appreciate them very much!