Disclaimer : Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto-san. This is simply a fanfic.

sweetmaiden: Hmm…well not yet but they'll get together.

Lady Light : The answer is in this chappie. Happy reading.

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Midnight-Miko66 : I love ItaSaku as well!

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little wolf blossom : Well…Sakura will probably choose Itachi.

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Kurenai Chinoumi : Updated! Thanks for reading!

kimiko : Well..actually I leaning more towards Sakura and Itachi. Sorry, but I do hope you'll continue reading.

HanaTenshiHimiko : Thanks! Yes, they are.

AnimeSenko : Thanks for your review, I really feel all tingly inside now.

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Tank : Oh…sorry…if I 'threatened' for reviews. It must have been in the earlier chaps..Sorry…And thanks for telling me that 'kunoichi' refers to female ninjas.

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donutt : Err.. well I'm sorta leaning towards ItaSaku but thanks for reading, I hope you can still enjoy this fic although it isn't SasuSaku.

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Chibi Togiretogire Tenchi-hime : Sorry for leaving it like that…enjoy!

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(space)(space)(space)

' Those perverts! I can't believe they actually peeked while I was bathing!" thought Sakura as her mind floated back to the present.

' Guess I better get back to the cabin,' she thought to herself.

" Sakura," called a voice behind her.

(space)(space)(space)

Turning around, Sakura found herself staring into two cerulean orbs. "I can't believe this. Naruto? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked in delight as she embraced him.

" Sakura-chan!I missed you soooo much…..," answered Naruto as he hugged her back. "I was so worried about you when I heard that you had been missing! Sakura-chan, please don't ever do this again..,"whined Naruto as he put on a huge puppy-dog face.

" Sorry, Naruto," apologized Sakura with a smile. " Sakura-chan, let's go home, ne?" Naruto asked as he started dragging her away from the lake. " Naruto, wait. How did you know that I was here?" asked Sakura.

" Ah…that's because when I heard you were missing, I went to see Tsunade baa-chan. She told me that everything was alright and you were safe," answered Naruto.

(flashback)

" Tsunade baa-chan, if Sakura is safe why can't she come back home?" Naruto asked confused.

" She will. When she wants to, she'll come home." Tsunade answered sleepily." But baa-chan, why doesn't she want to come home?" Naruto asked, still confused.

" Naruto, stop asking so many questions. I'm busy so stop bothering me," Tsunade said as she shoved Naruto out the door.

" Not fair! Baa-chan just wants to sleep!" Naruto yelled through the door. " Shut up brat! I'm busy ," Tsunade yelled back through the door.

Walking towards town, Naruto took out a sheet of paper hidden in his pocket. ' Luckily I took this from her office,' Naruto thought to himself, grinning with triumph.

(end of flashback)

" What! Naruto, I can't believe you stole the mission scroll from Tsunade-sama," Sakura said in disbelieve. " But Sakura-chan, I just wanted to find you. And I only stole the mission scroll from your last mission before you disappeared," whined Naruto.

" Well, I suppose it's okay," Sakura said with a sigh. " So, Sakura-chan let's go home. You've been gone for so long, everyone is worried about you," Naruto said again. " I can't Naruto, I still have something to do," Sakura replied sadly. " Is it a mission? If it's a mission then I can help Sakura-chan," Naruto replied with a cheerful grin.

" Well, it's not really a mission. It's something have to settle," said Sakura. " Then I can help you. After that, we can go home," said Naruto again.

" Naruto, I…" trailed off Sakura as a voice behind them interrupted her. " Am I interrupting anything?" said Sasuke as he they both turned around.

" Sasuke? Bastard, why the hell are you here!" Naruto asked furiously. " I should be asking you that question, dobe ," Sasuke taunted with a smirk. " Why, you…!" Naruto retorted as started rushing towards Sasuke in fury. Putting herself in the middle of the two of them, Sakura said " Stop it both of you. Can't we handle this calmly?"

" Sakura-chan, why the hell is he here?" Naruto asked confused. " It's a long story Naruto. But first why don't we go inside, it's getting dark after all," replied Sakura as she led them both towards the cabin.

(space)(space)(space)

" What all this happened to Sakura-chan! My poor Sakura-chan….." cried Naruto. "She's not yours dobe…" retorted Sasuke. " Huh? Sakura-chan are you sure this is Sasuke. This is the first time I've heard him say that," Naruto asked Sakura.

" No, I'm not Sasuke. I'm just a duplicate created by Orochimaru to cook and clean for him," said Sasuke sarcastically. " You are? I didn't know Orochimaru wanted a maid," said Naruto.

" I see you still haven't grown any brains. Ofcourse I'm Sasuke, dobe!" said Sasuke has he hit the back of Naruto's head. " Ehehehe……" laughed Naruto sheepishly.

" So Sakura-chan, what are you going to do now?" asked Naruto. " I…" trailed off Sakura as a dark cloaked figure entered the cabin.

" Ahh….It's that weasel who looks like Sasuke and his shark friend. But wait, I don't see sharky around," said Naruto as he pointed towards Itachi.

" Who are you calling a weasel, brat?" Itachi asked as he glared dangerously at Naruto. " Ehehe….no one," Naruto said sheepishly as he nervously moved behind Sakura. " Sakura- chan, are you sure you don't want to go home?" Naruto asked as he glanced nervously at Itachi.

" I have things to settle Naruto. I can't leave just yet,"replied Sakura as she smiled warmly at Naruto. " Sakura, I have to talk to you," said Itachi as he approached Sakura. " Okay," said Sakura as Itachi took her hand and started leading her out of the cabin.

" Hey, bastard! Where do you think you're going with Sakura!" asked Sasuke as he glared at Itachi. " Out," replied Itachi as they both exited the cabin.

(space)(space)(space)

As they both stepped into the forest, Sakura could feel the cool night breeze as it played teasingly with her hair. She could hear the hooting of the owls as it echoed through the forest.

" Itachi, what did you want to talk to me about?" asked Sakura as they slowly strolled under the night sky. " Sakura, I think it's time for you to go home," said Itachi slowly. " What? Why? " asked Sakura in confusion. " Your wounds have recovered. You should be able to travel home," Itachi said again.

" Itachi, are you chasing me away?" asked Sakura silently." You're not denying it. You really don't want me around, do you?" asked Sakura as tears clouded her eyes.

Keeping silent, he looked away. " Why aren't you answering me? Don't you dare turn your back on me Itachi. Look at me," cried Sakura as tears streamed down her face.

" You can leave by morning," said Itachi as he started walking away. " I said I would fight with you. Itachi, don't turn your back on me again. Please, not again ," cried Sakura . " This fight was originally mine. Take Sasuke with you. He is of no use to me," said Itachi as he disappeared into the night.

" Why?" asked Sakura as silent tears fell on to the forest ground.

(space)(space)(space)

Somewhere deep in the forest, the moon illuminated two silent shadows as they approached one another.

" Wise decision. Chasing away the ones you love before I can use them against you," said a figure as he smiled cruelly. " I don't know what you're talking about," said Itachi coldly.

" But it's a shame isn't it? That pink haired one looked really cute. Maybe I'll find uses for her to satisfy my needs once you're dead," said the figure amused. " This has nothing to do with her. We had a deal," said Itachi as his crimson eyes glared dangerously at the figure.

" Oh, yes…The deal…Don't worry, I'm a man of my word. I will not touch any of them," said the figure again. " I await our battle and my scrolls,"said the figure as he started leaving.

" Only if you win that is," said Itachi again. " Ah..but I plan to win," said the man as he disappeared.

' Forgive me Sakura,' thought Itachi as he looked up into the night sky.

(space)(space)(space)

The sun seemed to have risen almost too soon that morning as Sakura and her former teammates started heading home. ' He didn't even say goodbye,' thought Sakura to herself.

" Sakura, why are we going back to Konoha?" asked Sasuke. " Well, my wounds have healed and I really miss home, so why not?" said Sakura. " But what about Itachi?" asked Naruto as he happily skipped down the road.

" He says he has things to do," lied Sakura putting on a fake smile. " Oh, I almost forgot!Sasuke, Tsunade baa-chan says that you're forgiven for running away from Konoha," said Naruto happily.

" Why?" asked Sasuke a little surprised. " I don't know, she wouldn't tell me," said Naruto again. " Well, that's good news, isn't it?" asked Sakura. " Yeah, it is. Looks like I'll have to start over with my life,"said Sasuke mostly to himself.

" Huh? What do you mean?" asked Naruto. " Never mind, dobe. You're too dumb to understand anyway,"said Sasuke.

" Sasuke," called Sakura. " Yes, Sakura?" asked Sasuke.

" Welcome home,"Sakura said as she smiled warmly at him.

A/N Sorry for the late update everyone. I know that you all are probably thinking " Someone force her to update" Sorry, I'll try to update sooner next time.