Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters.

Chapter Four: The Beginnings of Losing

Sai was none too excited about leaving for another mission, but he packed anyways before going back to sleep. As dawn broke, he strode briskly to the gates, where Sasuke and Naruto stood waiting for him. It was a cool morning, with just a little mist over the sleepy village, and birds calling overhead already. Sai smiled inwardly; this was why he loved his village so much. It was so peaceful, and so calm. Sasuke also smiled inwardly, but Naruto was grinning outwardly. Walking to Sai, he clapped the ANBU on the back, laughing heartily.

"Alright then, Sai, good luck! Just remember what I said 'bout Sakura-chan!" Suddenly, his expression turned serious, and he lowered his voice, looking very grimly at the other man's face.

"Be careful, Sai. Make sure you bring her back, got it? And avoid the Akatsuki themselves if at all possible." Naruto released him, and Sasuke gave Sai his infamous glare.

"And don't you dare let her get hurt, or so help me I will boil you in toad oil." Naruto raised his eyebrow at Sasuke before turning back to Sai.

"I won't let him do that, Sai, but there will be dire consequences for failing. The only other two medic-nin in the village are either too young or too old, so we need her for more than just old times' sake. Now get moving." Sai nodded, pulling down his ANBU mask over his face and darting into the woods, moving swiftly and silently as the wind. Naruto heaved a sigh, before turning back to Hokage Tower.

"Sasuke, get some sleep. Sai won't be back for a few days, so don't expect Sakura or Itachi to show any time before then." Sasuke glared at the Hokae before striding away briskly, without saying a word. Sakura was like a little sister to him; he was protective of her and indeed, he cared about her very much. Sakura had outgrown her crush on him, so it was easier for him to be open around her, though not as open as he was with Naruto. Muttering darkly, Sasuke stormed into his home, sidestepping and ducking the burglar traps that he, Naruto and Sakura all had memorized.

He didn't think he ever hated Itachi more than he did now.

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"There's still one small detail you left out, you know."

Itachi didn't think he ever wished Sakura dead more than he did now.

"And what question is that, woman?" Itachi had thought, after telling her yesterday that enough was enough, that Sakura would know better than to start something with him today- especially the moment he walked in. Apparently, though, he was wrong.

"You said that I was more attracted to Sasuke than normal. What does that have to do with Suzaku?" Itachi smirked crossed his arms as Kisame entered behind him, yawning.

"Nanabi is naturally drawn to fire, as I'm sure you can guess. The Uchiha clan is the most proficient clan in Konoha when it comes to most things- but, most significantly, when it comes to Katon-style jutsus. Also, because the ability to perform the Goukakyuu no Jutsu is considered a ritual of passing in the Uchiha clan, it has become almost... engrained in our blood. Suzaku knows that." Sakura couldn't resist a stab at the older man, and she smirked, glaring up at him.

"I certainly hope it doesn't apply to all Uchiha, then. I think I'd puke if I were attracted to a pig like you." Kisame let slip a snort of laughter, then covered his mouth to keep himself from laughing. It wasn't that her comment was particularily funny, but nobody had ever, ever insulted Itachi. Nobody had even tried up until now, except for Sasuke, before Itachi joined the Akatsuki. Itachi merely blinked, then smirked back at her, reaching into his cloak and pulling out a box of rice and noodles. Sakura's eyes widened and her stomach gave an audible growl, making Itachi laugh.

"Well, I was going to let you have some of this, but after that remark, I think I'll just eat it all myself." Taking the lid off of the box, Itachi sat down on the bed and began to eat slowly, watching Sakura's horrified expression as he chewed teasingly. After several minutes of this torture, all was gone except for one bite.

"Well now," Itachi commented as he smirked at the kunoichi before him. "I'm soooo full, and this is the laaaast bite... guess I'll finish it off, though." Sakura almost began to beg for the last bite, because she was so hungry; she hadn't eaten since before she began her patrol the day before. However, she could tell this is what Itachi was expecting and she gave him a defiant expression. Itachi noticed this, and without hesitating, he ate the last bite, standing purposefully and striding out of the room. Kisame followed him without a backwards glance at the woman, chuckling.

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Sai had been travelling for most of the day; he was now exhausted, searching for a place to camp for the night. He was almost out of the Fire country; the going had been slow, because he had run into a few missin-nin on the way that he had to take care of. However, now that he could settle down for some food and rest, he was able to think a little more deeply on the situation. He supposed that the only reason he had been chosen for this mission was because Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke had bigger fish to fry, and therefore couldn't rescue their teammate. However, Sai himself was a teammate of hers and therefore the only other candidate that Naruto and Sasuke would entrust her to- even though Sakura hated his guts. Chuckling as he pulled out a roasted fish, Sai remembered how she had helped him with the nicknames, and she had promptly punched him when he called her 'old hag.' Not much had changed since then; he was still a potty mouth, and every time he said something offensive in front of Sakura she would punch, kick, elbow, or knee him in various places. Usually, this was the face, but occassionally her target had moved lower. Much lower.

As he finished his fish, Sai pulled out his sleeping bag and laid it out, flopping onto the top of it unceremoniously. It didn't take long for sleep to claim him, but by the time it did, his cheek was already hurting from thinking about Sakura's fist so much.

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Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm really surprised I've gotten so many... but they keep me going!

But do you have any idea how hard it is to write the progress when you want to jump straight to the action? But I've made a lot of revisions that you, my readers, have helped me out with. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.

Also: Huge thanks to emir! I completely screwed up. Tobi wasn't the Akatsuki I wanted to kill off in the first chapter, it was a huge error on my part, I'm really sorry! I've edited it; again, please forgive me and my total scatterbrain-ness. I really should write little notes to myself on stickies... Also, if you must know, Misha is simply the name I've given to the unknown (and likely female) Akatsuki member with blue hair.

Also, please forgive the shameless breaks I used to seperate events. I couldn't seem to get the simple lines to work... stupid HTML...