Here I am!

Heya, actually you made me reach 10 reviews for just 130 hits…WOW! I'm so flattered!

Thanks a lot. Uh-hu... Are you willing to make me reach 20 rews and 230 hits? You know, your rews are the thing that makes me want to go on writing - and that makes me write faster and sooner.

The samegoes for "Uncovered". I'm sorry, maybe this week I'll have to skip the "regular updating", because my beta - my wonderful beta - is busy.

About "Disguise", I actually stopped at chap 2.

I'm a bit busy, so probably next chapter will be posted a bit later.

But maybe your rews will make a miracle...

Yumi.

CHAPTER ONE: When the sheep becomes the wolf.

'Uchiha Itachi' Tenten's mind simply stated, frowning 'so this is how the "great man" looks like'

Not that the utter obscurity allowed her to see much, anyway, except for a pair of bright, red eyes.

His hair was long and tied in a ponytail, some rebellious locks lingering about his forehead.

His features were harmonic and, as the blue clouds opened to reveal a black, starry sky, the pale light of the silver moon surrounded him with a strange aura of gloominess.

He seemed to be unreal.

Unreal as the legends she heard about him.

'Unreal as a scary, fluttering ghost.'

But, in any case, that wasn't the most proper moment to indulge in her speculations.

Her position surely wasn't comfortable: pinned against a trunk by Uchiha Itachi and without any chance to fight him directly on the spot. And her three team-members were now too far to come and help her. The only rational thing, then, would have been to force him to chase her back to her camp. There, they would have had better chances to kill him.

But how? Even if she managed to get off that tree, who assured her he would have followed?

She had to deal with his intelligence – which, matter-of-factly, was undeniable. There was a high possibility he already knew he had been stalked for days and he might also be prepared to counter their attacks.

As her mind was slowly sinking in finding a logical solution to that illogical problem, she was suddenly brought to reality.

Itachi's hand, in fact, slowly stretched out to reach her bosom. She immediately and instinctively pulled away, but she ended up hitting the wood once again.

Then, her fingers went to her kunai-holster, but she only managed to get his hand on hers – and obviously, to be immobilized.

' The end' she suddenly thought as he smiled evilly, locking his bloody gaze on hers.

Then his free hand moved once again towards her. She just turned her head to the side, her features not showing a single clue of tension and fear.

But he didn't attack, nor touch her.

Tenten slowly turned back, her brown eyes intently staring at his ever single movement.

'What?'

His fingers were curled around the side of her ANBU mask. She had just taken it off when her team had reached the clearing and now the wooden cover was hanging around her neck. He seemed to stare at it with some interest.

"It's been a long time since I last saw this mask" he said, his mouth lingering opened for a moment before going on "So, you're in the ANBU, right?"

Tenten just swallowed, her mind suddenly splitting in two. Should she answer and try to distract him? Should she keep silent and wait for further moves? She really didn't know.

And the dullness of that question, surely didn't help her to solve her indecisions.

Wasn't it obvious? It was mathematical: she had the mask, so she had to be an ANBU, right?

'And you really think rationality is something to that man?' she internally scolded herself.

But, once again, her ideas and speculations were silenced by his voice.

"A beautiful girl joining the ANBU" he stated, a last caress to her wooden mask "How unfair…" he paused for a long moment, smirking "By the way I would really like to know the reasons why you all stalked me for so many days. But…" His smirk broadened "You would surely think it's another stupid question, just like the previous one, wouldn't you?"

Tenten's mouth hung open.

"H-how did you…?" she found herself speaking without even being aware of it.

"Uhmmmm….interesting" he went on, his left hand moving up the chin of a completely startled Tenten "you actually seem to know how to talk…Anyway, weren't you asking something like "How did you manage to read my mind?"?" he added, moving a bit closer to her.

Tenten's head nodded without her approval.

Why was she reacting like that? It was…unbelievable! Instead of looking for a way to escape or call up her team-mates, she was just letting him play with her – and she wasn't even able to control her own feelings!

"People seem not to understand the real meaning of the Sharingan" he replied to 'his own question' "Maybe because they're not used to deal with it anymore, since my past…" he stopped, looking for the proper word to convey his ideas "… 'actions'- and since my brother's betrayal, I guess."

'So he DOES know' was the first thing that passed through her mind.

And, considering the angry glint that sparkled into her brown eyes, she shouldn't have been so proud of such a trivial statement.

"So what?" Tenten's voice spread in the nightly air with a trembling tone she had never heard before. She cleared her throat, shaking her head a little "I'm not afraid of you" she added forcing her eyes into a quite unnatural glare.

Uchiha Itachi couldn't help but chuckling a bit "What's with that scowl? It doesn't fit your angelic face, Tenten"

As her own name was whispered by his lips, an insane tremor she couldn't explain, shook her entire body, causing her hit the wood again.

How did he know?

She never mentioned her name and, when they were stalking him, they usually referred to the others team-members using some nicknames.

But, a low, murmuring voice in the back of her head suggested her the real reasons for such a reaction were to be searched in his hissing, dreamlike voice.

And those eyes…She never thought they would have looked like that.

Even if she sparred with Uchiha Sasuke a couple of times, his red, powerful Sharingan surely amazed her, but never made her felt so…uneasy.

But, darkness changes everything and night is a beautiful, velvety blanket that covers every single object. And, looking into his bloody eyes, Tenten clearly felt that, if he ever wanted to, he could have been everything.

The images of an innocent sheep turning into a blood-seeking wolf, hit her mind feverishly, painting with the colours of fear and blood, a scary picture she had never wished to see.

'No way…it's just a man…a man like any other…'

His thin lips curled into a wicked smile "You're surprised, aren't you?" he leaned forward to brush his nose on hers "I actually know a lot about you more than you'll ever imagine…"