Sakura ran alone through the forest outside Konoha with complete stealth, leaping from tree to tree with agility and promptness. She was following a slight trail, but suddenly she caught a glimpse of a gray figure and when she recognized the mask he was wearing, she went out of her way to meet him.

"How many?" she asked, landing next to him without making any noise.

He did not flinch, nor did he show any sign of surprise at her appearance. "Two," he replied, his voice camouflaged by his mask. "Yours?"

"Dead. Suicide pill. He took it before I coud stop him."

Her voice sounded slightly bitter, tainted by a slight feeling of disappointment that even the mask could not hide. His partner noticed it too.

"It's not your fault," he assured her. "Don't give it too much thought. But… the fact that he was willing to go so far to remain silent is not a good sign."

Even though his voice sounded neutral, Sakura knew him too well to know what kind of expression he must have behind the mask. She felt the same. After all, when her team had gone out on patrol that afternoon, no one expected to find anything out of the ordinary, much less an infiltration attempt so close to the gates of Konoha.

"I'll take care of these two. That idiot fox has gone after other three. You should go with him."

Sakura hesitated for a second, internally debating, but in the end she nodded. As much as she wanted to stay with him, she knew that Sasuke could manage alone. Not that Naruto needed help either, as he surely would have already taken care of the others, but the blond sometimes tended to get excited and it was better to control him.

"Be careful," she still murmured, and ran off. As an answer, her partner gave him one last sideways glance before jumping in the opposite direction.

It didn't take long for her to find Naruto's chakra and follow him, when the sound of a small explosion and a blue light surprised her, causing her to increase her speed to get to the place where they came from.

"I hope you didn't go overboard with them," she warned him as she landed next to him, in a perfect drop. She looked around her and analyzed the scene: a couple of fallen trees and the three ninjas on the ground. "We need them alive, if possible."

Naruto turned to her, slightly indignant. "Of course not! Just enough to keep them still," he justified himself, as he took off the mask with one hand. "You know is Sasuke who usually does the killing."

He hated wearing it, but at least he only took it off when they had finished the mission or the bad guys had been defeated. It's not like it was of much use, anyway. Naruto was easily identifiable, with that mouth that seemed to never close and his fame that preceded him. Sakura did not have it easy either, as her hair attracted so much attention that it was of little use to cover her face. But the rules were the rules, and the protocol ordered it.

Suppressing a sigh, she too removed her mask and slung it on her belt. She took the opportunity to stretch her muscles and tighten her ponytail a little more, which it had begun to undo. Maybe she should got her hair cut again, she wondered. She cut it off frequently, but never so much that she couldn't tie it, although that meant it grew quickly and bothered her often.

Between the two of them they began to search the unconscious bodies of the three ninjas, looking for anything that might give them a clue where they came from or what they wanted, without any success. That alarmed Sakura even more, because although the nukenin were not that rare to see, it was rare to see so many together so well organized, and even more trying to enter a hidden village.

"We should meet with Sasuke," she said as she got up, but a presence interrupted her.

"No need," he said as he appeared behind them, instantly. Sakura looked him up and down, inspecting him, and she nodded in satisfaction when she checked that he wasn't hurt. "I found this on one of them," he announced, and he tossed the object in his hand at them.

Naruto caught it on the fly with his hand, while Sakura approached to see it. It was a forehead protector, with the symbol scratched, and although it did not belong to Konoha, the two recognized them instantly.

"Amegakure," Sakura said, unable to hide her tone of surprise.

"But why?" Naruto wondered aloud. "Akatsuki is no longer, and without Pain controlling the city, what reason do they have for wanting to infiltrate here?"

Sasuke crossed his arms, frowning. "We don't even know if it's from him. I've only found that one. He may have stolen it from someone, or it may not be related to why they broke in."

Sakura sighed, not taking her eyes off the protector. Although Sasuke's words seemed to try to calm her down and not make her jump on her assumptions, she couldn't help but have a bad feeling.

"Anyway, we have to inform of this."

.

The Hokage's office had experienced moments of great shock throughout history, but in recent years most of the time it was quiet, and that is how Itachi liked it. At times, Kakashi took the opportunity to hide from an angry Sakura who wanted to drag him to the hospital for his check-ups when he tried to sneak away. Other times, his idiot little brother would sneak out the window to see if he would come home for dinner that night or stay working late. But generally, calm reigned in the place.

So when Team 7 walked through the door, without even knocking and still in ANBU uniforms, Itachi knew bad news were coming.

Sasuke was the first to speak, taking a step forward toward his table. "Nii-san, you have to see this."

"Hokage-sama," Sakura corrected in mere habit, but Itachi made a gesture as he didn't care and encouraged them to start talking.

Taking turns, they explained everything that had happened and what little they had been able to find out, under the watchful eye of the Hokage, who waited for them to finish speaking.

"So they would rather die than be captured," he repeated, pondering what they had said. "And the others?"

"Kiba's team was on the way," Naruto replied instantly, shrugging. They had left them tied up, but they knew that if there were any more hiding in the vicinity, Kiba and Akamaru would be able to track them down.

Itachi nodded, satisfied. "Good. Ibiki will take care of the rest. Let's see what we can find out."

His words seemed to end the matter, but none of the three moved from the spot.

"Nii-san," Sasuke insisted, leaning closer to him, "what do you think of all this?"

The older Uchiha did not respond instantly, but turned and peered out the window thoughtfully. He knew he could trust them, but make guesses of a matter like that could be dangerous, especially when another hidden village was involved.

"Amegakure has been without a ruler for a while, but it was clear that sooner or later someone was going to emerge. I doubt that anyone goes to these extremes simply to meet their neighbors... If they really are from Amegakure and all this is not a trap to distract our attention." He turned back to them, serious. "I will send someone to investigate, but you cannot say anything at the moment. I'll take care of the rest."

Knowing that this time there was no reply possible, the three of them bowed and turned to leave, Naruto already trying to convince them to go to Ichiraku and Sasuke reminding him that they had been only two days ago. But before they reached the door, Itachi spoke again.

"Wait, Sakura. I would like to speak with you for a moment."

She stopped and shot him a curious look, wondering what he could want. She turned back to her companions and waved at them, making them understand to leave without her. When the two of them had left the office, Sakura closed the door behind her.

They were alone. Well, the most alone they could be counting on the ANBU that were hidden somewhere, protecting the Hokage. But that was the most private they were going to get.

"Is your eyes?" she asked cautiously. She knew Itachi was quite reserved on the subject, and more in front of his little brother. "If they hurt again I can take a look at them, but you know it would be better to go to the hospital-"

"My eyes are fine," he interrupted her quickly, with a slight smile. "That is not why I wanted to talk to you. I was thinking that we could train a little... Only if you are not tired."

In an instant, Sakura's face changed from slight concern to joy, and a big smile spread across it.

"Really? Like, truly? God, I'm going to mark this day on the calendar."

Itachi chuckled. "Is not that great."

"It's been four months," she reminded him, rolling her eyes. "I'm going to change my clothes. See you there!"

.

Sakura had had three important teachers throughout her short ninja career.

The first had been Kakashi. Although her first impression of him had not been the best and sometimes he made her infuriate, they had been through a lot together and with the passage of time she had ended up caring for him and considering him family, just like the rest of Team 7. But it was also true that Kakashi had focused more on the development of Naruto and Sasuke because of the potential they had, taking Sakura years to find her place in the team. She didn't hold a grudge against him for it, however. Kakashi had ended up apologizing for that, telling her that he should have focused on her too, but she understood why he had. Even if she had sometimes wanted him to pay her a little more of attention.

The second had been Tsunade. Tired of being stuck, it had been Sakura herself who had begged her to teach her, when she saw that Naruto and Sasuke were beginning to outgrow her and she was left behind her. She would always be very grateful to Tsunade, because thanks to her not only she had become stronger, but also had discovered her love for medicine. Now she was able to protect what she loved.

The last one was Itachi. When Tsunade decided that she would leave the Hokage position free and named Itachi her successor, already two years ago, she also asked Itachi to take her student from her, as a personal favor. She had already taught her everything she could, but she insisted that Sakura still had a lot of potential and the Uchiha could help her. He had no problem accepting, of course. He had known Sakura for a long time and also what she was capable of, and he wanted to see personally how far she could go. Besides, only a fool would say no to the Senju.

At first, Sakura had been a bit inhibited. Itachi was a legendary figure in the village, as one of the only two survivors of the Uchiha massacre and one of the greatest ninja genius in recent years. But to her he was simply the older brother of her teammate. She had slept at his house more times than she could count, when she, Naruto, and Sasuke stayed awake preparing the details of the missions and chatting until late hours in the night. She had tasted his cooking and lied to his face when Sasuke had silently threatened her to say the eggs were good, even though she knew Itachi was aware of it. God, she even remembered the first time Tsunade had taken her to drink and Itachi had held her hair while she vomited in some bushes hours later.

She looked up to him, of course, and she knew she could learn a lot from him, but to her (and to Naruto, she was sure) she had been more of a big brother than anything else. So at first she had a hard time removing that image of him and seeing him simply as a teacher.

That didn't last long. Her training with him was the hardest she had ever had, forcing her to focus solely on it and push herself. He led her to overcome her limits and to discover new facets of her that she didn't know. Itachi was still the person she knew, but now he was her teacher too, and a pretty strict teacher, truth be told. He had been the one who had encouraged her team to join the ANBU, almost a year ago. With him, Sakura had felt fulfilled for the first time in her life. She had come to adore him. She wanted to protect the village that he loved so much.

"You have been soft on me."

They had both ended up lying on the floor of the training ground while catching their breaths, with the sky already dark above them. Every time they trained, Sakura tried to give her all, to show Itachi how much she had improved. Although that meant destroying half of the training field in the process. Maybe it was a good thing that they didn't train so often.

"You should give yourself a little more credit, Sakura. One of these days you will beat me, and then I will realize that I will have nothing else to teach you."

"I doubt there is anyone in the whole world who can handle you," she replied with certainty. "You didn't even used the Mangekyo. I could be a lot sorer than I am right now."

Itachi sighed and sat up slightly to look at her. "You overestimate me. And at the same time you underestimate yourself. You are a great ninja, Sakura. You have been the apprentice to two Hokages, one of them a legendary sannin. You should have more faith in yourself."

Sakura didn't answer. She let the breeze cool her and stared up at the sky, thinking of his words. They had also worked a lot on that. In her self-esteem. She had always had a feeling of inferiority towards Naruto and Sasuke that she had not been able to completely shake off. With Tsunade she had begun to gain more confidence in herself, but it had been Itachi who had helped her see that she was more than she believed. As a genius at a very young age, he knew very well what it was like to have so many expectations on yourself and the fear of not meeting them. He understood that part of her that she had never dared to address.

"Itachi?" she suddenly asked, knowing that he was hearing her. "Do you think I have a chance with you?"

She knew he had rejected her the moment she heard his soft laugh.

"You flatter me, Sakura. But I am too old for you."

She frowned. "Only five years. A little age difference is always good."

"You'll find someone you want to share your life with, and it won't be me," he insisted, to her disappointment.

It's not like Sakura was madly in love with him. It was more of a passing crush out of her admiration for him, and she was fully aware. He had helped her tremendously and she knew that she would always be grateful to him. But with him she felt good, she felt respected and understood. With him she had the feeling that everything would be fine. She only felt that way with the Uchihas.

"You'd make a good match with Sasuke," Itachi dropped, like it was nothing.

Sakura rolled her eyes, an 'oh no, not you too' expression plastered on her face.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, your brother is an idiot."

Itachi let out a great laugh and added, "And he's your best friend too."

"Which gives me permission to confirm that he is an idiot."

"Maybe," he shrugged, not erasing the smile. "You have known each other since you were children, and you have been inseparable since you were twelve. The whole village knows that if anyone is able to find you at any time, its my brother. You cannot blame them for believing there's something between you two."

She let out a sigh and dropped back to the ground, closing her eyes for a second.

"I love him," she said after a while. "I love him like family. He has always been there for me. He is special. And I will grant you that he is very attractive, but don't tell him or it will get to his head. But there's nothing more," she assured him, meeting his eyes.

Itachi gave her a penetrating look, as if he was trying to guess if there was something else behind it all.

"If you say so," he finally gave up. And with that the issue was settled. For the time being.

Context: AU where everything is pretty much the same except for the fact that Itachi is there, team 7 is 18 years, and after Akatasuki disappearance there's been no problems, no war either. You will discover more as the story progress. Tbh I'm not that great story builder, I just wanted to write all these sasusaku scenes and then a story started to connect the dots. I really really wanted to write a story where Sasuke is not that big of an asshole, so I thought of how would he have been if he had Itachi growing up. So if you're looking for a great context or background, this will not be it, I will keep things simple enough so the story between Sasuke and Sakura progress.