A/N: Hello, hello! It's been about a month and a half of procrastination, another show, and final exams that are coming up in the next two weeks!

I will actually be finishing up with Dinner's Not A Bad Thing very soon. (spoiler: this is the last chapter)

I was originally planning on making a sequel, and I have everything mapped out, but I don't know if I want to continue. I love DNABT and everything I have planned out for the sequel, but the making of this has been extremely messy.

My updating schedule isn't consistent, I'm constantly busy with school, trying to get involved in school, and I'm starting to get interviews for part time jobs.

This may or may not be the end to the DNABT world, and I sincerely apologize for the major cliffhanger if I decide to not continue the story.

I will still be writing one shots! I promise! It's much easier to write those on my own pace and update them whenever I have time/feel motivated.

Thanks for sticking with me through this journey and I hope to see you again soon!

-Mysteria


"A mission?" Sakura parroted back at her mentor. Her mind was already reeling with the sudden concerns rushing through.

"Yes, is there an issue, Sakura?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. The pinkette almost punched her grey-haired sensei as he gulped at the enticing site of his Hokage's breasts pressing together.

She inwardly cursed both herself and Kakashi as she relented.

"No, of course not, shishou," She bowed her head in respect but bit her lip.

"Good," The busty blonde leaned back in her chair, throwing each of the four members of Team 7 their mission scrolls respectively. "Get together, read the mission information, burn it, you all know the drill. You leave at midnight."

Midnight? She only had six hours to prepare and inform Itachi.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi batted a hand over Naruto's head as he forced the stubborn boy to bow along with him, Sasuke, and Sakura.

"Alright, alright, you can go now. Hm, where was that citrus tea that I just bought?" The self-esteemed Hokage waved them off and began scrambling through the mounds of paperwork on her desk to search for her precious tea.

"Oh! Hatake!" She barked. "Make sure your team reads their scrolls before grouping together."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Kakashi nodded in confirmation before shoving his three students out the door.

Once they exited the red Hokage Tower, Sakura felt the weights on her shoulder lift. The tension between herself and her blonde mentor was unbelievable. She pressed her lips together in annoyance. She definitely got her stubbornness from Tsunade, but they should always listen to each other!

It wouldn't make any difference anyway, and she knew that. But deep down, Tsunade was her mother-like figure, and it pained her to know that her teacher despised her so much.

"Sakura? Is there something wrong? You've been spacing out a lot ever since we walked into our mission briefing," Kakashi patted a hand on her head in concern. He wouldn't be expecting an answer. He had a mission scroll to read, after all. And a certain orange book that was waiting for him in his back pocket.

Smiling beneath his mask, he thought about the latest adventures Yuri had been going on with the new male at the bar and promptly left with a puff of smoke.

"He didn't even tell us where we'd be meeting. Or when!" Naruto muttered, exasperated. "An hour prior to midnight at the Northern Gates."

"Dobe, you do know that we're going to Kirigakure, right? That's clearly the Eastern Gates," Sasuke smirked at his friend's idiocy.

"Oh, shut up, teme! If you're gonna be so picky, you go tell Kakashi-sensei that! And I'll go on a date with Sakura-chan!" Naruto quickly grasped onto the pinkette's arm.

Emerald eyes widened as she basically pried the blonde off of her. "I thought we were over this obsession phase, Naruto."

"Mou," He pouted. "Oh well! I was gonna go eat at Ichiraku's anyway!"

And with that, he trotted off excitedly to his favorite ramen stand.

"What an icon," Sakura murmured, turning on her heels, walking towards her apartment. Sasuke had already disappeared to talk to Kakashi.

She couldn't help but think about the whiskered-blonde as she strolled through the calm evening market. It appeared that he was fighting off whatever had a choke hold on him. Hell, he was finally going back to eating ramen! Perhaps Naruto would be the first to break through and help her figure out what was going on.

Pleased with these thoughts, Sakura found herself in brighter spirits as she mentally cheered the ramen-loving boy on. Things would be much easier to get through if she had the cheerful blonde by her side, of course.

Settling into her couch, she opened the mission scroll.


"The mission isn't anything big, just a reconnaissance mission," Sakura explained to her boyfriend, who was peacefully lounging on the couch with her.

"From Kirigakure? It will be dangerous since we are on bad terms with them," Itachi mused out loud, welcoming the incoming snuggles as he breathed in her soft peach scent.

"Well, that's what it's all about!" She cheerfully replied. "Going in all sneaky and undercover, beating some information out of them, and hightailing it out of there."

Snorting at her fine choice of words, Itachi couldn't help but worry over her.

"Be careful," He warned. As far as he knew, a certain member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist was lurking about Kiri at the moment.

"Hai, hai," Sakura rolled her eyes. "Sasuke seems to be just peachy, though. I know you're concerned about him because he acted differently earlier, but don't worry about him too much."

"Oddly enough, it's not Sasuke that is troubling me. It's Kakashi-san and the fact that you and Sasuke will be around him… for how long?"

"The next two weeks," Sakura confirmed. It would take them about 8 days to travel to Kirigakure and back, leaving them just a day short of a week to investigate. "But I didn't notice anything wrong with Kakashi-sensei."

"I have not either, but it's just a gut feeling. It has been much too long since something has happened," Itachi's cool gaze landed on her.

"But it was nice eating dinner with your family again, although your father still creeps me out," She admitted, remembering how happy the Uchiha head had been to see her again.

"I want you to meet my family," Itachi stroked his hand down her long locks of pink, trailing it through the small arc of her back until it finally settled in the crook of her hip.

"I already met your family, that's what we're talking about- oh. Oh," She was at a sudden loss of words.

She liked Itachi, really liked him. And that was just to put it slightly. She was in love with the man before her, and she knew it. But… He was the heir to the Uchiha clan, the most esteemed clan in Konoha. And her? She was only the daughter of two civilians who had decided to become a kunoichi due to a silly crush on his little brother.

She was the deadweight of Team 7, who was always behind her two teammates and sensei. How could she compare to Uzumaki Naruto, son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina? The boy who had succeeded no matter what obstacle came his way, the boy who hosted the nine-tailed fox within his body.

Uchiha Sasuke, born into the main Uchiha household and mastered the sharingan within just a few short years.

And Hatake Kakashi, the Copy-Ninja, one of the youngest shinobi to become a part of the ANBU black-ops, trained personally by the fourth Hokage.

And these things didn't even begin to cover it. She was so useless that she had to run to the fifth Hokage for help. Even though she eventually became ANBU, she still had people sacrificing themselves just to save her because she couldn't do anything.

"Itachi, I'm not sure about this," She whispered back. How could she tell him about this when he wouldn't understand? It was her burden to face and she wouldn't drag him into it.

"Sakura, what is wrong?" Itachi sat up, concern coloring his expression. He could instantly tell from her lower-pitched tone and hesitant response that there was something stopping her from agreeing.

"I need some time to think. Lock the door when you leave," Leaving no time for him to reply, Sakura easily slid her window open, silently thanking Kakashi for keeping the corner window in specific loose, and leaped out into the cool evening.

Guilt overrode her emotions as she internally battled between choosing her brain and her heart. Her heart was telling her to run back to Itachi and promise him that she'd always stay with him, but her brain continuously countered that feeling and reminded her that Itachi could very well be Hokage someday and will be the Uchiha head in a few years.

"Hi, Ino. Can I have three bouquets of water lilies?"


"Sakura-chan, why are you here?" A deep, yet surprised voice called out to her from across the clearing. Looking up from her feet, Sakura was pleasantly met by the presence of Shisui.

"Shisui, are you here to visit Ayame-san?" She crossed through the cemetery, refusing to look at all the other graves, grimy with mold, dirt, and dust. She softly smiled as she took notice of Ayame's shiny, clear, headstone.

"Yeah, I try to visit once a week," He let out a weak chuckle as his hand swiped up the loose flower petals falling from her final bundle of flowers.

"Don't lie, Itachi's been telling me that you're here almost everyday," Sakura gently laid a hand on his shoulder before sitting down as well.

Placing the lilies beside Shisui's red roses, she sent a quick prayer to the girl before turning back to him.

"Are you here for your parents?" He countered her question as his gaze moved further back towards the very edge of the cemetery.

"I'm about to leave for a mission. In case I don't come back, I always visit them before I head out," She simply answered, following his movements and looking towards her parents.

"It's okay to be sad, Shisui, but don't forget about everyone else around you who cares for you," She stood back up, holding out a hand towards her fellow companion.

"Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"Don't you leave for a mission soon?" Grabbing her hand, Shisui let Sakura pull him to his feet with her remarkable strength.

"I leave at midnight, and it's only nineteen o'clock, you won't take up more than two hours of my time. Packing doesn't take long since we can't travel heavy anyway, so don't worry," Walking towards the exit of the graveyard, she turned around.

"I'll meet you outside. Take your time saying goodbye to Ayame."

"Say goodbye?" Shisui's bitter voice raised in pitch as he scoffed. "There'll never be enough time with someone you love, let alone enough time to say goodbye!"

His voice rang across the clearing as it echoed, bouncing off the surrounding trees, the blue sky just starting to dip into orange.

"You're right. I'll never have enough time with the people I love because I only had five years with them."

"Wait, Sakura-chan, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight-."

"No, it's okay, Shisui. I shouldn't be so inconsiderate of your feelings. It's been over ten years for me, but only a few weeks for you. I'm sorry."

"I also didn't take your feelings into account. I'm sorry, too. Are you still okay with dinner? My treat. But, it's okay if you aren't up to it anymore."

"No, no. Let's go. I need to eat before leaving anyway."

Shisui's frown slowly ebbed away as he caught up with his pink-haired friend. Of course, the guilt still gnawed at his insides, but he was grateful enough to see that she had moved past it. If he were in her position, he wouldn't have…

"Shouldn't you be eating with Itachi-chan?" He chirped, desperately trying to change the subject to something he was more comfortable with. He wasn't very interested in talking about the late Harunos or Ayame at the moment.

Alarms rang in his head as he noticed her mood instantly dampening once again. "Er, don't answer that! Let's just go get some tempura; that's your favorite, right?"

"Yeah, let's do that," Sakura grinned at the thought of her favorite foods, all battered up and deep fried until it became a crispy, golden texture.

"Yes, yes, let's go!" He cheered, finally glad that he landed on a topic that wasn't a danger zone for the kunoichi by his side.

Turning her head slightly to the left, Sakura peered over at the curly-haired man. Her smile had now dropped into a flat line as she recalled his question. They needed some space apart to think about what they needed, not what they wanted.

Itachi was the most successful person she knew. He was bound to do great things and she was sure that he had enough resources to become Hokage. He certainly had the power needed to, that was for sure.

The twenty-five year old would go on to become the greatest head of the Uchiha clan and even change some of their traditional beliefs. He was destined to play an important role whereas she was just a side character who took on missions and healed people. That was all she was meant to do. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Three shrimp tempura and two chicken katsuyu with a side of blanched vegetables, please, oba-san," Shisui ordered for them as Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. When did they arrive?

"Thanks for ordering, let me pay you back," She muttered, digging into her mandatory ninja pouch, shoving aside a few bandages and a couple of tubes of random antidotes for poisons she was building a tolerance for, pulling out a few crinkled bills.

"Put that away. I told you it was my treat, didn't I?"

"You're being oddly weird today. Aren't you always the one who leaps at the offer of being paid for?"

"Well, like you said, if you leave today and don't come back, I wouldn't want to regret it."

"Shisui… You won't be able to do this for everyone you care about, you know?" Sakura was now seriously considering recommending Shisui to go to a shrink. He usually covered up his emotions on the inside but now that she could see the extent of it, she was concerned.

"No, I won't. But even if it's just one person, like you, that could make the whole difference."


"We should take a break now. We've almost been at it for eight hours now with no breaks," Sakura called out to Kakashi, who was just a couple of trees in front of her. He ran alongside Naruto, who, hyper as ever, had to be at the front. Sasuke decided that their rivalry wasn't worth the effort today and hung out at the back with her.

She normally didn't like complaining since it made her appear weak, but she genuinely needed a break. She was sure that her other teammates needed one too but refused to speak up until the other did first. Boys…

It wasn't the fact that she was tired, but holy shit was she thirsty. She ran her tongue across her cracked lips, promising them that she would replenish herself with water soon.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei! I need to pee, dattebayo!" Naruto agreed.

"You're arguing with yourself right now, Naruto. Wait for me to speak before you start countering," Kakashi nonchalantly said, slowing to a stop.

"I smell a creek running a short distance to the right of us. We can freshen up there," Sasuke motioned through the thicket of trees beside them.

"Let's take thirty everyone," Kakashi announced, collapsing onto a tree branch and pulling out the lewd orange novel that he kept with him at all times.

Rolling her eyes in disgust, Sakura chose not to comment on her sensei's choice of literature and darted off towards the creek. Naruto had disappeared off on his own, more than likely going to relieve himself in another part of the forest. Sasuke, however, followed closely behind her. She figured that just like her, he didn't want to be around Kakashi.

They had been traveling for almost a day now, and the sun was almost set. Looking at the cotton-candy colored skies, she assumed it was about five o'clock in the evening. They had promptly left at midnight and ran for eight hours before taking an hour long break and going at it again for another eight hours.

Sighing, she knew that the break would be longer than thirty minutes as they would have to eat before the sky completely darkened. Lighting a fire in the pitch black night was never a good idea. It attracted all sorts of bugs and wandering ninjas.

Crouching down beside the small current below her, she let the cool water envelope her hand. Concentrating her chakra, she surrounded a large bubble of the liquid with a thin layer of the glowing green energy.

Once she lifted her bubbled hand out of the stream, letting her chakra penetrate and remove all germs and dirt from the water. When she was satisfied with the purity, she allowed the clean water to trickle into her canteen before taking a quick gulp and repeating the process.

"There's a lake about three miles downstream, Kakashi and the dobe are heading there now. We're going to stay there for the night and leave at dawn break," Sasuke's voice came from behind her.

Standing to face him, she nodded curtly and offered him her canteen of water.

"Here. You gave me the last of your water earlier," She explained when he didn't take it.

Giving her a small but grateful smile, Sasuke grabbed the bottle and drank greedily. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now, let's go."


"Cheer up, Itachi, she'll be back before you know it!" Locking his best friend into a headlock, Shisui grinned widely as he finally gave some sort of response. However, the smile quickly faded when that response turned out to be getting kicked to the ground.

"Hn," Itachi gave his usual characteristic response. That is, when he wasn't around Sakura, of course. This usually included Sasuke and Shisui, but today, he had other things to worry about.

"Hey, Sakura-chan's strong. You of all people should know that," Shisui was starting to get irritated. It was one thing to worry about someone you cared for, and another to have no belief in said person's abilities.

"I know," The long-haired male's eyes drifted away from his favorite hanami dango and instead towards the village gates.

"She's capable of protecting herself so what are you so worried about? You go on these types of missions all the time and you come home unscathed. She's strong, so what's the deal?"

"She is strong, but there is someone else that is stronger than her," Itachi stood, placing a few bills on the table to cover what they owed.

"Huh? Enough with the philosophy talk, you bastard and get to the point. What's going on? I picked up some of it from that weird meeting you guys had scheduled but you still haven't told me. You've been keeping a lot of things away from me."

"I do not know what you're talking about," Itachi swiftly evaded his cousin's piercing eyes as they lost their soft demeanor, hardening.

"Stop dodging me, when were you gonna tell me that you and Sakura-chan were dating?"

Itachi didn't know how it happened, but the curly-haired Uchiha had cut him off on the pathway going back to the clan grounds. Shisui had placed a firm hand on his shoulder and he knew that he wouldn't budge until he had finally relented.

"Let us find a place to sit," Itachi muttered. It would be nice to get things off of his shoulders.


Listening to the fire crackle before her, Sakura flipped the fish over one by one. Her stomach grumbled at the sight of the crispy, golden skin that awaited her. Just a few more minutes and they'd be able to eat.

The heat burned at her face, but she couldn't care to look away. The boys had all left to go wash up for the night and it would soon be her turn.

Exhaling, she frowned as her thoughts drifted towards her raven-haired partner. She was already feeling down in the dumps when she had ditched him in her own apartment, but listening to Shisui's words only made her feel worse.

"Shisui… You won't be able to do this for everyone you care about, you know?"

"No, I won't. But even if it's just one person, like you, that could make the whole difference."

Burying her head in her arms, she let out a groan of frustration. Really, she was being so childish in this situation! If only she had told the man how she felt about him and her concerns for him, maybe they could've come to an agreement. And maybe if they did, she wouldn't be feeling so shitty right now!

Feeling her teammate's familiar chakra signature pulse behind her, she shook her head and sat up straighter. Plucking the sticks with the fish impaled on it out of the fire, she stabbed them into the ground in front of the logs that they were currently using for makeshift chairs.

Grabbing onto her own portion of the food, she took a bite and smiled before grimacing. It was great to finally have something in her digestive system, but she should probably make space for seasonings in her bag on her next mission.

Sasuke's chakra was the first to make it back to camp.

"Sasuke-kun, have some fish! It's kind of bland, but I'm about to make an herb blend that tastes good and is good for your body- hmph!" Before she could finish turning to greet Sasuke, a hand had wrapped around her mouth, silencing her from speaking any further.

Sakura's head whipped around in shock and she could only stare at the silver hair glistening in the moonlight.


"So that's what happened…" Shisui murmured. His head tilted back to gaze at the full moon. It glittered back at him with the slightest tint of yellow.

"You would've been the first that I told, had you not found out," Itachi gently placed his hands in his lap, his feet barely grazing the smooth, silent surface of the lake. "How did you find out?"

"A man in love can easily recognize another. What about Izumi? Aren't you still on good terms with her?"

"I am."

"You're avoiding my question," Shisui sighed, but shook his head. He knew that if Itachi didn't want to talk about something, there was no point in asking.

"Izumi and I don't belong together. She was my first love and I feel as though I would have stayed with her for the rest of my life until-"

"Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui. Please report to the Hokage immediately. It is an emergency," An ANBU operative appeared behind them.

"We will, thank you," Itachi returned, not even phased by the fact their conversation was interrupted.

"You planned that, didn't you?" Shisui accused, pointing a finger at his younger cousin before sniffing. "I'm your elder but I still don't get paid any respect."

"Act like my elder and not like a gossiping teenager and I shall consider it."

"Gah! You're so infuriating. Whatever, forget that question. What happened between you and Sakura-chan?"

"I do not know."

"I think you do know and you just don't like telling people about your issues. If you don't communicate with Sakura, it really might be over with her," Shisui argued. His younger cousin was so intelligent, yet so dense.

"We have all of the time in the world. She was about to leave for a mission, I would not disturb her before then," Itachi retaliated as if it were the most standard question he could've been asked.

"I didn't have all of the time in the world with Ayame-chan," Shisui scoffed. "Do whatever you want, but anything could happen during a mission, Itachi. Anything could go wrong during a mission and you wouldn't know until it was too late."

"Let's just go."

Deciding to leave it at that, Shisui knew that Itachi would take his words into consideration whether he liked it or not.

"Lady Hokage, why did you summon us so late in the night?" Itachi's smooth tenor floated into the room as he gracefully launched himself into the Hokage's office.

"Have you ever heard of a door, Uchiha?" Tsunade's brow twitched. "It practices manners and procedures, unlike a window."

Paying no heed to the blonde leaders' dry words, Shisui made himself at home as he picked up a familiar orange novel off of her desk. "I didn't know Jiraiya-sama came out with a new book! Or is this one given specifically to you?"

"Shut it, Shisui!" Tsunade hollered, her cheeks reddening as she snatched the book out of his hands. "I did not call you here to criticize what was left on my desk by some lecherous, slimy-!"

"Tsunade-sama, I believe you did call us here for a reason?" Itachi interjected, internally rubbing his temples with his fingers.

"Yes, yes. Well, here's the thing," Tsunade calmed back down, but neither Uchiha missed the strain in her lips as she struggled to keep them neutral.

"Sakura was taken."


To be continued...?