Chapter 16 - Here for infinity

Tsunade wasn't a morning person, she always preferred staying up late, most of the time drinking, as given her Hokage duties she wasn't allowed to participate in her gambling activities anymore.

The sun was too goddamn bright for her sensitive eyes; her work was strewn across her desk in piles of scrolls and papers; the neurons in her brain thrummed like fast-pounded drums under the influence of her hangover; and Shizune had served her a steaming cup of green tea from Sakura's secret stash with some pain killers, as if it would be of any help, although the tea, she admitted was nice.

All three of them kneeled in the middle of Hokage's office, masks covered their faces, but the pressure in the room was rising, nonetheless. The Hokage was extremely hangover, that much was apparent.

"Shisui, you will be the team leader." She all but barked at the older Uchiha, her right eye twitched, her throat was as dry as the dessert in Suna.

"Yes Hokage-sama." Shisui met the Hokage's piercing gaze through the slits of his mask.

"Right, one more thing." The honey eyed woman licked her lips, her eyes intent on finding something, as she scanned her cluttered office desk. After a minute or so she reached out for a scroll that was laying in between the massive pile of paperwork.

"This scroll contains more in depth information concerning your mission." A smile slashed across Tsunade's cheeks as she tossed the scroll to Shisui in one swift motion. "Although, that's not it." Hokage's smile turned almost feral, and Sakura bit her lip out of nervousness, her Shishou was way too unpredictable.

"Sakura needs a teacher." the Godaime span in her chair as her gaze sought both of the Uchihas, the same feral smile still lingered on her lips. Sakura mentally cursed herself, she knew her master wouldn't let her go that easily, she was too naïve. Once again, she vowed to herself to never trust her Shisou ever again. Her eyebrow twitched underneath her mask, If she could've killed her Shisou at that moment, she would've done it without a doubt.

"What do you mean by that Hokage-sama?" this time it was Itachi who spoke, his tone low and quiet.

"Oh." A smirk split her lips, insidiously curled, swelling with twisted satisfaction. For all the grief Sakura had caused her yesterday, Tsunade would make sure that she will have some fun out of this whole situation that she was about to cause. Sakura was the cause of her hangover, so the least she could do was have some fun with her little lovely student. "Well, Sakura doesn't have much experience when it comes to seduction." She folded her recently manicured hands and set them on the desk, evenly meeting Sakura's shocked gaze, but then ignoring it completely. "I would've sent the Yamanaka heiress on a mission, as her seduction skills are far better than Sakura's, but Yamanaka's medical ninjutsu skills aren't sufficient enough to guarantee you two would come back alive." A deep sigh erupted from the Hokage's chest.

"Also, Sakura insisted I let her go on a mission with you." Another cruel smile crossed Godaime's lips, she didn't know what was going on between the Uchihas and Sakura, but she was sure, there was something really, really interesting. And to be honest a little tease never hurt nobody.

The temperature in the room rose by several degrees as Uchiha cousins remained silent, and Sakura's heart was about to burst open straight from her chest as sweat broke down onto her body, she was burning from embarrassment and her cheeks were so red she probably looked like she had a flu, thank god for those anbu masks. But most importantly, her Shisou was not only hangover, but also batshit crazy. Sakura didn't know if she could survive another awkward encounter with the Uchihas.

"Sakura sure knows how to work the pole, but unfortunately the same can't be said when it comes to men." Godaime was struggling, containing her laugh could be considered a mission as of now, she truly was the only one enjoying this whole situation. "If I want her to seduce an S-class criminal she needs to learn how to do so from an S-class Anbu. I don't care which one of you does it. Understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Both of the Uchihas spoke in unison. Sakura slowly swallowed, she wanted to die. Tsunade sighed irritably, fighting to keep her cool. She didn't like the situation any better than they did considering the girl she that has been chosen was like her own daughter and she couldn't help but feel she was sending her straight into the lion's den.

"Good. Dismissed." She shook her head, did sigh then.

When she saw her mission partners slender forms leaning casually against the bridge's red railing, she was not surprised at all, how long have they been waiting for? She wanted to ask, but she also felt like she didn't want to know, she wasn't late, no, she was quite early herself, but to see the two Uchihas standing against the bridge's railing already, well let's just say it threw her off a little bit.

"Shisui-san, Itachi-san." she said as she approached the two men, she didn't want to say hello again as she already met the two of them in the morning, there was no need, especially after all that went down in the Hokage's office.

"Ah, Sakura-san." She heard Shisui's voice and she nearly flinched at the foreign suffix, but willed herself no to, she couldn't help but feel a pang rolling down her chest, she was quite surprised with the way her name rolled out of his lips, but hoped she hid it well.

"We will have a quick mission briefing before heading out, is that alright with everyone?" she heard Shisui's smooth timbre, surprised to hear him become so serious within a matter of seconds, his carefree demeanour gone.

"Yes, captain."

Shisui's eyes became narrower, sharpened, as he heard her emphasize on the word captain, but he ignored it, letting her act foolishly.

"Yes." Itachi's voice was calm, too calm, it held the pure ice of a winter morning, clearly not amused with Sakura's and Shisui's weird interactions.

"I think all of us are aware, but our mission goal is to gain valuable information about a rogue ninja organisation called Akatsuki, find out where their base is and retrieve Uchiha Izumi." He cleared his throat. "Dead or alive."

Sakura, once again was thankful for the Anbu mask she wore on her face, it did well hiding her facial expressions, the only thing visible were her jade eyes. She bit her lip, she wanted to do this, she shouldn't be surprised hearing him mentioning her. Still, the pang rolling down her chest got only bigger, heavier even.

"Understood?" She barely heard Shisui's voice, her only response was a barely there nod, while she heard a grunt from Itachi.

"Good, we can head out." Shisui said, turning and walking towards the village gates with Sakura and Itachi following behind.

"Let's push as hard as we can while we travel through the trees since the rest of the journey we might be forced to move slowly. Clear?" he instructed as Sakura adjusted her pack on her back.

Sakura sighed, a small pout forming on her lips. Of course, she understood, although she wasn't fond of the idea itself, she didn't feel like running the whole day until she felt numb.

"Hai." she said, exasperation taking the place of dread in her voice as she literally felt Shisui and Itachi glaring at her, god help her through this mission.

The pink haired woman didn't try to argue as they passed through the giant green gates and into the lush forest of the fire country that encompassed their village. When Itachi and Shisui took to the treetops, she was right behind them, summoning chakra to her legs to boost her powerful jump and sending her into the leafy heights after her anbu teammates.

A thick and uncomfortable silence had settled around them, broken only by the wind rushing past their ears and their sandaled feet making contact with tree branches. Shisui had expected the vibe between the two of them to be awkward, especially given the fact that Itachi was with them as well, and because he didn't have the possibility to talk with Sakura alone.

It was becoming apparent that none of them will try to initiate a conversation, so Shisui decided to stay quiet as well, not in the mood to be talkative as he had other problems to deal with it.

They had continued to run full tilt through the dense forests of Fire Country for another five hours until Sakura's calves and quads burned, and her feet were sore. She had no intention of complaining however because she felt she wasn't a crybaby, Anbu missions and speed were on a whole another level, one that she didn't expect, but she wasn't about to go and cry about it.

When Shisui had finally called for a break, the sun had already passed overhead, nearly setting down, and Sakura guessed it to be about six or seven in the evening. She had been more than ready to rest her shaking muscles and get some food into her system and figured her teammates were hungry as well.

"Ten-minute break, after that we go back on the move until we find an inn." Shisui's stern, cold voice touched her ears as she searched her pack for a protein bar.

No more words were shared as they sat down and ate whatever food they had found in their packs.

After their lunch or maybe she should've she called it dinner, they were on the move again, flying through the trees at top speed. Just like before not one out the three shinobi attempted to start a conversation. It was getting boring, but she didn't have the energy to talk and keep up with the conversation, all she really wanted was a goodnights sleep and a hot shower.

She kept her eyes focused on the next branch, scanning the surrounding area with her chakra for any possible threats as she jumped from tree to tree until the sun went down and she lost all track of time.

Her body was starting to throb with the exertion of their travels, and she realized that working inside the hospital had perhaps taken the edge off her once razor-sharp combat skills and excessive stamina.

Practicing in the training fields a couple times a week wasn't enough to keep herself in shape because she could feel herself becoming weaker with every bound to another branch. Expert medic or not, she simply hadn't been out of Konoha on a mission in too damn long, it was her own fault, really.

Shisui could tell she was reaching her limits as he sensed her chakra signature wavering as she began to draw from the last of her reserves. He looked at Itachi who was running beside him, the younger Uchiha looked at his cousin, feeling Sakura's chakra nearly drained, he nodded.

They had at least another day and a half of travel before they would reach Fire Country's borders and he didn't want to completely exhaust her the first day. He figured they should probably head to the nearest village to find an inn.

"Few kilometres from here, south is a small village, there's an inn, we will stay there for the night." Sharp-voiced order came from the Anbu team's captain as he increased his speed.

He heard Sakura's sigh of relief as she increased her own speed as well, more than happy to reach the inn as fast as she could, obviously glad to be calling it a day. A small smile tugged at Itachi's lips noticing the pink haired woman's antics, she sure was amusing.

Shisui hadn't been kidding when he said the village was small. It only had one main road that wasn't even paved. There was one general store and a handful of homes and nobody seemed to be out and about, but perhaps that was because the sun had set several hours ago, and it was starting to get late.

Sakura was surprised they had an inn at all considering few visitors ever passed through this place. She wasn't about to complain though because the fare was cheap and as they were led to their rooms, she noted the establishment seemed to be clean and above all, she had a shower, something you couldn't always count on at the mangy fleabag inns she had often stayed at during her rare missions, when Kakashi and Naruto would refuse to sleep in a proper inn.

"Team meeting in five minutes. My room." She heard Shisui's voice as he passed through her, presumably to his own room.

"Yes, captain." She murmured under her nose, too tired to even try and act enthusiastically as she fully entered her own room.

Sakura took off the black Anbu cloak from her body, nearly sighing from the satisfaction as the heavy dark piece of material slid down from her shoulders straight onto the bed, her anbu mask came down next and finally came her pack which she carelessly tossed on the bed as well, before picking up a hairbrush.

She left her room moments after that, carrying a hairbrush in her hand, she even didn't care what they thought, she was too tired, so she decided that she's just going to brush her hair during the team meeting.

The second she entered Shisui's room Itachi was there as well, she doubted he even went to his room in the first place as he still had his cloak and his anbu mask on.

"How's your body?" Itachi asked and she swore she could almost hear a drop of genuine concern lashing through his voice.

"I'm fine. I'll probably be sore tomorrow though." Itachi nodded, clearly content with the answer provided.

"Stretch well tonight. We'll be moving just as fast tomorrow." She heard Shisui's voice from another side of the room, his voice laced with something akin to amusement. Sakura couldn't help but smile a little at his words as she sat down on the floor, legs crossed, hairbrush still in hand, she nearly hummed, her body in delight at the sensation that was cold floor.

"Going back to the meeting." Shisui cleared his throat, his tone suddenly strict and calm, void of any previous amusement it might've held. "Hokage-sama mentioned, that you need a mentor when it comes to the art of seduction." Sakura gulped; a small blush tainted the tip of her nose.

"Y-yes." She answered, her voice void of any confidence.

"Me and Itachi were thinking about this whole situation." Shisui said. "Obviously, seduction is a really big part of this mission, so we cannot afford to make any mistakes. Therefore, me and Itachi came to a conclusion." She nodded mutely, as if she knew what came next before Itachi or Shisui even gave it voice, her hand gripped the handle of her hairbrush tighter. Expect, it wasn't anything remotely similar to what she was thinking.

"I will teach you a very specific genjutsu, as far as I know your chakra control is nearly perfect and Hokage also mentioned you are quite talented when it comes to the genjutsu type jutsu as well." She heard Itachi's smooth timbre and nearly shuddered, her mouth left agape at the unexpected compliments she received from one and only Uchiha Itachi, one of the main prodigies of the Uchiha clan, but something deep within her thoughts told her it wasn't only the compliment that made her shudder, there was something else within that calm and composed voice of his.

She had no answer, her surprised reaction the only indication, that she heard him at all, so he continued.

"Before we get to learning the genjutsu itself, obviously you will also need to know at least the core basics that come with seduction, otherwise you won't be able to successfully perform the justu." She heard him inhale, his tone serious, the silence in the room was almost deadly expect for Sakura's heavy breathing. "I plan on teaching you that as well." She gripped her the handle of the hairbrush even tighter, her knuckles almost white, as panic glimmered through her eyes and she looked at Shisui, she looked into his eyes, looking for something, for anything. All she was met with was a stone cold, dark, piercing gaze, a gaze that had no sympathy, no recognition it previously held. Why he didn't want her?

The shadows and the way the dim light and penumbra fell of the furniture enhanced the eerie atmosphere and it was as sinister and ominous and she grew scared to even wink of breathe normally there, the small room soon became full of tension, that was vibrating through its very own walls.

She was hurt, rejected to say the least. She was just a nuisance, left to deal with her own problems herself. He didn't go on this mission to help her; no, he went on this mission with the sole intention of finding Izumi Uchiha.

She gripped her hair, motion nearly flawless as she pulled off the hair tie effortlessly, letting the long pink pale locks fall loose around her shoulders, straight from the ponytail that held it back together previously. The only indication she even felt a certain type of way about the whole situation was a small glimmer in her eyes, hurt, anger flickered briefly through her green abyss, as she faced Itachi.

"I will be in your care then, Itachi-san." She bowed, her hair falling loosely around her face, and she thanked god because just for a second she let her façade slip away, hurt and anger painted her features, but just for a moment, just for a smallest moment she let it do so until she could compose herself and get back to her room, away from them, away from him.

"Very well then, Sakura-san." His voice was as smooth as silk, and she briefly wondered how dark it could go, how dark she will get to hear it.

"Is that everything?" She said, her stone-cold façade back in place as she glanced at the two men that were positioned at opposite sides of the small room.

"We don't have much time before we will arrive to Amegakure, so we will start your training today." She couldn't see his face, his mask still fully on, hiding any emotion that it could've shown. "I expect you in my room in an hour. Understood?" His words cut through her like leaf-blades, sharpened into fine edges, smooth and deadly.

"Yes." Breath in. A trickle of sweat. Breath out.

"Good." Was his only response. His voice was filled with and so much darkness that she felt it physically strangle her as he left the room, his presence completely gone.

She raked the hairbrush through her locks, trying to detangle it. "Why?" she asked, no intention of moving from her seat on the ground, as she continued brushing her hair, almost feverishly while doing so. Her plump lips only a stern line, her voice cold.

"Sakura." His raspy voice reached her as he casually dropped the formalities and she almost wanted to lean in into the familiar feeling it gave off, but willed herself no to, not this time, not anytime soon. "You don't understand." His voice stern, just as cold as hers, all the warmth it held just a second ago that she found was buried with her name, it was gone, gone in a bliss.

"You think I don't understand?" she was trying to keep her cool, she really did. "You can't even give me a pity fuck, so you just toss me around to your cousin? How I'm supposed to understand your reasoning?" She sucked in a breath, laid it out there, clear as day, honest. Her voice was burning, just as the feeling that was forming within her tone was she was quivering, her determination was quivering as well while her warrior spirit threatened to fade away.

"I'm not tossing you around to avoid a 'pity fuck'." His voice still held its coldness, it was calm, but she felt his chakra flare up, action barely noticeable, but still there, nonetheless. "It's not right, I know this and for now at least, I don't think I'm able to fulfil the promise I gave you, I'm sorry." She wanted to laugh, she really wanted to laugh at how desperate she was, she knew this would happen, and it was too late for her, too late to go back, too late to find someone else, because that someone else won't be him.

"I know. It's because of her isn't it?" her voice was quiet, nothing else but a whisper as she turned her eyes away from him. There was a wall of silence that was separating them, and then she heard it, that one word that completely broke her, shattered her into pieces, and she knew it was over.

"Yes." It was a silent affirmation, a word that crushed all of the chances that she still might've harboured deeply within her, all of the hope she carried, it crushed her naivety completely. He told her this and it was like he had a complete flip of attitude that puzzled her again. He seemed stoic and unemotional and lackadaisical, unlike few moments ago when she swore that he wanted to say something else, something more.

"Ah, just as I thought." Her eyes watered, but she refused to look at him, her throat burned but she still spoke, she stood by what she said, her words reflecting only honesty that was tangled with raw emotion in her voice.

She slowly stood up, refusing to shake, even when all of her limbs screamed out of numbness, she refused to show any more weakness, her back was facing him as she straightened her spine. Her lithe form was nearly exposed under the moon's platinum blue rays that shined upon her through the small window, her body was covered only by a skin-tight, black anbu outfit that hugged her curves like a glove, the biggest contrast in the whole picture being her pale pink locks that were cascading down her back in slight curls, looking almost silver under the moonlight.

His own form was still indifferent even upon the platinum blue moonlight rays in the middle of the night itself, he was wrapped up into that dark as mysteriousness that he always carried around him, his attractive features bored into her skull, his presence nothing but a mere shadow that plunged from the darkness itself. He was a moon of his own orbit, while she was a mere star that appealed to him from far away, so far away she was untouchable, just a mere presence that was there to support him.

"As you wish then, I will use the chance you've given me." She turned her head to the side, her pale pink hair falling over her shoulder in waves, down her back, almost seductively as she faced him, his face was blank, no emotion, nothing. Her feline eyes were fierce, void of any previous tears it might've held, her gaze burning with acrimony. "Let's hope Itachi is down for some pity fucks then." Oh dear Kami-sama, the sheer idea of having a part of the Uchiha with her was worse than having a guillotine hanging over her head. She felt like peeling her flesh with her teeth but resisted against it.

She slowly closed her eyes and turned her head to the door. "Thank you for everything, Shisui." This time it was her who decided to drop the formalities, his name left her lips in a ruthless manner, cold and empty, sharper than any katana he owned. Her heart thumped within the casket of her chest and her lungs pressed her ribs painfully.

She bit into her bottom lip, hard, the taste of iron lingered on her tongue as she flicked it over the newly inflicted wound, the stinging sensation wasn't even close to the numbing pain that tugged onto her heart continuously. She closed the door behind her as she left his room. Not a sound, not a word, not a single emotion, nothing, nothing that could indicate he cared, she couldn't get anything even remotely similar from him. When it came to her it was like he was heartless, true to the rumours, a womaniser, a playboy, everything she refused to believe, everything she didn't want to face, but even so, she still cared, she still wished him happiness, because what else she could do.

What was there to connect them in the first place? She concluded, thought about it furiously and then she understood. There wasn't anything in the first place, there was nothing.

She entered her room, nearly slamming the door behind her, jade eyes burning, agony overtaking her whole being, numbness slicing her into small pieces, her fiery temper finally peeking through. She tossed her hairbrush onto her bed sheets as she nearly ripped the skin-tight outfit away from her skin. Her nude form entered the small bathroom that she could barely fit into. She looked into a cramped mirror, her hand unconsciously rubbing the newly ingrained black ink that lingered on her skin almost viciously, a tattoo that became a part of her shoulder to be exact.

All of this for a man, that didn't want her, all of this for a clan that didn't even exist, all of this for a family that didn't even know they needed protection. She scratched the ink furiously, hopping it would disappear, hoping she could scratch it off, but it only became red and irritated and she sighed, turning on the shower, hoping the hot water will melt away her sorrow and numbness.

She stood there, under a stream of hot water, her body numb, hot water splashing over her skin, burning it, hot droplets of water running down her face and she didn't know if those were tears or not. She was oblivious.

Her shoulder stung, hot water only exaggerated the burning feeling, and she hoped it was enough to forget everything else. She didn't move for a good five minutes, only stood there, humming as she felt the hot water splashing on her body and washing away some of the numbness she felt, her muscles relaxing into the heat before she realised, she had to meet Itachi later.

She sighed, fighting another wave of tears that were about to erupt straight from her eyes. She didn't want to. But she had to, for the sake of mission, for the sake of everyone. It was her own decision.

Her mind was blank as she was putting on her underwear, sliding on black panties and bra over her body. She grabbed an oversized t-shirt that she always slept in and some black skin-tight shorts she always wore. Her hair was damp, pink locks unruly and frizzy, water trickling down the ends of her hair, but she couldn't find it in herself to care, she didn't care about what he thinks, she just wanted to get it over with.

She opened the door, steeping into the cold corridor, her footsteps soundless as she approached his room. Her eyelids were heavy and sprinkled with exhaustion.

A soft knock followed next, and she inhaled sharply, her nervousness beyond description.

"Come in." a soft, calm voice welcomed her into the confined space, she gave in, no hesitation this time.

Author's note

Thank you all for reading, I've got a bunch of lovely comments on the last chapter, and I couldn't be any happier, thank you so much! I wish I could answer all of your reviews, but this website does not have an option to do so, expect for PM's which you have to check for yourself, as you don't get any email notifications, which makes me sad, as I can only thank you when I post another chapter...Although, I do upload my story on AO3 and I answer all of the comments there! You can find me by the same username as here on ff net, dijayeah, or you can just search the story title, its the same one, so it's up to you which platform you choose to read on!

Moreover, I've already planned the story to the end, I always knew what kind of ending I wanted, but now i finalised my ideas and whats left is just to write them down onto paper, I've got a lot of exciting stuff coming up, things will become clear, but as for right now...have some angst lol. I think you can expect what next chapter is going to be about, and yes we with the way Sakura spoke to Shisui we can expect some things to happen between Itachi and Sakura, and there's gonna be more...don't worry, I will keep you on your toes haha.

Also, we reached over 30k views on the story! Can't believe this, wow thank you so much guys!

As always, thank you guys for reading, please let me know in the comments what you think will happen next? What do you think overall? How are you finding the story so far, where do you expect it to go? Leave your guesses! Please, follow, review or favourite the story if you enjoy the content!

Lots of love, see you all very soon! STAY SAFE AND TAKE CARE! 3