AN: Here's chapter 6! I hope you enjoy it!

And please review!

The First Time

Chapter 6: Take My Hand

"So just take my hand, you know that I will never leave your side."

Sakura wasn't sure if she was disappointed or relieved to find herself alone when she awoke. Sleeping next to Itachi had been, to sum it in one word: blissful, perfect, amazing. Alright, that was more than one word, but that was how she felt. However, she was also relieved. There would be that initial morning after awkwardness, except there wouldn't have been the great sex the night before, to Sakura's eternal consternation. If he had offered it, she would have taken it willingly. Or would she have? Sure, she'd been in love with him for like…thirteen years…but she was not the type of girl to jump in bed with a man that she was not in a relationship with.

Not that she was innocent. On the contrary, Sakura had her fair share of romantic liaisons, not that she would tell Naruto or Sasuke that. The last thing she needed was those bastards finding out she wasn't a virgin. Undoubtedly, they would strap her down in her apartment and never allow her to leave again. Hypocrites. She thought to herself. Naruto was not one to bring random females home, but he had his own encounters with women that had left him without virtue. Sasuke, plain and simple, was a man whore. There was no way that Sakura could count how many women Sasuke had slept with since they turned fifteen when he lost his virginity. Sakura prided herself on being the perfect female 'wingman' for Sasuke. Naruto was much too loud and boisterous to ever be effective.

Here was Sakura's and Sasuke's ruse: Sasuke would find a girl he wanted to take home. Sakura would approach her casually, usually complimenting something she wore in order to strike up a conversation. After a few minutes of idle chit-chat, Sasuke would appear and ask Sakura if she was alright. Sakura would introduce her new 'friend' to Sasuke, and then find a way to casually slip out of the conversation. In her experience, it had a 92 percent chance of success. Sasuke claimed the other 8 percent were either in a relationship or lesbians in order to save his pride. Sakura was hardly shorted in this situation. In return for her services as a wingman, Sasuke bought her all the drinks she wanted. It was a good system.

Slowly, Sakura sat up in bed. The room was still dark and she could see the sun was barely peaking over the horizon from their view outside. Her feet touched the warm, wooden floor when she felt her toe nudge something soft. She let out a low bark of laughter when she took in her surroundings. Shisui and Genma were both lying on the floor – on the unrolled futon – between the two beds in the room in a very compromising position. They were, in short, cuddling. The duo was facing away from her bed and towards Itachi's. Genma was rolled into the fetal position where his head lay over Shisui's arm as a pillow. Shisui's other arm was draped over Genma's waist with his legs splayed. Talk about the awkward morning after. Sakura thought to herself. Luckily, both men were fully clothed. But they reeked of alcohol and cheap perfume.

Sakura allowed a low chuckle to rumble up her throat as she stepped around the boys. She noticed a note on the door to the bathroom, where she had been headed. 'Sakura, I went to get breakfast. Don't wake up Shiranui or Shisui for I plan to return with a disposable camera to capture this particular scene and use it as blackmail when I see fit. Be back soon – Itachi.

Sakura laughed lightly and opened the door to the bathroom with her clothes in hand. Today the group would go into town in order to find out any information on the gang that ruled here, so she would want to wear civilian clothes. Stripping off her nightwear, she stepped into the cool water of the shower, waiting for it to warm. It only took a few moments, and soon she was reveling in the heat that cascaded down her body – flowing over her back. A satisfied sigh escaped her lips. Her muscles were sore from the exertion of running yesterday, not that she'd ever admit it out loud. At least the warm water was helping to loosen them.

The metal knob of the shower squeaked slightly as she turned the shower off. Dressing herself in a blue t-shirt and black shorts, she appraised herself in the mirror. She decided she looked acceptable, and then commenced with braiding her hair and flipping it playfully over her left shoulder. Only then did she realize how long it had been getting. Perhaps it was time for a cut, she decided.

Itachi was standing at the foot of her bed when she entered the hotel room with a disposable camera clicking photos of the two shinobi. He gave Sakura a brief nod in greeting, and then took another photo. Sakura grinned evilly and crawled over the bed so she was leaning over Shisui's ear.

"GOOD MORNING BOYS!"

Shisui cried out in horror. Genma jumped. Both turned to face each other, realization dawning on their faces, and they both shrieked. "You were cuddling me you pervert!" Genma cried.

"You crawled into my arms!" Shisui accused, jumping onto the bed with Sakura. Said kunoichi was laughing hysterically, rolling over the bed as tears rolled down her cheeks. Itachi smirked and shook his head, turning his attention to distributing the rolls and milk he had brought back from the supermarket. Tucking the camera into his bag, he handed Sakura a roll which she took gratefully, finally quelling her laughter. Sakura was thankful for the distraction from the mission. So far, the entire experience had been very tense. Nothing less was to be expected from an ANBU mission, but she was thankful for the amusement. The three men she was with almost always brought her constant joy, and she was happy that they could still enjoy each other under stressful circumstances.

Shisui and Genma scowled throughout breakfast, which was enjoyed in silence. When they were finished, it was Genma who brought up the mission, "So what's the plan for today, Itachi?" he asked casually as Shisui emerged from the bathroom – having showered the grime from last night off himself.

"First, you will debrief me on what you discovered," Itachi began. Itachi sat down on his bed, Shisui taking a seat on the chair in the room. Genma and Sakura were on her bed, still finishing off the remnants of breakfast. "Then, you and Sakura will go into town and find out what you can from the civilians. Most of them will not know much about the gang's inner workings, but gossip is difficult to stop. Shisui and I will go to the mansion where the party is being held tomorrow night and evaluate the layout as well as the guards that are posted."

Genma nodded his head in agreement. "We didn't find out much last night," he began. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a stack of notecards with faces, biographies, and other information written neatly on them. Sakura recognized them as the men they were assigned to assassinate. Genma began to flip through the cards. "From what we found out, this man is the leader of the gang."

Genma pulled out a card and flashed it to the group. Chao Chang. "He's foreign," Sakura noted. The man was in his mid-forties short, shorter than her, and balding. He wasn't fat, per se, but he definitely was chubby around the middle. His skills were average, and he didn't have any known shinobi or mercenary training. Sakura looked at his bio, reading it thoroughly, and then came to one conclusion. "He's not the real leader."

Itachi smirked knowingly. "What makes you say that?" he asked.

"He's not attractive enough," Sakura replied. "The man we're looking for is said to have tons of women flocking to him. He's rumored to have killed hundreds of people, and he has this town in a vice grip. They are using this Chang person as a scape-goat in case if the hidden villages come after him. He is probably an important figure in the gang, but I doubt that he is the one calling the shots. Also, it looks better to have someone older running things because it makes everything look more official and respectful."

"Very good," Shisui complimented. "We've come to the same conclusions. That's not something your average jounin could figure out, Cupcake. You should be proud of yourself."

Sakura grinned sheepishly when Itachi spoke. "Who do you think we're looking for Sakura?" he asked. "I have a person in mind, but I'm curious to see who you think it is."

Sakura flipped through the cards, noting each person's abilities. Slowly, she began to whittle down suspects until just one card remained in her hand. "Him," she stated confidently although she seriously doubted if she was right or not. The card hit the bed, upturned, and faced the other three. "Chaogi Gorou," Sakura concluded.

"Why?" Itachi asked.

"He is young and attractive. He has training as a mercenary, and apparently he was a good one. Also, if you look at his features, he looks like Chao Chang which means they are probably family. It isn't abnormal to keep running businesses such as this within families. Even his surname, Chaogi, is altered to sound less foreign here," Sakura reasoned.

Itachi smirked once again. "Very good, Sakura," he complemented before standing up. "We should depart now. Shisui, come with me. Genma, you and Sakura spend the day in town and find out what you can about Chang and Gorou. We will meet for dinner at a restaurant in town called The Crestwood Garden at six."

"Yes, sir."

"Sakura, you'll need to change your hair color. No one can tie this back to Konoha," Itachi explained. Sakura merely smiled at him knowingly. Green chakra laced through her fingers and she ran her hands through her hair a few times. The chakra embedded in the follicles as the cotton-candy pink hair changed subtly to a nondescript chocolate brown.

It was a jutsu she developed in order to keep from wearing a wig or dying her hair whenever she had a mission such as this. As much as she loved her carnation-pink locks, she knew that it was a beacon for unwanted recognition. Throughout the villages, Sakura was relatively well-known. She was the Godaime's apprentice, an accomplished medic, and a damned good shinobi. Rumor had it that she had already surpassed her shishou, but Sakura didn't believe that to be true. Her shishou always had something else to teach her even though Sakura had technically graduated from her apprenticeship.

"I'm gonna shower before we get going," Genma announced, walking to the bathroom door and shutting it quietly behind him.

Itachi nodded approval, and then stood to leave. Shisui followed suit behind him as they exited the hotel room. They walked in silence down the stairs and entered the streets. There were many more people out today than there had been the evening before. Walking down the main road, Itachi spotted the mansion where the party would be held on top of a large hill in the distance. Setting off in that direction, it only took a moment for him to realize that Shisui was eyeing him carefully.

"So…" Shisui began once they had gotten about a hundred yards away from the hotel.

"Yes?" Itachi replied when Shisui didn't finish his thought.

"Was it my imagination or were you sleeping in bed with Sakura-chan when I got home last night?" Shisui asked slyly. Itachi stiffened imperceptivity. He had been under the impression that his older cousin had been much too drunk to recognize anything when he came home earlier that morning. The two had stumbled in the room, fell to the floor on top of the roll-away futon, and passed out without so much as muttering a coherent word to him. They had taken their mission to scout out the bars a notch or two too far – at least that's what Itachi had thought. Perhaps he hadn't given Shisui enough credit if he had been coherent enough to observe that Itachi and Sakura were wrapped in each other's arms.

However, he chose to play it safe in case the eldest Uchiha cousin was simply bluffing. "Don't you mean very early this morning? You stumbled into the room at about four."

"Whichever…"

"Hn."

"YOU SLEPT WITH SAKURA-CHAN!" Or perhaps he should never consider giving Shisui more credit than he deserved if he was really that dense and immature. His cousin never acted like this on missions, and Itachi could only surmise that it was the kunoichi's presence that was causing the change in Shisui's personality.

Sighing in exasperation, Itachi muttered, "Will you please shut up? We're approaching the mansion."

Shisui's voice quieted. "So did you?"

"She was having a nightmare. Nothing happened."

"You like-like her, don't you?"

"I am not twelve. My feelings for any woman, Sakura or not, will not be qualified to such immature terminology."

"Itachi and Sakura, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I- OW THAT HURT." Shisui rubbed the back of his head where Itachi had just hit him, hard.

"Sh. You will get us killed if you continue. We're here."

Shisui promptly ended his onslaught of teasing as they cloaked themselves in the shadows of a grove of trees that surrounded a four-story mansion. The wall that surrounded the mansion was several meters tall and two meters thick, which allowed guards to constantly walk around the top to patrol the edge. The mansion was made of an expensive white brick that was plastered with concrete. That would make it difficult for them to destroy it because it was reinforced with such resilient materials.

Slowly, the cousins circled the mansion several times throughout the day, looking for traps and preparing their plan

X

Sakura walked chirpily down the street. The early spring weather was warm, gracing her ivory skin in waves that made it tingle in warmth. She closed her apple-green eyes, reveling in the warmth. There was something so wonderful about the changing of seasons – all of them. Dry heat and a blazing sun signaled the beginning of summer which made Sakura excited for vacations, the beach, and barbeques. There was the smell of dried, burning leaves that would indicate fall had begun – cute sweaters, apple cider, and pleasant walks. The air would then turn crisp as small frost graced the ground, welcoming winter with open arms. Drinking hot coco, watching late-night movies with her friends, and starting ninja-level snowball fights were Sakura's favorite pastimes. But her favorite was the warming sun and gracious rain that told Sakura spring was upon them.

Maybe she was partial to spring because of her name, and her birthday was in the spring. That didn't matter, though. The birds that flew around her head and the distinctly wonderful aroma of newly blooming flowers created a world of prosperous new life during the spring. It was the hope of new life after winter. That's why Sakura loved the spring. It was the one time of year when death brought new life. Because in their world, in the shinobi world, life only brought more death.

The weather in the small town was much warmer than it was in Konoha because of the village's proximity to Wind Country, which was much warmer year round compared to Fire Country. Sakura welcomed the warmth, and dawned black, jean shorts, a pair of sneakers, and a light blue tank top. Today, she was a visiting civilian on her way to a resort in Wind Country. Additionally, her, her uncle (Genma), and two bodyguards and cousins (Shisui and Itachi), were invited to a party at the large mansion over the hill because Genma had some business dealings with one of the men there.

At least, that's the story the three had concocted before they separated for the day.

She and her uncle Kimura Takeshi – Genma's code name for the mission – were enjoying the small market the village had to offer while their bodyguards spent the day preparing for the party that would take place the following night.

"Aya-chan," Genma called to her from a booth.

Right behind Genma, there was a large crowed of men walked down the street – taking up most of the walk so the rest of the population had to jump out of the way. One of the men, Sakura realized, was Gorou. Seemingly unaware of the group of men, Sakura raced up to him with a beaming smile on her face, "Yes, Takeshi-ojisan?" she inquired. When she reached the booth, she saw an old couple standing behind the counter. She bowed lightly, "Hello!"

The old woman looked at her sweetly. "What a pretty niece you have here, Kimura-san," the old woman cooed. They seemed to own a small jewelry stand.

"She's a lovely young woman," the elderly man continued.

Sakura's face flushed the perfect amount of pink to show a civilian's embarrassment. "I'm not worthy of such praise," she answered, bowing her head down in mock-shyness. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the group of men also included Gorou's family member, Chang. Chang walked in the middle with an air of haughty confidence about him, while Gorou walked off to the side. He was in perfect position for Sakura to make contact.

Sakura ogled the jewelry for a moment before turning abruptly, "Come on, Oji-san, I want to show you-"

She collided with something firm and stumbled back appropriately for a civilian. Her eyes darted in her head nervously before looking up at the man who she had knocked into. "I'm so, so, so, sorry!" she cried in mock-exasperation.

The man looking down at her, Chaogi Gorou, was tall. Sakura's head had collided with his well-toned, muscular upper-arm. His tanned skin glowed perfectly in the bathing sun, making him look wonderfully ethereal. Dark chestnut eyes flashed with confusion, annoyance, and then upon getting a better look at the woman who had crashed into him, amusement. His chiseled face was the epitome of masculinity with a thick-set jaw, broad yet perfectly proportioned nose, and sparkling eyes that were boring smolderingly into Sakura. Dark brown hair was naturally spiked and lazily fell off the side – much like Kakashi's – but it wasn't as long and it didn't cover his eyes. If Sakura had to think of what a sex-god would look like, he would be it – down to his khaki cargo pants that hugged his waist, brown shinobi sandals, and brown t-shirt that fit him perfectly.

Sakura averted her gaze quickly – one of the most basic human traits of showing attraction, she reminded herself – before tentatively looking back up to make eye contact with the man once again. "I apologize for knocking into you-"

"Gorou. Chaogi Gorou is my name," he replied, smirking at her.

Sakura blushed a bit – pink barely dabbing her nose and cheeks, "Chaogi-san, my apologies."

"I don't recognize you. Your name, m'lady?" he asked, grinning at her once again. It was a devilishly good grin, which was almost better for Sakura. She didn't have to fake her shyness or attraction to the man. It'll be a pity when I have to kill him. She thought dryly to herself. Assassinations were never her favorite missions. In fact, she detested them.

When she would go on assassinations with Team Seven, she usually allowed Kakashi or Sasuke to do the honors. However, she had done them in the past when they required her particular skill set or expertise. Usually, she handled poisonings or anything that required a female body. Those were the missions where Sasuke and Naruto would get the angriest. They did not like the thought of their female teammate possibly getting raped. Sakura was very skilled, though, and it never came to that. At the very most, she had to deal with some unwanted kisses and touching before she made the final move to end their target's life.

Unfortunately, judging by the way Gorou was eyeing her legs and chest 'discreetly,' Sakura would probably have to deal with some of those unwanted kisses and touches for this mission. At least Gorou was attractive. Some of the other men that she'd been forced to deal with were downright nasty.

"Oh, yes, how rude of me!" Sakura replied excitedly. "My name is Kimura Aya. It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm here with my uncle…" Sakura looked around to discover that Genma was nowhere to be found, meaning he had slunk off someplace to hide and listen on their conversation for verbal cues, clues, or any other important information. "He must have gone back to the hotel…"

"Ah, he probably thought you were following him. So, you're not from around here?" Gorou asked politely.

Sakura shook her head. "No," she explained, "My uncle and I are on our way to a resort in Wind Country. However, he had to stop by here for some party that one of his business partners is attending. So we're attending that tomorrow evening."

Gorou's eyebrow rose in acknowledgement of her statement, and he seemed to be processing what she had said. "I'm actually hosting that party along with my uncle," he replied, motioning towards his uncle further down the street. The remaining men who had been with Gorou had made their way down the road to give Sakura and Gorou more privacy. "So, you will be attending? What's your uncle's name?"

"Yes, my uncle and I will both be there along with our two family guards. His name is Kimura Takeshi," Sakura replied thoughtfully. She shifted nervously, blushing a bit, "Um…would you mind walking me back to my hotel? I'm not positive where it is…and my uncle isn't around…"

Gorou's eyes lit up. He waved to the group of men in front of him, telling them to go on without him. He replied, charmingly, "Of course, of course, it would be rude of me not to. I couldn't leave a beautiful young woman out here without an escort. It'd be a crime!"

Because you suddenly care so much about crime in this town of yours. She thought bitterly to herself. Sakura leaned back bashfully and giggled just right. "Thank you," she said quietly, "We're staying at the Border's Hotel at the edge of town."

"Ah, that's a nice place," he commented as he began to walk in the direction of the hotel. "How long will you be staying?"

"Just until Saturday morning, I think. We'll be leaving the morning after the party," Sakura explained, darting shy looks at Gorou every few steps.

His face was the picture of contentment in the afternoon sun. "That's too bad," he said with the smallest hint of disappointment in his voice, "I wish we could have gotten to know each other a little better. You are good company."

Sakura laughed nervously. "You are excellent company, yourself," she replied. Then, a little slyly, she continued, "You know, my uncle usually falls asleep early. Around nine. He lets me go out after that as long as I bring one of my guards with me. But they usually don't mind me spending some time on my own… So... if I were looking for something fun to do in this village around ten o'clock tonight, where should I go?"

Judging by the light in Gorou's eyes, he understood her meaning loud and clear. "There's a bar," he replied, coughing a bit, "not far from your hotel called the Lady's Dragon. That's where I spend my Thursday nights because they have good prices on drinks."

"I remember passing it on the way in. Perhaps I'll check it out tonight after my uncle falls asleep," Sakura replied. They were now approaching the hotel where Sakura and the rest of the team were staying. "This is it! Thank you for walking me home, Chaogi-san."

He held up his hands in mock-bashfulness, but Sakura could see the slightly cocky grin underlining his face. "It was my honor. And you may call me Gorou…that is if you don't mind me calling you Aya," he replied silkily.

Sakura beamed her best smile at him, "Of course. Thank you for walking me home, Gorou. It was an honor to meet you. Maybe I'll see you later."

Sakura winked at him playfully before sauntering back into the hotel. She bolted up the stairs and ran into their room where Genma was climbing through the window. "Good job!" he complemented. "That was some A-grade information gathering and relationship building!"

Sakura smiled, "I guess I know where Itachi and I are going tonight."

X

"Absolutely not!" Genma hollered.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "I have to. You act like this is the first time I've worn this dress."

"That," he retorted, "Is not a dress. That is a scrap of sparkling fabric that leaves little to the imagination."

Sakura frowned, furrowing her brows in annoyance. Sure, the dress was short, black, and sparkling. However, it was necessary for the mission. She looked over to the other side of the room where Itachi and Shisui were drawing a rough outline to the layout of the mansion where the party was held. Eyes searching for help, she gestured to Itachi and Shisui. Itachi eyes her for a moment, the smallest frown on his face, before looking back down and marking where he remembered guards being.

Shisui shrugged, "Sorry, Cupcake, but he's right. That dress is not appropriate for my girl to be wearing."

Sakura scoffed, and pulled the dress down a bit. It was nearly ten o'clock at night. After dinner, they had returned to the hotel room and debriefed each other about what they had discovered that day. Itachi and Shisui had come back with loads of information on the mansion, the location of the guards, and plans on how to escape from the house without being caught. Genma and Sakura explained their encounter with Gorou, and they all agreed that it would be good for her and Itachi to meet him at the bar he had been talking about earlier. That is, until Genma saw the dress she was wearing.

It fell to mid-thigh, hugging her curves which accentuated all the right areas. The small, glittery black dress featured a tight-waist, which pushed Sakura's breasts up a bit, making them seem an entire cup bigger than they really were. The low-neckline also added to that affect. Ino had once told her to accentuate her legs, which were apparently Sakura's gift from God. Since Sakura didn't have large breasts or a notable butt, she always tried to emphasize her legs. Then again, Sakura thought, looking at herself in the mirror, her boobs weren't that small and her butt was alright. They just weren't as porn-worthy as Ino's happened to be. Sighing, Sakura pulled on a pair of black heels that were the perfect height – tall enough to give her legs an extra boost, but short enough so she could kick ass in them.

Sakura fondly remembered a mission where she and Ino had to pose as slutty civilians in Water Country. They both had to assassinate their respective targets. However, after a night of drinking, a group of men figured out who they were and what they were trying to do. So, Ino and Sakura had to fight all of them in tiny dresses (smaller than the one she was wearing now), and three-inch tall stilettos. After that, Sakura made it a priority to do some basic combat training in heels because that was not a pleasant experience in the least.

Sakura sighed, "C'mon, I have to do this. This is one of the reasons I'm on this mission, remember?"

"When your father finds out…" Genma began.

Sakura's face went pale for a moment, before returning to its' original color along with a resolute look on her face, "You will not tell Kakashi about this. Itachi, please, back me up here."

Itachi looked at her moment, the small frown still present on his impassive features. Monotonically, he replied, "Sasuke would kill me. Or at least he would try."

Sakura let out an exasperated sigh before rifling through her bag. She grabbed a black blazer and pulled it over her shoulders. She buttoned it up a bit so it covered more of her breasts. "Better?" she hissed. "Now let's go."

Itachi nodded and stood up. He was already clad in a black t-shirt, black shoes, and dark blue-jeans. Personally, he didn't care for jeans, but many young civilians wore them. They restricted movement and were made of a stiff, itchy fabric. He'd wear his shinobi pants over jeans any day. Living with them for one night, though, would not be impossible. Grabbing a leather jacket on his way, the duo walked out of the hotel and in the direction of the bar silently.

Itachi, surprisingly enough, was the one to break the silence, "Those shoes are impractical."

"I can fight in them," Sakura replied resolutely. The eyebrow that arched at her in surprise told her that Itachi didn't believe her. "I can. Ino and I spent a lot of time training in high heels in order to be effective. Plus, if I have to, they are easy to rip off."

An amused sound came from the back of Itachi's throat, but no more words were exchanged. The air was chilly at night since it was still spring, and an involuntary shiver ran through Sakura. Her legs were beginning to go numb, and she couldn't even use her chakra to warm them because it would be a dead giveaway to anybody who could sense it. Even the most basic of mercenaries were taught how to sense chakra presences. When the rounded the corner of the street they had been walking on, the small bar came into view – the nightlife was lively within, and music pounded from the small space.

Sakura took in a deep breath, calming her nerves. No matter how many times she had done this, it was always a little worrying right before. When she was in there, she would be the essence of a woman on the prowl, but right now, she was trying to settle her nerves. Itachi led her into the bar quietly and quickly found them a seat at a tall table that had two barstools next to it.

"Do you see him?" Itachi asked quietly. Sakura looked around casually and spotted her target quickly. He was sitting at the bar, chatting amiably with the bartender and sipping on something that looked like rum and coke. She fumbled with a piece of brown hair between her fingers that was framing her face. She had pulled the nondescript chocolate locks into an elegantly messy bun on top of her head while her bangs fell around her face.

"Yeah, he's at the bar. I'm going to go get a drink," Sakura replied slowly, pushing herself from the barstool and fixing her dress.

"You have money?" Itachi asked quietly.

Sakura laughed a little. "I don't pay for my own drinks," she retorted confidently before walking off with grace, her hips swaying lightly that had every man in the room leering at her.

Itachi watched her go. He was trying not to be jealous. Really, he was. But he knew that Sakura may have to do certain things with this man in order to extract information from him. That fact irritated him greatly. However, he had no real right to be jealous. She wasn't his. He had no claim over the girl in any right, but he still did not want to see her interact with another man in any sort of affectionate way whatsoever.

When she had come out of the bathroom in that dress, he had to fight down the overwhelming urge to pounce on her, rip it off of her, and take her right there. But, he was an Uchiha, and Uchiha's possessed an extraordinary amount of self-control. Although Itachi knew that there were rumors around Konoha about his repressed sex drive, quite the opposite was true. He was a normal, healthy young male that could appreciate a woman. He had his share of encounters with them over the years, but the only person who knew about this was Shisui. Not even Sasuke knew the details of Itachi's sex life. So when Sakura had appeared before them in the tiny number she was in, Itachi's hormones had reacted like any other healthy, twenty-two year old man's would. But since he was so well trained at keeping his emotions in control, he had managed to hide the ever present tugging on his sex drive that called for action to be taken with the girl.

Even Shisui hadn't made too many inappropriate comments to the woman. Despite his older cousin's constant flirting, Itachi knew that Shisui viewed Sakura as a younger sister, and he did not want his little sister walking around in something that barely covered her most private areas. Itachi didn't mind the dress, really. What he didn't like was the fact that there were other men who would see her in the dress. She could wear it for him anytime she wanted although if she did, it wouldn't stay on her long.

Sighing, he ordered a drink from a waitress that had just passed him. He really should be looking for information as well, but he was determined to keep a discreet eye on Sakura. If anything happened, he would have to be alert and ready to help. He stole a glance at the bar where Sakura had positioned herself a few seats down from their target. The man was unabashedly leering at the young woman. Itachi wasn't surprised when he made his way over to Sakura and started chatting with her.

The man was animated in their discussion, and began buying drink after drink for him and the young woman. Itachi tried not to stare at her blatantly because he didn't want to chase the man off. Well, he did, but that wouldn't prove useful to the mission. A few women approached Itachi and struck up conversations with him. He was polite, as always, but ended up brushing off their advances. Why would he bother with these women when he had a perfectly good companion with him? Alright, so he was technically alone. But he did not want to give Sakura the wrong impression or idea of him.

About an hour passed like this – Sakura chatting with Gorou while Itachi half-watched while sipping his drink. Eventually, Gorou began to touch Sakura, who did little to dissuade his advances. First, he brushed her arm with his fingers. Then he put a sturdy hand on her hip. This continued for a while why Sakura flirted back with him. Through gritted teeth, Itachi observed Gorou lean down and capture Sakura's lips in a passionate kiss. Itachi scowled. Those were his lips to kiss, not anybody else's. Itachi clenched his hands, trying to keep his blatant jealousy under control. The overwhelming urge to walk up to Gorou and kill him overcame Itachi, but he suppressed it quickly. First, this was a mission. Second, as much as he hated it, Sakura was not his. Those were not his lips to kiss.

This was so strange for him. Usually, during missions, he was the epitome of a perfect shinobi. Rarely did he lose control like this. He decided being around Sakura on missions was probably not good for him – especially not when she was making out with another man.

Sakura, for her part, was doing well. She was not too overzealous with the man, as she played hard-to-get, but she was giving him enough to know she was interested. Although, she was pretending to be interested – at least, that's what Itachi thought. Doubts arose within him when he saw Sakura lead Gorou out of the main room and into the hallway that lead to the bathrooms and offices. It took every ounce of his renowned Uchiha self-control not to run back there and rip the man off of Sakura.

Suddenly, the smallest fluctuation in Sakura's chakra caught his attention. No one would have felt it unless they were highly skilled and looking for a change in her particular chakra signature. His head snapped back up to find the kunoichi walking towards him with a smug smile on her lips. She approached Itachi carefully, weaving in and out of the people as she went. Finally, when she reached him, she smiled at him confidently.

"He admitted to me that he was the leader," she announced with a confident whisper that only he could hear. "I've got more information. I'll tell you when we get back to the hotel or tomorrow with Genma and Shisui."

"Where is he now?" Itachi asked carefully.

Sakura smiled again. "He's in a genjutsu, thinking he's having the time of his life," Sakura replied happily. Then, her brow furrowed as her lips twisted a bit. "He is a bit of an asshole."

"Did he do anything to you?" Itachi asked quietly as he gulped down the last bit of his drink. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know the answer, but he had to make sure she was alright. They began heading for the door even though it was only one in the morning. They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow.

"Besides the unwanted kiss, no," she replied. The air was colder now that they were outside, and she shivered. Itachi pulled off the leather jacket he had been wearing and draped it over her shoulders. "Thanks."

"Hn." 'You're welcome' was the rough translation Sakura garnered. The rest of the walk back was silent, but it didn't take long to reach the hotel.

The duo scaled the stairs and entered the hotel room quietly. Genma and Shisui were already asleep, a movie playing on the cheap TV in the background. Sakura smiled a bit. Shisui had stolen the second bed while Genma slept on the couch. Grabbing her pajamas she gestured towards the bathroom to Itachi, who nodded his head. While she changed, he slipped into his jounin pants and collapsed in exhaustion onto the other bed. Mentally, this day had been completely draining. Gathering information, creating plans, and watching the woman who you maybe-sort of-even-though-it-was-completely-inappropriate had feelings for kiss another man really took its toll.

Sakura cracked the door to the bathroom and stopped when she caught sight of the man in her bed, which Itachi was taking up a good part of. Did he expect her to crawl in bed with him? Was she supposed to take the futon? What was this all about? She put her things in her bag that was on the floor and began slowly making her way across the room.

"Sakura," Itachi began, "Get into bed. It's late and we have a lot to do tomorrow."

Sakura smiled giddily to herself, and crawled into bed with Itachi. Slipping under the covers, she felt Itachi's strong arm snake around her waist and pull her close automatically. And for the second night in a row, she fell into a blissful, wonderful, absolutely perfect sleep.

AN: I hope Itachi didn't seem to OOC in this chapter. I tried to keep all his rants internal. I guess the key is to explain how he feels internally, while not allowing him to show too much externally. Does that make sense? Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I'm pleased to say that there will be some more fluff in the next one! I know you all love your ItaSaku fluff.

Please review!

Also, here's some unashamed advertising for my new (I know, I'm already super busy with my other stuff but this is going to be shorter and I'll be focusing on this first, don't kill me) SasukeXSakura story:

In Order To Heal

Summary: The day Uchiha Sasuke returned to Konoha, Naruto's broad arm slung around his shoulders with a glowing smile plastered on his face, was supposed to be the best day of her life. Instead, she crouched on top of a roof that overlooked the gates with a look of contempt hidden under her ceramic ANBU mask. Post Shinobi World War. SasukeXSakura and other secondary pairings TBD. Rated M.

Please check it out!