Chapter Five
Irrationality

A headache was beginning to take form in the front of Itachi's mind. He could feel the soft pulsing of it just above his left eye. There was a simple cure, he knew, but he kept denying himself it: rest.

Ever since Sakura had been attacked a week ago, Itachi had been pushing himself to his limits. For the past week he had been personally checking the time charts to see what officers had not been in the building during the time Sakura was attacked to narrow down the list of suspects. So far, almost all of the agents on his case were not in the building at the time, making everyone a suspect. The list of people he could trust at the moment was limited and fortunately most of the officers on the case, namely Sasuke, Shisui, Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, and Shikamaru. Sasuke had been the one to save Sakura, and Itachi's three friends had been with him at the time of the attack. Shisui had been out with his parents and the charts showed Shikamaru had worked throughout the night.

It was absolutely frustrating.

Because of the fact that everyone was a suspect, he couldn't actually give away any real information unless it was one of the ones he had already marked off the list. This case was going nowhere and he couldn't figure out how to proceed besides continuing to do what he had been doing for a week, which was taking forever already. It felt like he was slowly losing his mind.

"If you keep this up, you're going to kill yourself."

Itachi picked his head up from his hands and threw a look at the person standing in his doorway. "That's quite an exaggeration, Kisame," he replied coolly.

He snorted. "Not really. Why don't you let me take over for a while? You've been working since before I got here."

Itachi hardly even glanced at his old friend as he continued scanning through the surveillance videos taken from downstairs. "It is protocol for Shisui to take over if I am absent."

"And Shisui's absent."

"Then it would be Sasuke's job."

Itachi heard Kisame lean against the wall heavily in annoyance, but he didn't spare him a glance. His tired eyes scanned his computer screen as he zoomed in on another officer's face and marked them off the list of suspects. This continued for a few more minutes before Kisame sighed loudly.

"Did you come here for a reason?" Itachi asked unkindly.

"Why are you so obsessed with this, Itachi?"

Itachi felt his headache worsen. With a deep breath, he set his pen down a little louder than necessary in aggravation before he turned to the older man. "One of my agents was almost killed, Kisame. I take that very seriously."

Kisame's expression turned just as serious. "I'm not saying you shouldn't. I'm just trying to understand why you're pointlessly exhausting yourself."

"Because everyone in this building is a suspect, Kisame," Itachi answered coldly. "I have very few people to work with on this case."

"You're exhausting yourself," he repeated.

Itachi clenched his jaw in annoyance. "Why don't you go find something else to do besides interrupt me."

"I can't," Kisame replied. "I'm too busy making sure you don't kill yourself."

Itachi felt his annoyance go up another notch. He was here, working as hard as he could, while Kisame wandered around the building, checking in on him every once and a while to be sure he didn't "kill himself". Itachi had specifically asked Kisame to help with this case because he knew he had a good work ethic and liked to get things done quickly; the exact opposite of what he was doing now.

"Go assist Deidara and Sasori in taking up Sakura's work," he suggested.

Kisame crossed his arms. "Haruno's work could be done with only one of them."

"Then assist Sasuke," he snapped.

Kisame seemed to not even hear him. "You know, you keep calling Haruno 'Sakura', right?"

He hesitated.

Whether he did because of Kisame's random comment or because of what he had actually said, he didn't know. Unfortunately Kisame seemed to think the latter for a wide grin spread across his face. Itachi replied with a glare because he hadn't realized until now that he had started calling her by her first name.

Since that night in the hospital, Itachi had pushed himself harder and longer because he knew it was for the sake of Sakura. For whatever reason, she was suddenly very important to him and he felt obligated to protect her because he hadn't before. It was confusing and having Kisame butt his head in where he shouldn't was driving him over the edge. He was already angry at himself over what happened and lately his patience had been unusually thin.

"What does it matter if I call Haruno by her first or last name?" Itachi asked coldly.

Kisame put up his hands defensively and shrugged. "It doesn't. I was just curious if you had noticed or not. You don't have to bite my head off."

Itachi glared in response as his office door swung open and Sasuke walked in. He flipped through a few files before he threw one down on Itachi's desk. "The killer used the same blade to attack Sakura as the one he used on the other victims," he said.

Itachi picked up the file, deliberately ignoring Kisame's victorious grin. He scanned over Sasuke's report and signed the bottom of the page before he turned to see Sasuke was giving Kisame a weird look. Itachi almost thought he had missed something, but Kisame's expression hadn't changed.

"Does Haruno know?" Itachi asked, directing his question more to Kisame.

Sasuke shook his head. "I was about to call her. Was there something you wanted to tell her?"

Itachi nodded.

He had thought more than once if he could get some more information on what Sakura remembered of the night she was attacked he could narrow down the number of suspects to maybe a dozen or less. Before, he was worried it would be too much for her to think about what had happened, but now he was getting desperate. There wasn't enough time for him to go over every officer. There were over a thousand.

Itachi watched as Sasuke sat down on one of the chairs in front of his desk and called Sakura, placing his phone of speaker phone. It rang twice before she picked up.

"Haruno."

"Sakura, it's me," Sasuke said. "I have something to tell you."

She paused. "I figured. What is it?"

"The blade the killer used on you was the same one he used on his other victims," Sasuke informed her.

"That's not that surprising," Sakura replied. "It wouldn't make sense for him to buy a new blade every time."

"True," Sasuke agreed. "Where are you right now?"

There was silence on the other end of the line. "Out," she finally replied quietly.

Itachi watched Sasuke's eyes narrow as if he was surprised she hadn't told him exactly, but then his expression cleared and he picked his phone up and took it off speaker. "I'll be back at my place in a couple of hours. There are some things I want to discuss with you." His younger brother remained quiet as he waited for her reply. Then he frowned. "Sakura, are you alright?"

The frown on Sasuke's face deepened slightly as she spoke but then his expression cleared and nodded. "Okay."

Once again, he put his phone on speaker and set it on the edge of Itachi's desk before he looked at his older brother expectantly. Itachi hesitated though. He wanted information about the night Sakura was attacked, but it sounded as if something was wrong and he didn't want to put any more stress of her.

Eventually he sighed quietly before he spoke. "Sakura," he said. He could feel Kisame's eyes burning into him and he sighed inwardly when he realized he had called her by her first name again. He let it go though; it was too late to change it now.

She paused for a moment as if not realizing she was on speaker phone. "Yes, sir?"

He hesitated again before finally replying, "Try and be safe."

"Of course," she replied.

Even through the phone, he could hear the smile in her voice. At her light tone, the corner of his mouth lifted and he nodded slightly to himself. "I will be seeing you soon," Itachi replied.

"Yes, sir," she said lightly.

Then she hung up. Sasuke picked up his phone afterwards and stood up, hesitating for a moment when he saw the smirk on Kisame's face. Itachi just ignored both of them and returned to his computer.

Only once both Sasuke and Kisame had left to return to work did he sit back in his chair and let a small smile grace his lips. Sakura was strong; he believed she could handle talking about that night. He just wasn't going to force her. He was going to let her come to him.

Absentmindedly, Sakura played with the keys to Sasuke's car as she stepped out of the elevator onto the eighteenth floor of the police department. She saw Ino out of the corner of her eyes as she strolled towards the Superintendent General's office, but her back was to her so she continued without saying a word to her best friend. When she reached the door, she took a deep breath before knocking. After all, she wasn't supposed to be at work until her counselor said it was okay for her to return to duty, which of course she had said no for at least another week. But she was a counselor, what the hell did she know?

"Come in," Itachi's voice said.

Slowly Sakura turned the handle and walked inside, pleasantly surprised to find she was not the only one there. Kisame was leaning against the wall directly to her right while Sasori stood across the way and Deidara lounged lazily in one of the chairs in front of the Superintendent General's desk. Itachi didn't even seem fazed by Deidara's lack of formality. He was sitting in his chair with perfect posture, his fingers laced in his lap.

Normally Sakura would have commented on the vast difference between the four of them – mentally at least – but there was one common denominator between them that hadn't been there before. They all looked exhausted. Every single one of them had dark circles under their eyes and they all looked a little less professional than normal. It looked like they hadn't slept in days; Itachi especially.

His appearance was neat and orderly like always, but her keen eyes picked up the way his tie was loose and his button-up shirt was slightly wrinkled, and to add to that, he wasn't wearing his jacket. It was thrown carelessly over the back of his chair like he had been there for a while and he had no intention of leaving.

"Am I interrupting?" Sakura asked slowly.

"Actually, we were just talking about you," Kisame replied.

Sakura glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes and she opened her mouth to reply, but it took her a couple of seconds to speak. "Oh." She paused. "I'm not quite sure if that's a good or bad thing."

No one clarified.

"Excuse us," Itachi finally said. "I need to speak with Haruno alone."

It didn't escape Sakura's attention that Itachi was looking at Kisame when he spoke, but nonetheless the three men nodded at Itachi and stood to leave. She moved out of the way to allow them to pass and they offered her small smiles on their way out. She returned them and stood quietly as Kisame closed the door behind him. Once it was firmly shut, she turned to Itachi to see he was staring at his computer. "Sakura," he said calmly. "If I'm correct, you saw your counselor today."

Slowly Sakura swallowed as Itachi turned his attention onto her. Uncomfortably she nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Then I assume she said it was acceptable you return to work, seeing as you're here?" he asked smoothly.

Sakura nodded curtly. "Yes, sir."

He stared at her for a long moment.

She knew that stare. He was measuring her up to tell if she was telling the truth and the worst part was, she wasn't. But then again, her counselor hadn't said that she couldn't visit, right? Though from the look Itachi was giving her, he knew she was lying, which was not a good thing. Now he was probably going to order her to go home…or Sasuke's house.

Well this sucks, she thought.

"I received an e-mail from her earlier today," the Superintendent General finally said.

Sakura groaned mentally as he returned his attention to his computer screen. "To Superintendent General Uchiha, from Doctor Nakano," he read. "Officer Haruno is not fit to return to work. She is exhausted both physically and mentally, disconnected and in denial of her parents' deaths and the attack." Sakura's jaw literally dropped. "Allowing Officer Haruno to resume a full workload could put her and other members of the TMPD at risk. This includes her health and the thoroughness of her work."

"What?" Sakura snapped. Now she was angry.

Itachi turned his gaze to her, but didn't say anything. His eyes were observant as he took in every expression of anger that crossed her face.

"This is completely unfair and insane!" Sakura yelled.

"According to Doctor Nakano," Itachi replied smoothly, "so are you."

Sakura glared at him and crossed her arms. "And you believe her?"

Itachi kept his attention fixed solely on her. "She works specifically with cases like this."

"So you're taking her side?"

Itachi's expression turned to one of amusement. "Sides?" he asked. "No, this isn't dodge ball, Sakura. I am only trying to make sure you are alright."

She sighed in annoyance and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine," she said in exasperation. "I'm not some five-year-old who fell down and scrapped their knee."

Itachi's expression turned serious again. "No," he agreed. "You are a young woman whom was almost murdered by a serial killer." Sakura's anger faded at his words. "Quite a difference."

Sakura was quiet for a long moment when she realized he was right. She hadn't fallen and got a little bruised; she had been attacked and placed in the hospital for a few days because of it. Her life had literally been hanging by a thread that night and Sasuke had saved her. She owed him everything.

"I wasn't planning on staying for long," she finally said. She hesitated as his dark eyes caught hers and stared at her calculatingly. A lump formed in her throat and she swallowed thickly as she crossed her arms a little self-consciously. "I want to help. I hate sitting in that safe house the department gave me. It makes me restless."

Itachi's eyes seemed to soften before he nodded towards the chairs in front of his desk. Sakura smiled slightly before she sat in the one on the far side of the room. She didn't miss the way Itachi watched her as she sat down and he waited until she was situated before he spoke: "How exactly would you like to help?"

Sakura swallowed thickly. "I was hoping I could tell you something from the night of the attack that would help with the investigation."

An intense expression fell over Itachi's face and Sakura looked away consciously as she dragged her bottom lip into her mouth. "Anything helps, Sakura," he said calmly.

She smiled and peeked at him through her eyelashes before she picked her head up and looked out the darkening sky of Tokyo. She pursed her lips together and knitted her eyebrows together as she thought back to that night a little over a week ago. She could clearly remember the TMPD badge glinting in the dark room and her attacker standing over her, but everything was little fuzzy like her mind was fighting to forget what had happened.

With a quiet sigh, Sakura focused back on Itachi to see he was watching her closely. She shook her head slightly and opened her mouth to recall what she did remember when she remembered the East Coast Killer had stood behind her and all but pressed his body against her. If she got comparisons she could probably tell how tall he was.

Blinking her eyes back into focus, she fixed Itachi with her own intense gaze. "I can probably tell you how tall he is, but I need Sasuke, Deidara and Sasori."

Itachi watched her for a long moment before he picked up his office phone and punched some numbers into the key pad. They sat in silence for a long moment as it rang until someone eventually answered on the other line. "Sasuke, grab Sasori and Deidara, and come to my office."

She vaguely heard Sasuke's voice on the other end, but it was too quiet to be able to tell what he said. A moment later, Itachi hung up and turned back to his computer. He typed a few things on his keyboard before a knock sounded on the door and Sasuke entered with Sasori and Deidara behind him, all of them wearing slightly confused expressions.

"Haruno has offered to help us on the case," Itachi said after they all stepped inside.

Slowly Sasuke approached her until he stood next to the chair she was seated in. "How so?" he asked. He was looking at Itachi but for some reason Sakura felt the question was more directed at her.

Sakura cleared her throat lightly as Itachi's gaze turned to her. "I don't remember a lot from the night of the attack," she admitted quietly. "But I can remember how tall my attacker was if I was to have something to compare it to."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Deidara, Sasori and Sasuke glance at each other silently. Sakura swallowed thickly but before her nervousness and fear could override her, Sasuke squeezed her shoulder slightly. "What do you need us to do?"

A small smile crossed Sakura's face and she breathed out a sigh of relief before she finally looked up at him. "Turn off the lights."

Sasuke released her shoulder as he looked at Deidara and nodded. Sakura slowly stood and walked into the middle of the room just as Deidara killed the lights. The sky outside the window was dark, casting the room in dark shadows that were very reminiscent of the night she was attacked. It was the perfect setting to help her remember as much as she hated to admit it.

Sakura quickly forced herself to focus and she glanced at Sasori's shadow. "Sasori-san," she said lightly, afraid to break the silence in the room. "Would you please stand behind me?"

Carefully, he approached her and stood behind her, coming close enough that she could tell his height. She could feel his breath on her shoulder, but it was too low for him to be the same height as her attacker. She shook her head and told them so before Deidara took his place. His breath fell across the back of her neck near her ear.

She frowned and shook her head again. "You're too tall," she said quietly.

Deidara just squeezed her shoulder and stepped back as Sasuke moved to take his place. His hand brushed over her upper arm as he stepped up to her. His breath warmed the juncture where her throat and shoulder met and a sharp shiver raced up her spine as fear clouded her mind.

"Who are you?" she asked breathlessly.

They replied by tightening their grip on her arm painfully. She bit back a yelp of pain and stayed motionless as they continued to stand in the entrance of her kitchen silently. She could feel the rough fabric of their clothes on her back and she knew her head was resting somewhere close to their shoulder. They were probably about a head taller than her.

Then a thought wondered into her mind.

"Are you the East Coast Killer?" she murmured, feeling her heart rate quicken slightly.

The masculine huff of amusement in her ear made her realize it was.

"You're the same height," she murmured as she blinked herself back from that night. Her knees felt weak and her heart was pounding in her chest. She felt the urge to jerk away from Sasuke, but before she could move, someone turned on the lights and the fear slowly ebbed.

She didn't turn around as the weakness in her knees spread to her entire body. She felt Sasuke put a comforting arm around her and she leaned against him for support as she turned around to face everyone else in the room.

Sasori and Deidara glanced at each other before they returned their attention to her. Itachi was still seated behind his desk, but there was a contemplative look on his face. "Are you sure?" he asked softly but seriously.

For a moment, Sakura was quiet as she glanced up at Sasuke, but eventually she turned back to Itachi and nodded. "I'm positive."

Itachi switched his gaze to Sasuke and looked him up once. "How tall are you now, Sasuke?"

"About five foot eight," he answered.

Sakura watched as Itachi nodded and turned back to his computer. "I will send an e-mail out to Shisui. We can narrow down the lists of suspects with this new information." Then he looked up and glanced at Sasori and Deidara. "Everyone is dismissed. And do not speak to anyone about the new information we have obtained," he added as they started towards the door. "I will inform Kisame as well."

Deidara and Sasori nodded in agreement and quietly exited before Sasuke and Sakura followed after them. Sasuke still had his arm around her shoulders and was quietly leading her, but before they could exit out, Itachi spoke again: "Just a moment, Sakura."

Both she and Sasuke stopped before he carefully pulled his arm away from her shoulders. "I'll wait outside for you, alright?"

She nodded slightly and watched the door close behind him before she turned her attention to Itachi. She jumped slightly when she looked up to see him standing less than two feet in front of her. His suddenly close proximity startled her and she stared at him with wide eyes.

Carefully Sakura took a step back only for her back to collide with the wall and she watched him as he trapped her between himself and the wall. Her breath caught and her whole body warmed as his gaze fixed solely on her.

She remembered this feeling. It was the same as when he had first told her she would be working on the East Coast Killer case, only now it was much more intense. Her heart was beating rapidly in her ribcage and she could feel the heat of a blush on her cheeks as Itachi placed a hand on the wall next to her head and leaned down towards her. Her lips parted and slowly she closed her eyes in anticipation for what was the come.

But before his lips touched her, he suddenly pulled away and stood up straight. "Thank you, Sakura," he murmured quietly.

A small frown fell across her face as displeasure flooded her. She didn't know why she was so disappointment that he hadn't kissed her, but in the long run, she supposed it was for the best. She couldn't afford to be distracted yet. Forcefully, she smiled. "I was just doing my job."

His obsidian eyes glittered in the low light. "You did more than that," he said. "You have helped us a lot lately, Sakura." Carefully he brushed his lips against her forehead before he took a step back and nodded towards the door. "You have had a trying day, though. You should go home and rest."

Once again Sakura's legs felt weak, but this time it was for an entirely different reason. She could only barely nod at him before she turned towards the door, but as she placed her hand on the doorknob Itachi spoke again: "Have a good night, Sakura."

Quietly, Sakura turned to look at him and nodded numbly before she walked out to meet Sasuke.