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Yami Mori

I-Love-Akatsuki

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Here's the second chapter. Hope you enjoy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It only belongs to Kishimoto-san.

Summary: A desperate plea sent Haruno Sakura on a wild adventure…straight into the arms of her infuriating – protector. For years, she had wondered who her mysterious guardian was – and now he was going to be her husband!

By nine o'clock the next morning, Sakura was driving her car toward Las Vegas.

For the past five years, Sakura had been living and working in Los Angeles area. She was pleased with her job, her apartment and her lifestyle. To be more precise, she was content to stay in the shallows of life, never tempted to seek out the depths and excitement that others seemed to crave. Itachi had a lot to do with her way of thinking. He had spent many hours talking to her about some of the trouble young women could get into if they weren't careful, especially if they were trying to prove something, to either to themselves or to other people.

Sakura realized she didn't have such a need. She was content to be who she was and live her own rather unexciting life.

Therefore, this would be her first visit to Las Vegas.

Sakura wasn't particularly looking forward to arriving there. Her attitude could be traced back to the fact that Itachi had been less than forthcoming about what he wanted her to do.

Following his instructions, she had immediately hoped into the shower as soon as she awakened, quickly donned her clothes then contacted him.

He immediately responded.

"How are you?" she asked, more out of concern than politeness.

"I feel a little groggy but that's to be expected," was the reply.

"Have you been drinking?" she asked, surprised.

"Hn. But I got a fairly hard clout to the head last night."

"Oh."

"They have made it clear that I have offended their sensibilities by being sarcastic. They have a very physical way of showing their displeasure."

"Who are they?"

"Don't know yet. Are you willing to help me?"

"Of course. What do you want me to do?"

"Go to Las Vegas."

"Las Vegas? What are you doing there?"

"I'm not in Las Vegas. I want you to contact a man there for me. You'll have to see him in person and he is tough to reach. I would say almost impossible. But you have to try. He is the only one who might have an idea how to find me."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Shisui. He owns the U-Biz Casino."

Sakura could feel her heart leap in her chest. "You want me to find a gambler?"

"I'm not concerned with his personal habits at the moment. He's the one who can help me. "

"What do you want me to tell him?"

"Wait until you get to Vegas and I'll tell you."

"Itachi! Must you be so serious?"

"Hn. You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I'm not forcing you."

"I didn't say that I don't want to help you…Of course, I'll go."

Sakura found a small bag and gathered a few of her clothes and cosmetics. No doubt she'd be gone the entire weekend.

The day was going to be another hot one, Sakura decided soon after she left the apartment. But then, what could you expect in August? If she would ever thought about going to Las Vegas, which she hadn't, she was sure she would have pick a cooler time of the year.

Sakura could not get rid of the tight knot of excitement that seemed to have formed in her chest. At long last, she was going to find out more of Itachi.

He had reluctantly told her that Shisui was an old friend of his and if anyone could him out of his present precarious situation, Shisui could.

What Sakura also realized was that Shisui could tell her a great deal about Itachi that she had always wanted to know.

Sakura faced the fact that rushing to Las Vegas to help Itachi was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her which certainly seemed to make a statement about her life.

Actually, having Itachi in her life was the only exciting thing that had ever happened to her. After a very careful poll among her classmates while she was growing up, Sakura had discovered that she seemed to be the only person blessed with an invisible friend.

She had quickly learned not to discuss him with anyone and what else after all, did she have to talk about? Sakura had not been interested in dating because she never knew what to say. She did not care anything about cars and that was what most of the boys talked about.

So she had spent many hours talking to Itachi about things she was interested in, things she had read about in books or magazines. She had known he was much older than she was and had a great deal more experience with life. Yet he had always been very patient with her, willing to discuss any subject she brought up.

Sakura smiled to herself, remembering how he had dealt with her questions about sex. Now that she thought of about it, those questions should have been asked of her mother, but whenever she broached the subject, her mother had seemed embarrassed and Sakura had allowed her curiosity about the subject to drop.

Itachi had been much more matter-of-fact. She had been lying there on bed one night, thinking about some of the stories she was hearing at school, when Itachi had spoken up.

"Do not believe everything you hear, Pinky. It could get you into trouble."

"If you think that I would do something like that–" she started to say indignantly, when he interrupted.

"Hn…You have to do it at the right time and with the right person. Sex is not something to be experimented with, like a toy. The act of love is all tied up with our emotions. When it is used only as a tool to convince people around us that we are adults, we can get hurt and hurt many others as well."

They had talked long into the night and by the time Sakura fell asleep, she felt as though she had graduated from childhood.

His lessons had stuck with her through the years. Although she had dated once she moved to Los Angeles and began working, she had never been tempted to prove anything to anyone. Nor had she met anyone with whom she wished to share such intimacy.

Perhaps she was not the type to marry. She certainly didn't draw second looks in a crowd. Sakura had always been disgusted that she had stopped growing when she a couple of inches over five feet. Although she had often been told that her eyes were the most striking feature, whenever she looked into the mirror all she could see were a pair of wide emerald eyes staring back. Even her hair was not a real color. Her hair was not common. It was pink. She wished her hair had been a blonde or a little dark enough to be considered brown. Sakura thought of herself as an almost person. Almost average height but not quite, almost attractive…but not quite.

Not that it mattered to her, she reminded herself firmly. She was content with her life. And now, she was doing something for Itachi that would help repay all the wonderful things he had done for her through the years. She smiled at the thought.

Sakura had taken secretarial course as soon as she completed high school. It had been important to her that she be independent as soon as possible. Her mother's health had never been good and Sakura wanted to relieve her of the burden.

She could have stayed in Oceanside but preferred to get away, to make new friends, to experience new things. Her new life would have been very lonely if she had not had Itachi.

Surprisingly enough, Sakura made many friends at the school and when one of them mentioned that the Uchiha Investigation Service was looking for stenographers, she and her two of the other graduates had applied.

Sakura had been surprised at the size of the place. She was not quite sure what she had expected but certainly nothing on the scale that met her eyes. The receptionist sent her to the personnel director, who tested her and had her fill out the necessary applications. The director explained that Mr. Uchiha managed to keep several stenographers busy transcribing the reports he dictated.

Mr. Uchiha had built quite a reputation, so Sakura was told, as an insurance investigator. Although he was out in the field quite often, he keeps in touch with the office and oftentimes called in and dictated on the machines that were set up to take telephone transactions.

Sakura had been working there for almost five years and she thoroughly enjoyed her job. She had been Mr. Uchiha's administrative assistant for several years now, handling as much as possible for him when he was out of the office, doing the preliminary investigations of the cases – the tedious, time consuming research that went with that sort of investigation – then turning them over to him to follow up the leads she uncovered.

They worked well together and he paid her quite well. Sakura felt it was unfortunate that Mr. Uchiha was such a cold and unfeeling individual. Perhaps, it came with the job or something.

After all the years she had worked for him, he still insisted on calling her Ms. Haruno. In this day and age of immediate first names and instant friendships, I. Uchiha was a throwback to another era.

He was not all that cold either. Sakura had gotten a glimpse of his insurance file once which stated his age as twenty six. He didn't look that old, until you gazed into his eyes. His eyes seemed to have too much knowledge about people and their behavior.

Some women in the office teased her about her working for him since he was single and more than a little handsome with his jet black hair and dark sexy eyes. Sakura shivered a little. He might be attractive but he was too cold a person to ever attract her.

Naruto was more her type. She had been sating him occasionally for almost a year. She really enjoyed Naruto. He was relaxed, easy going, fun-loving and did not pressure her to deepen their relationship. Too bad she could not combine the personality of the one man with the brilliant and incisive intellect of the other one. What a combination that would be.

Sakura suddenly remembered that she had a date that night with Naruto and she had totally forgotten about it. He would be over to pick her up and she would not be there. How could she have been so absentminded? When Itachi contacted her, everything else had flown out of the window.

She would have to call him and explain as soon as she got to Vegas. Explain what? Sakura had never been able to find the words to tell Naruto about Itachi. At first, it hadn't been important. They had been casual friends, neighbors until Naruto had moved closer to his new job. Occasionally, he would have her over to eat popcorn and watch television. Once in a while, she would prepare a meal for them and they'd go see a movie. After he moved, they spent less time together but he still called to see how she was doing and to talk about his job.

Sakura had never stood him up before. Surely, he would understand that something unexpected had come up that changed her plans.

By the time she reached the outskirts of Las Vegas, Sakura was tired and hungry. She had not wanted to stop and eat which was a good thing. Crossing the desert had not given her much opportunity.

First things first. She would find a restaurant, eat and call Naruto.

He answered the fourth ring.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked.

"Oh, hi, Sakura. I must have fallen asleep. Couldn't figure out what was happening at first."

"Things must be tough on the job these days, huh?"

He laughed. "No. Just resting up for our big date tonight."

"That's why I called, Naruto. I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel it."

"Is there something wrong?" she heard the concern in his voice.

"Not really. A friend needed some help this weekend and I volunteered."

"Where are you? I keep getting all kinds of background noises."

"I'm in a restaurant."

"Oh. Well I'm sorry. I won't see you tonight. I have been saving all kinds of things to tell you."

"Look, why don't I call you next week? We can check our schedules and pick another time, okay?"

"Sure. No problem. Well, you take care. I'll talk to you later."

Sakura hung up the phone and walked out to her car. The desert heat caused her to wish she had worn something besides her jeans and shirt. One of her halter tops and a pair of shorts would have been more appropriate.

"Not in a casino, Pinky."

"Oh! There you are. You pop up at the most unexpected times."

"I told you I would contact you once you got to Vegas, didn't I?"

She shrugged and realized that that was not much of an answer. "Okay. I'm here now. What's next?"

"I want you to go into the U-Biz Casino, go all the way to the back. You'll see a sign that says Manager's Office. Whoever is there, tell them that you need to see Shisui. That you have a message from Sharingan and that you have to see him personally to deliver it."

"Sharingan?"

"Hn"

"And he'll know what I mean?"

"This isn't going to work if you're going to question and analyze everything I tell you to do. Are you with me or not?"

"Of course I'm with you. I would not be here if I wasn't."

"Hn. It is on the strip. You shouldn't have any trouble finding it."

Now that the time had come for her to do something, Sakura felt her heart begin to race in her chest. She had never before realized what a coward she was. There seemed to be no adventure in her soul. No doubt there were many people who would enjoy the mystery and intrigue of what she was now doing. But not her.

"You can back out anytime."

"Oh shut up." She muttered. A couple coming out of the casino glared at her as they passed. "I'm sorry I wasn't talking to you," she tried to explain. They pointedly looked around the area. No one else was around. Sakura knew her smile was a little weak as she shrugged and hurried on in.

"I thought I taught you better manners, Pinky."

She kept her head down and tried not to move her lips. "This is not the time to go into my behavior, Itachi. I'm doing the best I can at the moment. I'm just not used to this sort of thing."

"That's what I have been trying to tell you. You've limited yourself too much all these years. You need to reach out and stretch your potential to its maximum."

"Right now all I want to do is find Shisui."

"May I help you?" the beautiful young woman sitting at the desk in the manager's office asked Sakura a few moments later.

"Yes. I would like to see Mr. Shisui."

"Do you have any appointment, Ms.–"

"Haruno, Sakura Haruno. Uh, no. I'm afraid not. Would you tell him that I have a message for him from– uh, er– Sharingan?"

"Sharingan?"

Sakura could feel the heat in her cheeks as she determinedly kept her gaze on the woman in front of her.

"That's correct. I'm supposed to deliver it in person."

The woman picked up the phone on the desk and dialed. Then she spoke quietly into the receiver. She waited; obviously listening to something then responded and hung up the phone.

Her gaze was filled with speculation when she glanced back at Sakura. "There's an elevator across the lobby. Push the top button. Someone will meet you to show you his office."

"What do I do next?"

"Wait until you met Shisui then I'll tell you."

"What's the matter, don't you trust me?"

"Yes. I just wanted to make sure they aren't giving you a runaround."

Sakura stepped off the elevator onto plush carpeting. A young man about her age stood there waiting. He grinned. "You're here to see Shisui, right?"

She nodded her head.

"This way."

She followed the man down the hallway and into a well-decorated office. A secretarial desk was on one side and what looked like a word processing unit was carefully covered. There was nobody in the office.

The young man tapped on another door, then opened it. Motioning for her to enter first, he waited until she passed him then quietly closed the door behind her. She was now alone with the man Itachi called Shisui.

His office appeared to be the size of Sakura's entire apartment. She looked at the ornate wall hangings and furnishings with awe before her eyes turned to the man who had gotten up from behind a massive desk and started toward her.

He looked to be in his thirties and was of medium height with dark hair and eyes. He held out his hand to her as he approached.

"I'm afraid I wasn't told your name, young lady," he said with a hint of a smile. "The only information I got was that you have a message from Sharingan."

"Sakura. Sakura Haruno. I was told to–"

"Ahh. So you are Itachi's Sakura." He took her hand and held it between both of his. "Yes. He has chosen well."

"Chosen?"

"What I meant to say was that I have heard many things about you and am delighted to meet you at last."

"You know Itachi well?"

He laughed. "Extremely well. We grow up together in California."

"Oh."

"So what can I do for you? You said you had a message from him."

"From Tiger."

"Right."

"You mean Itachi and Sharingan are the same person?"

"Yeah. It was a joke because we always hung around together. You know…Shisui–the Sharingan." His smile widened. "That was probably before your time."

"He's in trouble."

Shisui's smile disappeared. He led her to a sofa and they sat down. "What sort of trouble?" he asked with a frown.

"I'm not sure. He said he walked into a trap."

Shisui gazed out the window and she could tell that he was thinking. Finally, he turned back to her. "Where is he?"

"He did not say."

"When was the last time you talked to him?"

"Well, you see–"

"Tell him late last night."

"Late last night" she managed to parrot.

"Uh-oh. Then something must have turned sour at the last minute. He thought he had them for sure."

"You talked to him recently?"

"Yes. He's working on something for me."

Sakura gave a quick sigh of relief. "Oh good. Then you can help him."

"Not if I don't know where he is. I know who he was dealing with, though. Pein can play rough."

Sakura wished she knew what more to say. Never had she felt more helpless.

"Tell him that I'm somewhere in southern Utah, in the mountains. I'm in some sort of shack. I haven't seen anyone since they dumped me here last night. I have a hunch no one is going to bother to see if I'm eating. There's nothing here."

Sakura repeated Itachi's words. When she was finished, Shisui stared at her in confusion. "I thought you just said you didn't know where he was?"

"Well I didn't. I still don't. That isn't enough information to find him, is it?"

"It's a hell of a start, let me tell you. Pein, the man I've been hoping to get enough evidence on to take to court, owns a property in southern Utah. Before we had this falling out, he took me up there hunting a couple of times. I think I know exactly where the shack is."

"Looks like you managed to get me some help."

"May I go with you to find him?" she asked.

"No!" Itachi replied quickly.

"I can't see any reason why not. I'm sure you are anxious about him."

If he only knew. After all this time she was finally going to meet Itachi face to face.

A/N: Second chapter finished! To those of you who are asking how old Sakura was in this story, she was 21 years old and Itachi's age is 26 years old. Hope you had enjoyed reading this story…See you on the next chapter!