A/N: Yay! Third chapter finished! This one's not quite as long as the last one, but it's got a lot going on. Warning: Sakura's in trouble of a different sort. You'll see. I just wanted to warn you. Things to have fun with in this chapter: spacy Itachi, Naruto's ANBU exam, and (oh, no!) Sakura's first kiss... Also, I just wanted to say that I have no idea of Yamato's rank, but if he's not an ANBU captain, I'm sorry. It's been months since I read the chapter of the Manga that introduces him.

Legal Stuffiness: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters therein. Kishimoto Masashi, sole proprietor. And, I'm apparently his slave as well.

Clarification: To the reviewer who wanted to know where Sasori is, I'm sorry. I didn't introduce him just yet, because I have conflicting sources. One says that he's dead, another said he's not. I'm leaning toward him being dead. I was going to have him fulfilling the same role that Zetsu is (the rough and curious type), but now, I'm not so sure.
Time: 3 years after Sasuke's departure, six months after Gaara retreival mission

Place: ANBU examination grounds, Konohagakure

Dog Days
Chapter 3: What A Demon Fears

The man in the cat mask circled back around him. Naruto growled in the back of his throat. The allotted time was ten minutes. Most jounin couldn't last ten minutes against a normal ANBU, let alone a captain. The guy was getting serious. He'd drawn his katana. Naruto had only his kunai and shiruken, and the jutsus he knew. He was pretty sure that he could outlast the time limit, but he wanted to show them that he was good enough to really be an ANBU, not just scrape by. Naruto wasn't going to kid himself. He was no Kakashi. He was a stubborn kid with a burning desire to be Hokage, and a hell of a lot of chakra.

Remembering his talk with Kakashi yesterday, he smiled.

"Play to your strengths, Naruto. Analyze his, and use those strengths that match his best. So you might get hurt during the analysis stage, but you'll come out better for it."

For once, he didn't use the Kage Bunshin. While that was still his favorite, he liked the shiruken version, too. The man was just within the perfect range for it, Naruto observed. He took out a shiruken, and hurled it at the man, and then concentrated about fifty bunshins worth of chakra into the justsu as he muttered, "Shiruken Kage Bunshin no jutsu." Of course, a body-sized bunshin is much larger, and takes about fifty times the amount of chakra that a shiruken bunshin does. With the chakra all poured into one shiruken, the ANBU captain was faced with a storm of 2,500 shiruken, and Naruto following them.

He smiled as he drew two kunai and charged the man. Something in the back of his head told him that if he didn't get this over with quickly, he was going to be in hot water. That was probably the Kyuubi talking. He tended to state the obvious a lot. So Naruto followed on the heels of the shiruken, keeping his eyes on the captain. He watched as the man used his katana, armguards, chest armor, and some extremely fluid taijutsu to dodge many of the missiles. He was cut on both arms, had shiruken embedded in his legs and armor, and his mask had broken and fallen to the ground. Naruto blinked. "Yamato!" No wonder the guy had seemed to know most of his moves!

Also, with the man thinking that Naruto was an annoying twerp, he had gotten serious, of course. Who needs an annoying jackass in ANBU? Yamato advanced, katana flashing. Naruto crossed his kunai, meeting the sword head-on. Then he managed to twist them around and grip the katana with their hilts, pulling the man forward. A look of surprise showed on Yamato's face, but only for a moment. He didn't seem at all surprised when Naruto disarmed him.

He also didn't seem surprised when the boy hurled both kunai at him with one hand and came at him with his own weapon. "You wouldn't be going easy on me, would you, old man?" Naruto asked this as he rained down blows on Yamato with one hand behind his back. Shaking his head, the man pulled a kodaichi, and started a counter attack. Naruto was put into a precarious position, while he was defending, and trying to form a half-Rasengan in his other hand.

Yamato was good with the kodaichi. Better than with the katana, and that was truly frightening. Naruto kept him at bay long enough to get a pretty powerful half-Rasengan going, and then feinted left, turning slightly and dropping his guard just a bit. Yamato seemed slightly confused that Naruto would slack off, but took advantage of the situation, making to slash the boy across the chest. Naruto didn't have time to smile. He was glad that the man had fallen for his ruse, but he needed to end this. In one fluid movement, he sidestepped Yamato's slash, and threaded the katana downward through the space between Yamato's arms. He then he used it as a lever to pry the man's right hand off of the sword-hilt, and hit him full in the chest with the swirling chakra of the half-Rasengan.

"Uhn…" Yamato was on the other side of the testing area, holding his chest. A bell sounded, signaling the end of the exam. Naruto ran over to Yamato, and helped him up.

"You alright, old man?" When the ANBU nodded, Naruto smiled. "We should get you to a medic." Slinging the man's arm over his shoulder, Naruto started walking. Kakashi stopped him. "What?"

"Just wanted to congratulate you." He handed Naruto a mask. It was a fox, like his. Naruto snorted. "Appropriate, ne?" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. There were subtle differences between their masks, however, and Naruto noticed them. While Kakashi's fox was smiling, Naruto's had a deadly grimace, and its fangs showed.

"Arigato, Kakashi. You know, I thought there would be a ceremony or something. I guess that's kinda stupid. No one would be able to know." The boy laughed. Kakashi had become ANBU at the age of…who knows. He was freaking young. He was a jounin at thirteen, though. Naruto felt slightly proud that he was the first ever genin to pass the ANBU exam. "When do we leave?"

Sakura opened her eyes slowly. The room was pitch black, of course, and she couldn't see anything. Her entire body was stiff. How long was she asleep? There was a strange feeling coming through the link with Itachi. From the sound of his breathing, he was asleep, but she was sure he was…afraid? What on earth could scare him? With a slight clicking of the chain, she moved toward him in the bed. Reaching out a hand, she felt the cloth of his shirt, and ran her hand along his back, for it was turned to her. Upon further awkward exploration, she found he had his knees tucked up under his chin, and his arms held protectively against his chest. He was in a fetal position.

Something he was dreaming of was frightening him beyond reason. If he was reduced to this, it must be something terrible. Unbelievably, she felt pity for him. Lying on her side behind him, and heedless of the fact that she'd just discovered her own lack of clothing, she molded her smaller body around his, and put her arm around his waist. Sakura thought of pleasant things, and sent a soothing kind of feeling through to him. He seemed to relax slightly, and she smiled. Why was she happy that he was happy? Well, she wasn't really thinking about any of the possible reasons. But the chief cause for her present state of mind was that in spite of everything, Sakura was a kind person, and she didn't want anyone to suffer.

Soon after she settled down against him, she felt Itachi stir. "Sakura…" His groggy voice said, more a statement than a question.

"Hai, Master. I'm here." She pushed herself up onto her elbow, and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Did you need something?" Maybe he was still frightened? He said nothing, but she could tell now that he was not scared anymore. That's good. Now, where had that thought come from? She chalked it up to her not liking to see anyone in pain. Then, his arms were around her, holding her to him, hands sliding over her skin, and she felt herself relaxing into his touch, wondering why, but unable to make him stop. After a long moment, he simply held her, and she could feel his heart beating strong and fierce, as her head rested on his chest. Why had she not been able to make his hands stop moving over her? The fact that it felt good didn't enter into it. If that had been all, she could have jumped up and screamed at him, or something, and taken her punishment. No. Something deeper had held her there. And it was that which frightened her beyond her wits.

"Sakura," he said, in a voice that was strangely unsure, and sounded far too much like Sasuke for her liking, "I was…frightened."

"I know. Are you all right?" She felt his arms tighten around her.

"Hai." She smiled against his chest. She was glad to know that he was human. He was vulnerable, even if only when he was asleep. Sakura moved to sit up, but his grip on her remained firm. "No. Stay." While his choice of words suited him speaking to a dog, his tone was almost desperate. Now, she was really getting nervous. There was a feeling coming across their link that seemed chaotic. If she were to put a name to it, she would say that Itachi was losing hold of his sanity. It was like he was dangling from a cliff, and his fingers were slipping, one by one, and he felt that holding onto a human body before him would save him from plummeting to the bottom of the dark chasm below.

Pushing herself slightly further up his body, she placed a hand on his cheek. "Master? Itachi? Are you sure that you're all right?" Sakura could feel his breath on her cheek. It was erratic, and she felt as if he were really on the edge of a breakdown. That would definitely not be good. He was barely sane as it was. If he went into a psychotic rage, she was the closest target. She needed to calm him down. He still hadn't answered her, so she took it as a no. "I'm going to pick you up, now, so don't freak out." Prying his arms away from her body, she slid over him and off the opposite edge of the bed. Then, she hauled him off of the bed and over her shoulder, and set off for the bathroom.

A hot bath always relaxed her, and she was sure that it would do the same for him. Water was a comforting element, unless you were in an Akatsuki trial, or one of Zabuza's water prisons. According to Tsunade, it reminded the body of the comfort it had in the womb before birth. After nearly a full minute of fumbling along the wall, she finally found the door to the bathroom. She could really use a flashlight…The bathroom was just as dark. But she remembered that the tub was approximately three meters from the door, so she walked two, and lay him on the floor, where he immediately curled up again. She went to the wall where the small table was, and found a small box of matches. Striking one, she lit all of the candles on the table.

Her next task was getting him into the bath. Just like when she had disrobed before, she had to rip his shirt off so that it wouldn't stay on the chain. His pants were easier, and once she had all of his clothes off, she picked him up again, and walked carefully the remaining few paces to the bath. Sakura stepped down onto the ledge, then into the water. Once she had him in the warmth of the tub, she sat them both down on the little ledge. His eyes stared into nothing. He was somewhere other than where he needed to be. How could he just go catatonic on her like this? This was Uchiha Itachi. Stronger than Orochimaru, and proud of it. How could he simply vacate his mind?

Taking up a washcloth, she soaked it, and then dripped water over him, speaking in low tones, asking him to look at her, focus on her. "Please. Come back. Listen to my voice, Itachi. Listen to me. You need to come back from where you are. Come back." After nearly half an hour of this, she was close to giving up and trying to find a way to break the stupid collar and or cuff, and just bolt. Then, he blinked. And then he blinked again, his eyes starting to focus. He turned his head to look at her.

"How did I get here?" He asked as he looked around, then back at her.

Sakura's mouth hung open for a moment. "You don't remember anything?" He shook his head. "I don't know what you were dreaming, but it must have been bad. You were shaken. I couldn't even get you to respond to me. It was scary." He looked away from her. Obviously, he didn't want to talk about it, and Sakura knew better than to try to force him to.

"Why am I naked?" Sakura nearly laughed as he said this.

"I couldn't very well put you in here with your clothes on, could I? I took off your clothes. Had to rip your shirt, though." She pulled the chain gently, shaking his arm. "You're sure you're okay?" He nodded. "That's good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to clean myself up." He didn't seem ready to excuse her, but at this point, she didn't really care. Sakura knew he'd seen her naked already, at least twice, so it didn't really bother her, though she knew it should. Pushing herself off of the ledge, she dove under the water, and then came up to the surface. It felt so good on her stiff muscles that she wondered again how long she'd been asleep. The washcloth she'd used was still in her hand, and she went to the opposite side of the bath for a bar of soap. After she worked lather out of it, she placed it back on its stand. Sakura washed her face, then the rest of her body, paying careful attention to her neck area, which seemed slightly raw because of the collar.

Knowing he had been watching her did not phase her, and she was far more calm than she had any right to be. Now swimming back to where he sat, she gathered the chain up, and tugged at it. "Come on." Her voice was neutral, and she tried not to seem commanding, but more like suggesting that he get out before he catch cold, like her mother used to tell her. He obeyed, and climbed out of the stone bath. She handed him a towel, and he dried himself, his eyes never leaving her as she did the same, and proceeded to dry the chain of her leash. Then she wrapped the towel around herself, and gathered the chain again. Leading him from the room, they went back to the bedroom, and Sakura opened the wardrobe.

"Now. Whatever shall I wear…?" Her weak attempt at humor seemed to escape him. Rolling her eyes, she looked over at him. "You need to wake up, Master. Are you off in dreamland again?" He did not answer her, but continued to stare at her. Ignoring him for the moment, she dropped her towel to the floor, and proceeded to dress herself. Undergarments, mesh, shirt and skirt, check. Sandals, check. Hitai-ate, check. But she was still cold. "I'm cold." She turned to him, and said, "Can I borrow a coat? This isn't exactly a warm ensemble you've given me." He nodded dumbly. What the hell was his problem? He hadn't said a word since he'd asked why he was naked. Speaking of him being naked, he still was. And he was still holding his towel, staring at her. It was slightly unnerving to have him go utterly silent all of a sudden. She pulled a coat out of his side of the wardrobe, and threw it over her shoulders. It was warm, and it felt wonderful. When she was just about to button it up, when he stepped toward her, staring more intently than he had been.

"You were there. In my dream. You kept me from the darkness…" His eyes unfocused again, and she breathed slowly, trying to calm herself. After just having gotten warm, she was not about to go back into the tub. She reached for him and took him by the shoulders, shaking him slightly, the coat falling off of her as she did.

"Snap out of it. You're not dreaming anymore. Wake up, damn it!" With one violent shake, she must have jarred him into awareness of his senses. He stared down at her, and blinked in surprise. She snatched her hands away, and backed two steps toward the bed, reaching behind her for the metal frame, just to make sure that she didn't back into it. "Gomen, Master. I…I was worried. You kept spacing out. I'm sorry." Sakura looked at the floor, and fidgeted with her leash. She couldn't feel anything from him. Not anger, agitation, nothing. The utterly terrifying lack of anything was all she had to occupy her mind, if she didn't want to think about the punishment that was likely to occur in the near future.

Sakura felt Itachi take her chin in his hand, and tilt it upward. His eyes were clear, and he seemed to be completely here, in this moment. She nearly sighed in relief. Instead, she smiled. Then, she realized something. It made her uncomfortable enough to blush. He was still very naked, and very close to her. As he leaned down, she leaned back, to do her best to back away from him. There was no more she could do, because his eyes held her. His voice came, low and smooth, mesmerizing, intoxicating, and addictive. "You took care of me." Itachi's knees came into contact with the edge of the bed, and he slid onto it. Sakura was in an extremely precarious position, to say the least. One of Itachi's knees was between hers, and he had one hand on either side of her head. He was still speaking in that hypnotic voice. "I want to thank you for that." One long and elegant finger traced her jaw line, and she wasn't sure if she liked it, or hated it.

She felt very strange. It was like when he had given her a 'treat,' but this was completely different, as well. He was touching her. Itachi's touch now moved to her neck, where it stroked the smooth skin around the collar. An almost imperceptible shiver moved through her. That hand moved to the back of her neck, and took a handful of her hair, just hard enough to be painful. Sakura felt herself being lifted; saw his eyes growing larger in her view. They were like points of flame, off in the distance. She was drawn to them, to know what they were, but at the same time, she was frightened to find out. His breath was on her face, and she began to tremble as there was the slight tickle of his lips barely brushing across hers. Hearing a whimper come from her own lips was like watching someone else. This was not her. This was not Sakura. How could it be? She was paralyzed, unable to move, and yet she wanted to. To move against him, with him, for him. Fear and surprise were shoved aside to make room for this new part of herself, and that objective bit of her merely sat back and shook its head at her.

When Itachi finally pressed his lips against hers, it was a gentle, caressing kiss, and Sakura found that she could move. Her hands traveled to his shoulders, fingertips playing over smooth skin and hard muscle until they found their way into his hair, where they dug in, and pulled him closer. Now leaning on his elbow and still holding her with his right hand, he used his left to ghost gentle touches down her neck, down her chest above her breast, and over her side, where they found a sensitive area of skin that made her gasp. Almost as if it had been planned, Itachi's lips parted in the same instant, and Sakura felt his tongue, as it played over her lips inquisitively, gently begging entrance. This set her body on fire, and all she could do was cling to him, whimpering at the feeling of his coaxing exploration of her lips and mouth.

His body settled on top of hers, a weight that was comfortable but not. Then, reason seemed to return, jump up and down and scream at her, and say, 'Sakura…what is that against your leg?' To which she thought, 'Does it really matter?' and then an instant later, 'Hell, yes it does! Get him off of you, quick!' She did. Her hands untangled from his hair, and she pushed him away, panting, and her body protesting, wanting more. Itachi blinked in confusion for a moment, then smiled impishly. Anger rose in her, and she looked away from him quickly.

"Sakura, why do you fight?" His voice, near her ear now, caressed her skin, and she had to try very hard not to turn toward him. She blamed all this on the collar and leash. It was the only explanation. That was the only way she could think of that she could quickly be becoming addicted to the way he looked at her, the way his voice nearly purred when he spoke to her. And, most of all, the way he touched her. "Why are you fighting me? You don't want to. I know you don't. I can feel it." His arms slid around her waist from where he sat behind her, and pulled her against him in spite of how she struggled.

Stopping her thrashing for a moment, she said, "I fight because I want a choice in what happens to me. I don't have a choice when it comes to you. Obedience is the first thing I think of when it comes to you. To please you, to do what you say. Why? This damned collar? I hate it. My free will is gone. It's been taken from me, just like everything else." She was whirled around to face him, and she felt his anger through the link.

"No free will? No choice? That's a lie. If you didn't have a choice, you couldn't fight me like you are." Sakura blinked at him. He was right. That could only mean one thing. It meant that she felt like she had no choice because she wanted him. What she had felt was not his emotions projected into her mind. It had been real. She wanted him, and that feeling was so frightening and alien that she began to lose control of herself. Sakura felt her body begin to shake. She wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready to feel these things. Why did she feel them at all? Unbidden, tears formed in her eyes, out of fear, and frustration with herself, and she collapsed against his chest, sobbing.

Naruto wasn't listening. "Oi, baka. Over here." Kakashi waved a hand in front of the boy's face. He laughed at the comical that sprang into those blue eyes. "As I was saying…Those armguards you have on are my own design. You and I are the only ANBU who have them. The metal is thicker, but that's to hide the hollow compartments inside. Your left one has a length of garrote wire, and the right one has a set of throwing needles. To use them, you just press the front left rivet on each, and you're set." He demonstrated, pressing said rivet on his right arm. Once the tiny compartment opened, he began drawing a series of needles from inside. Naruto grinned.

The boy somehow looked right in an ANBU uniform. How, Kakashi couldn't begin to explain. He was loud, obnoxious, and often annoying. These were not good traits for an ANBU, yet Naruto did know when to be serious. Kakashi watched him as he tested his range of movement in his armor and moved from side to side to get used to the set of two kodaichi strapped to his back. Naruto said that he didn't want a katana. He knew from experience that if ranged fighting failed, and you had to get in close, then closer was better, and the shorter range of the kodaichi could help with that.

"Pick a name for those things yet?" He gestured to Naruto's weapons. It was a tradition of sorts among the ANBU to name one's chief weapons. They were your best friends, your constant companions. It was best to know them completely. Naruto shook his head and smiled.

"They'll let me know when the time comes. So what did Pakkun have to say?"

Kakashi frowned behind his mask. They sat in his living room, and he lounged on the couch. He shook his head slightly. "You know he has the best nose of all my nin-dogs, don't you?" Naruto nodded. "He did find Sakura's scent, which he says is just like his, but slightly more feminine. It's faint, and it's mixed with another."

"Whose?" Blue eyes narrowed as Naruto folded a bandana into a triangle to tie it over his hair.

"Itachi."

Naruto frowned, then shrugged. "Not like I'm surprised. The bastard seems to be mixed up in nearly as much as Snake-boy. So, we leave at noon?" Kakashi nodded. Naruto rose, and tied his mask over his face. "I'll see you in two hours, then. East gate?" Again, the Copy-Nin nodded. After giving Kakashi a small salute, he swung out of the window, and disappeared. This mission had Kakashi worried. He wanted to talk to Jiraiya, but the man had disappeared again, and it was annoying how he did that just when he needed him. Not for the first time, he looked over at an old photograph.

His old sensei smiled broadly, giving a very annoyed Kakadshi a super-sized noogie stood next to Obito, who was laughing and pointing a finger at Kakashi. Rin had a hand over her eyes, and her head was slightly blurred, as she was shaking it from side to side. That had been a good day. "Sensei, how did you do it? You took care of me, Obito, Rin, everyone. How did you do it?" He had two hours. Two hours before he went on his first ANBU mission in years. There was only one place he wanted to be.

His mask made a scraping noise as he pulled it from the shelf it sat on. Tying the fox-faced thing over his own face, he switched off the lights and left his apartment for the Memorial Stone.

A/N: I know there wasn't that much real action in this chapter. What I'm hoping to put in the next one: Itachi and Sakura go on a little trip, encountering some random Sand-nins. Naruto and Kakashi are on the trail, and maybe a little bit of Zetsu and Kisame talking about what to do with Itachi.