Disclaimer: We just like messing with their brains.

18 Years Ago
Uchiha Compound

Six-year-old Itachi was not supposed to be snooping. His ka-chan had made it very clear that there was a difference between 'snooping,' which was what naughty children did, and 'sneaking' which was what good shinobi did.

Unfortunately, the details between what was snooping and what was sneaking had gotten a little blurred. He'd been kept so very busy lately; he'd hardly seen his ka-chan at all. His oto-chan had been taking him on rounds, giving him special training, and having him demonstrate his abilities to the clan elders. His oto-chan was very proud.

Itachi probably wasn't supposed to know that this was all in preparation for him to graduate the Academy by his next birthday, but after all, he was a genius. He really didn't see the big deal. He was advanced far beyond the other trainees. It only made sense for him to graduate. After all the rest of his class was so. Unbearably. Slow.

He was supposed to be outside, practicing his kunai throwing. His oto-chan had drilled into him that the basics were just as important as more advanced jutsu. It was the basics that would someday save his life, his oto-chan said. His oto-chan was a jounin, and the head of Konoha's police department. His oto-chan knew what he was talking about. So Itachi was willing to practice again and again until his movements became as reflexive as breathing.

But he had seen his ka-chan and his oto-chan talking in the window. It had been so long since he'd talked to his ka-chan. Itachi launched one more perfect round of kunai at the post before sneaking – not snooping – into the house.

His parents were in the kitchen. He wanted to just walk in, but oto-chan would be upset that he was not out practicing what he had mastered months ago. Instead, he hid in an alcove so he could watch. If he couldn't talk to his ka-chan, then he could at least listen, right? It wasn't snooping.

"No," his ka-chan said in that firm, calm tone she had used when explaining to him that there was more than one way to learn. He had been three. She had taken the remnants of the butterfly from his fingers and taken his hand and led him out onto a field. There had been dozens of butterflies. Ka-chan had instructed him to sit and watch. He had asked her how this would help him discover how they flew. She had asked him if tearing off their wings had taught him anything. Itachi had paid closer attention to the flying after that.

"Mikoto, you can't baby him. Itachi is a genius the likes of which will stamp the Uchiha name into history. He deserves to be given this chance."

"Itachi is a six year old boy. He deserves to be given the chance to develop into a man. More than that, he is my. son. He is not a weapon, Fugaku, he is not a tool for Uchiha glory, he is my son."

His oto-chan placed his hand on the island where his ka-chan was setting up vegetables for the night's dinner. "He's my son too, Mikoto. I'm his father. I am only concerned with what is best for him."

His ka-chan laughed, and he'd never heard a sound quite like it before. When his ka-chan laughed around him, it was light and made his heart light too. This sound was harsh; clanging like that time Matsumoto Kuto had dropped all his kunai on the pavement. "You just told me you wanted my six year old son to graduate from the Academy next year. At seven, he'd be a genin, at ten; he'd be a chunin – maybe even ANBU. And you have the audacity to tell me that you're concerned with what's best with him? Fugaku, listen to yourself."

"Itachi is a genius. He can handle the responsibility."

"Itachi is a genius. This isn't about whether or not he'd be competent. We both know he exceeds every expectation as a shinobi. This is about Itachi. It is not right to force that sort of mental and moral stress on someone who is not developmentally prepared for it. No amount of intelligence and skill can compensate for time and experience. You are not taking that away from my son."

His oto-chan sighed, "This isn't something up for discussion, Mikoto. The clan elders and I have already decided to petition the Academy for the advancement tests. I had hoped to have your support in this. But it's not necessary."

His ka-chan's voice was tight, "I don't care what you or the clan elders say. You are not robbing my son of his childhood. You are not submitting my son to the life of a shinobi before he has had a chance to develop a life of his own. My son is going to grow up whole."

"Dammit, Mikoto, he's my son too."

Something changed in his ka-san's voice. It became softer, sweeter—and something in it made Itachi's hackles rise. "You know what, Fugaku? You're right. He is your son. And if you ever want another one, you will allow Itachi to graduate at the same time as the other students in his year. He will mature and progress and learn. He will develop bonds. He will be our son, Fugaku, or I swear by all the kami and by the first blood I spilled that you will have to live with the consequences."

There was a long silence in the kitchen. His oto-chan's voice, when he spoke, was low and raspy, "Mikoto. You know I love you. But this is what is best for Itachi; this is what is best for our clan. I am the clan head only because my aniki died. I will need another son. And you are not the only way I can get it. Think before you speak, my love."

"I love you too, Fugaku. But I think you are missing my point." Itachi heard a draw open and the solid thud of something wet hitting wood. He took a moment to analyze the risk of moving from his hiding spot where he was sneaking—definitely not snooping, as this was obviously important information he would not have otherwise discovered—and decided that his parents were too involved with each other to notice a moving shadow in the safety of their own kitchen.

His eyes widened when he saw what his mother was doing. She had removed a three inch thick steak and was carving it slowly with a spoon. His oto-san's face was growing more and more pale with each small section his ka-chan siphoned off the steak with the spoon.

They were silent for a long moment, his oto-san just watching his ka-chan. Finally, when the steak was unrecognizable, his mother held the spoon up between them. "I would never kill you, Fugaku. You have my loyalty as my husband and my clan leader. But never forget who I am. And I tell you, if you do this thing, you will never be able to have children again."

Itachi focused all his attention on the deliberate way his ka-chan laid the spoon on the table, placing it precisely horizontally before his pale oto-san.

"I trust you understand," his ka-san said quietly.

His oto-san gulped. "I will…speak with the clan elders about your concerns. It is possible that we were too hasty in our excitement and…overlooked…certain key factors…about how this would affect Itachi's development."

His ka-chan executed a flawless bow. "Thank you, honored husband."

His oto-san quickly left the room.

X

Present Day
Hokage Tower

Sakura wasn't sure who was drooping more, her or Sasuke. Naruto was obviously cheating with the Kyuubi chakra, but even he was a little wilted around the edges. Sakura wished their report wasn't so urgent and they could find some food.

"What is keeping the hag?" Naruto growled from his position against the wall. Sakura cracked open an eye and glared at him.

"Probably ANBU business, or the council, or a stupid genin who did something stupid, or perhaps she was needed in an emergency operation…"

Sasuke's hand cut her off and she considered hitting him, but didn't want to move. She was too tired to waste the amount of energy required to make the hit count.

"We got the point."

Shizune's amused face peered around the corner at them. "You three look terrible."

Naruto offered her a bright smile. "We ran a lot."

Shizune rolled her eyes. "I'm sure that's not all you did. Come one, Hokage-sama is ready for you."

True to word, Tsunade was sitting at her desk and it didn't take them long to finish their report. Sasuke never really felt the need to mince words and he was worse when tired.

"So," Sasuke finished. "We think that the rumors about a Cloud and Sound alliance are plausible. Wave Country is particularly nervous about such an event and has spent a great deal of effort to discover if there is any truth."

"They haven't turned anything up," Sakura butted in. "Our informant didn't have much to say on the matter, but we were ambushed by Sound just inside the border. That could have been for a number of reasons, but it's obvious they feel confident about something."

Tsunade sighed. "If Cloud joins Sound, we're going to have a problem."

"Have we heard anything from our allies?" Sasuke asked.

"Sand hasn't heard anything and I haven't trusted any messengers to send word about what we suspect. Kakashi is still two days out and injured, so he won't be pushing to get back here as quickly as you did." Tsunade informed them. "Once he arrives we can make some decisions."

"Right." Sasuke said. "If that's all you needed us for?"

"You three are off duty for the next two days." Tsunade said firmly. "No missions. No work in the hospital. Take it easy. If Kakashi brings something different back I will need you three in fighting condition."

Sakura sighed. There went her plans for tomorrow. "Yes, Tsunade-sensei."

"Oh man," Naruto sighed.

Sasuke ignored them both and bowed. "If that is all?"

"And stay out of trouble."

Naruto looked offended. He opened his mouth and Sakura grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled.

"Let's go, Naruto."

Sasuke followed them out and shut the door behind him.

"So now what are we going to do?" Naruto whined. "Who knows when Kakashi's gonna get back? He's always late. We could be stuck here for months."

Sakura eyed him, "You can't honestly be complaining about having a couple of day's rest. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going home to take a bath. I want to get this blood off me."

Sasuke twitched. "Sakura…"

She turned and looked at him. "Hmm?"

Sasuke sighed. "Never mind. See you tomorrow."

X

Itachi swiftly moved across Konoha's rooftops. His report to Tsunade had taken longer than he had anticipated and he was looking forward to a shower and clean clothing. He grimaced behind his mask as he considered the delay in his hunt. Hokage-sama had wanted him to rest for the next forty-eight hours before following his hunch. He didn't approve, but he wouldn't defy a direct order either. Sighing, he landing in the Uchiha compound silently.

Two days of utter… He paused, lifting his mask to uncover his face as he considered the feel of the chakra in the compound. It appeared his little brother had beaten him home. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he considered what that meant. If his brother was home, so was Sasuke's team. Eyes gleaming, he moved on silent feet into the house he shared with his parents.

The smell of miso and cooked rice caught his attention as he entered the kitchen. Sasuke was sitting on a stool, hair damp from his own shower as their mother finished up preparing their meal. Leaning against the doorway, he waited for one of them to notice him before entering. A fond smile touched his mouth when it was his mother who saw him first, wooden spoon firmly in her hand as she turned, a welcoming smile on her face.

"It's about time you returned home."

"I have been busy, ka-chan," Itachi offered as he moved into the warm room.

"Yes, Hokage-sama informed me that you were off hunting again," Mikoto reached up and patted his cheek. "You need to shower, Itachi. You smell like a slaughter house."

He shrugged. "Things were a bit messy this time."

"At least wash your hands and you can have some rice balls before you clean up. I will have your meal ready soon." His mother suggested, nodding towards the sink.

"You wouldn't let me have rice balls," Sasuke growled from where he was sitting.

"You weren't considerate enough too great your poor mother before going to clean up," Mikoto returned, rapping Sasuke's knuckles with her spoon. "Besides, you ate lunch with us. Your brother just returned and I doubt he has eaten anything but soldier pills since he left."

"Not true, ka-chan," Itachi corrected her as he swallowed a rice ball. "I stopped in a nice village in Mist and had an excellent bowl of stew."

Mikoto lifted a brow. "I don't think I particularly want to know what you were doing in Mist or what you did to get that bowl of stew."

"Hmm," Itachi agreed as he finished swallowed the last of his snack. He studied the contents of the kitchen and gauged how long it would take her to finish cooking. Nodding, he turned his attention back to his ka-chan. "I shall return to eat in fifteen minutes."

"It will be ready then," Mikoto agreed. "Your oto-san is off dealing with clan issues, so it will just be you two after dinner. I'm heading out for some late shopping."

Itachi nodded his acceptance and moved towards his room to clean up.

X

Sasuke felt the pressure of his brother's attention throughout dinner. He had a bad feeling that he knew exactly what Itachi wanted to talk about. Dammit, it was all Sakura's fault.

He'd volunteered to help his mother clear the table and wash the dishes, not just because he wanted the extra time to think, and not just because he wanted to help his mother, but because he knew Itachi wouldn't dare try anything in front of Mikoto. It was a well-kept secret in the clan, but Itachi was a total mama's boy.

How the hell had Sakura managed to catch Itachi's attention?

Sasuke had brushed the incident at the food stand off as one of his brother's unceasing attempts to irritate him, had excused Itachi's deliberately random excursions (yes, he knew that they were deliberate. He may not be Itachi, but he was not stupid.) as Itachi trying to throw someone off the scent—but when his brother had stepped in front of his teammate and held her blood-stained hair in his fingers…

Sasuke had never suspected Itachi had a sex drive. He was increasingly concerned (and disturbed!) at the thought that long-suppressed hormones had come out and focused on Sakura.

When every last dish was put away, Mikoto turned to Sasuke with a smile. "Your brother told me to tell you he'd be waiting by the kunai posts."

Sasuke sighed.

His brother was where he said he would be. As Sasuke approached, he lifted a kunai and tossed it almost carelessly at the post some fifty yards in front of him. Sasuke paused to study the target, which had a small, tightly formed circle of kunai filling the center.

"'Ka-chan isn't going to be happy about replacing that post again."

"If you had hurried, I might not have gotten bored," came Itachi's calm response

Sasuke grunted. Itachi obviously had something he wanted to talk to him about. It was probably about Sakura. Sasuke'd be damned if he made it easy on him.

To fill up the time, Sasuke approached the pole and began pulling the kunai out of it. He could feel the weight of Itachi's gaze on his back and refused to crack, despite its hair-raising nature. Itachi had been hitting on his teammate. Itachi had been hitting on his teammate. He'd been hitting on Sakura.

And if he told Itachi to back off, Itachi would know he had the added pleasure of irritating Sasuke and pursuing…

And if he told Itachi Sakura said she wasn't interested, and then Itachi would know they talked about it, and that just… could not be good.

So he wasn't going to bring it up.

"Damn it, aniki!" Sasuke whirled, kunai between his knuckles on each fist. "Why Sakura?"

The corners of Itachi's mouth twitched upwards. "She interests me."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Thank you, I gathered that." He whirled back around, studding the post in a straight line of kunai loosed from his left hand. The pole split under the pressure.

Itachi made a faint tsking noise.

Sasuke shrugged, turning back to face his brother and grumble, "Whatever, you broke it first."

He crossed his arms, a brace of kunai still clasped in his right wrist. "You wanted to talk to me. So talk."

Itachi smiled, and Sasuke suppressed a shiver at the light that came into his brother's eyes. "Correction, little brother. I wanted you to talk. Tell me about Sakura."

Sasuke stared at his brother. He wasn't sure what Itachi expected him to say; much less why Itachi thought he would just start babbling his friend's life story. Except for the fact that Itachi had that expression in his eyes. The next thing Sasuke was going to see was the first stage of the Sharingan as Itachi offered to beat it out of him.

This was all Sakura's fault.

Tightening his grip on the Kunai, he desperately tried to think of some way out of this mess that wouldn't get him killed. Because Sakura was going to kill him if he did and Itachi was going to kill if he didn't.

Unless….

This was really all Sakura's fault.

"Why?"

Itachi lifted a brow as he shifted a little on the post he had rested his shoulder against.

"Why not?"

"Because she is my teammate, Itachi."

The edges of Itachi's mouth curved. "And you are a very foolish teammate."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Itachi rolled forward and picked up a Kunai of his own. "It means, my foolish little brother that you are going to tell me about Sakura."

Scowling Sasuke looked away. "If you hurt her, I'll do whatever it takes to kill you."

"Of course."

Sasuke was not amused by the smug tone in his brother's voice. "If I ever hear a hint that you continued after she said no, I'll tell ka-chan."

There was a silence and then a soft laugh. "You're finally developing some ruthlessness. I approve."

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke crossed his arms, refusing to look at his brother.

"Sakura… Sakura-chan is a girl."

Itachi was silent and then snorted. "You have two minutes little brother."

Sasuke waved a hand. "What do you expect, Aniki. She's my teammate!"

"Clearly."

Sasuke buried his hands into his hair and tugged. "What do you want? I mean, Sakura would be much better to ask questions, don't you think?"

"She should be in bed."

Sasuke snorted and then stilled. Oh shit.

Itachi moved into his line of site, his expression almost gleeful. "You know something."

'Which one terrifies you more… Sakura or your brother?' Really, in the end, there was only one choice.

"How much do you know about Yamanaka Ino?"

X

Sakura stared at Ino, highly amused. "Ino, you can't out drink me."

Ino snorted. "Yes I can."

Sakura held up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Ha! I'm not going to fall for that!"

Sakura shook her head, amused. She was feeling a little wrung out from the mission they had just returned from, but the nap earlier that afternoon had helped and the hot, steaming shower even more. By the time Ino had showed up to demand she join her for drinks, she had felt a little more human.

It was just the distraction from that crazy Uchiha she had needed. Not that she was admitting that he was… distracting (or that she was still faintly distracted by the way his eyes had smoldered) but she was happy to be out.

"Ino, where is Shika?"

"Getting more drinks."

It appeared it was going to be one of those nights.

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned and found herself facing Kiba, Kiba who was dressed all in black and smiling at her in a way that was more fang than teeth. That Kiba. "Kiba!"

"You look a little flushed Sakura."

She snorted. "I've been drinking with Ino since," she lifted her wrist and studied her watch. "Hmmm since at least an hour ago."

"Just an hour?"

Sticking out her tongue, she pointed a finger at him. "What are you doing here? I thought you were out on a mission!"

Kiba rested his hip against her table and smiled at her. "I just got back."

"So you came here?"

"Man's gotta eat."

Sakura blinked a few times. She had never actually come to this particular establishment to eat. Tilting her head, she considered what they were likely to cook and grimaced. She bet Naruto ate here too.

"That's lovely," Ino said, butting in. She was eyeing Kiba curiously. "When did you get a brother?"

"Perhaps we have been drinking for more than an hour," Sakura muttered.

Kiba laughed. "She's pretty gone, huh?" He let his eyes roam over Ino's disheveled figure. "She's not so uptight smashed."

Ino hiccupped, and bounced with the motion. Kiba's eyes followed her bouncing.

Sakura punched him in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"She's drunk," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "Knock it off, before I knock off your head."

"It's not my fault she's falling out of her—OW!"

Sakura withdrew her hand, "Leave my friend alone, Kiba."

Kiba rubbed his arm, "You're mean when you're drunk, Sakura-chaaan."

Sakura grinned up at him. "No. I'm just mean."

Kiba laughed and Sakura grinned.

And someone unleashed the hold they had on their chakra. He must have been there for a while, not even Itachi was that fast. Sakura refused to turn and look for him.

Sasuke had better have given him her message. She ignored the sudden chakra flare and eyed her half finished drink, wondering if she could talk Kiba into buying her another one. If she left to retrieve the new drink herself, then she was pretty sure her seat would be taken when she got back. A drunk Ino was a particularly good male attention getter. Where was Shikamaru?

"Kiba do you think –" she paused. Kiba's eyes were a little wider than normal and his jaw was slack. Taking another deep breath, she froze at the sudden brush of chakra and the subsequent heat along her spine.

Her eyes stayed firmly on Kiba, she would not give him the satisfaction of jerking and she would not turn to look at him and were his fingers in her hair?

"Inuzuka."

"Uchiha-san," Kiba managed. "Um, well… I guess I'll be seeing you, Sakura."

Her left brow twitched and she narrowed her eyes. Kiba was determinedly not looking at her face and he gave Ino a slightly flirtatious smile, clearly looking to distract himself from the shinobi behind her. Ino was ignoring him, starring with wide eyes at the man who was almost pressed against her shoulder.

She was going to kill Sasuke.

"Sakuuuura," Ino drawled. "Who is that man in your hair?"

Sakura had never wanted to see Shikamaru more in her life. He probably knew it too. That was why he wasn't showing up. She had to admit, the situation looked troublesome to her too.

So the question was: did she leave her obviously judgment-impaired friend alone in the bar and take care of the problem which had so unexpectedly entangled itself with her?

Itachi's fingers tightened in her hair.

She sent a smile absolutely dripping with sugar Kiba's way. "Kiba? Uchiha-san and I are going to step outside for a minute. I am going to leave Ino in your care. If I hear absolutely anything happens to her that I would have prevented, if she even gets upset, then I am going to neuter you."

Kiba paled.

Itachi's grip tightened to a painful extent. Sakura gave serious consideration to the knife on the table. She'd always wondered what she'd look like with short hair.

Instead she reached around and placed her hand lightly on Itachi's wrist, sending a shock of chakra into a specific pressure point that caused him to loosen his grip enough so that she could push away from the table and stand, pulling away from his grasp.

She turned around to face Itachi, that same sweet smile curving her lips. Sasuke and Naruto would be running by now. The slightly feral look in Itachi's eyes just widened. Sakura ignored the shiver that ran through her at the sight. She wasn't as bad off as Ino, but she was pretty drunk.

"Shall we, Uchiha-san?" With that she turned and walked out of the bar.

It took a little more work than she had expected to walk to the front door, but at least if she had had enough to weave a little, then Ino had had enough that it was possible she wouldn't remember a thing about this tomorrow. How unlikely. Ino probably had a separate piece of brain dedicated to remember the embarrassing things that happened to her friends.

Outside was dark and the streets were mostly empty, so Sakura steered them over to the little alcove between the front door and the alley. She was drunk, not stupid, and there was no way she was going into a dark alley with Uchiha Itachi. Turning around, she was startled by how close he was. Close enough that she could clearly make out his features even in the dark.

He opened his mouth but there was no way in hell she was giving him the open volley. Jabbing a finger into his chest, she glared at him.

"What the hell was that?"

"You were flirting with Inuzuka."

Sakura felt a headache forming behind her left eye. Shoving her finger a little firmer into his chest, she hissed at him.

"That was not flirting! Besides, we've scarcely exchanged ten sentences! What makes you think you can just come up behind me when I'm talking to my friends and put your hands on me like you own me!"

His fingers curled around the digit shoved into his chest, calloused fingers stroking over her knuckles. "Ah, Sakura, I think that should be obvious."

She refused to be intimidated by the way he was watching her. That faint curve on his mouth and the unnervingly feral look in his eyes; she refused to believe the butterflies in her stomach were from anything other than adrenaline. Growling at him, she tried to get her fingers back.

"I think what is obvious is that you're nuts."

He smiled, the edges of his mouth curving into something vaguely wild. "Hmmm."

Jerking her hand again, she glared at him. "Let me go."

"I have decided to learn you, Haruno Sakura."

Sakura froze. His voice had been soft, but there was a faint, sharp edge to those words that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. The expression in his eyes was almost lazy now.

"What?"

His free hand tangled in the hair behind her ear but she was too startled and too drunk to do more than gawk at him. That seemed to amuse him and he leaned against the wall, his hands pulling her close enough that she could feel the heat of him against her arms and legs.

"I didn't think you were hard of hearing," Itachi pulled her closer. He leaned forward so that his long hair brushed against her face and neck as he placed his lips directly by her ear. "I said, I have decided to learn you, Haruno Sakura."

Despite herself, Sakura shivered. She'd be lying if she didn't admit, then and there, that Uchiha Itachi was a very attractive man. A very dangerous man. And some part of her fluttered at having caught his attention.

She leaned forward just enough to place her lips by his ear, "And I told you. Let. Me. Go."

Sakura was close enough that she could feel Itachi tense. And then he laughed, a warm, deep chuckle that really should not have set butterflies off in her stomach like it did.

"I think," Itachi murmured, "that I am going to enjoy learning you very much. And Sakura… I have always excelled in whatever area I chose to study."

He dropped his head abruptly and planted a hot kiss at the base of her throat. Tracing his nose up the side of her neck, he returned his mouth to her ear. "I am not finished with you."

And before the puff of his warm breath had finished cascading down her throat, she was alone. Sakura stared at the wall blankly for several seconds before she had to strain to keep from reaching up and touching the warm place on her neck his mouth had been.

Itachi had just kissed her neck.

Apparently Sasuke hadn't gotten her point across. Or Itachi had taken it as a challenge. Either way, she needed to go back into the bar because there was a chance he was watching her to see what her reaction was and she was not ever going let him have the satisfaction.

He had not gotten to her. Turning on her heel, she moved quickly back into the bar.

Kiba was right where she had left him, joined by the wayward Shikamaru. Ino was listing heavily to one side, but her eyes lit up with a fairly evil sort of gleam when she caught sight of Sakura moving back towards them.

She should have just let Ino become Shikamaru's problem. Still, if Itachi was watching, and Sasuke seemed to be under the impression that he did watch after screwing with people's heads, she needed to be in here. Not out there. And maybe she could beat out some advice from Shikamaru on how to deal with the Uchiha. They were somewhat friends, and at the very least the competed against each other playing Shogi. So he had to know something about how Itachi's mind worked.

"Haruno Sakura! You went outside and made out with Uchiha Itachi?"

It was going to be a very long night.

We are just overwhelmed with the positive response to this story. Thank you all so much! We're so glad you're enjoying it. And now that things are starting to heat up between our two...well, we hope you'll enjoy that too.