Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"Hello, Itachi. It's nice to see you again," Sakura said warily.

"Yes, you too, but I wasn't done talking to you," Itachi said.

"OK?"

"I need a favor from you," he said in his deep, monotone voice.

"Depends on what you want in return," Sakura said, crossing her arms.

"Hn, you're a clever girl, aren't you? But what I want won't cost you anything but some of your time," Itachi said.

"You mean... if I do you a favor, in return, all you want is to talk to me?" Sakura questioned, raising a pink eyebrow.

"Yes."

"OK, sounds easy enough, now what is the favor?"

"I need you to keep a secret," he said, walking forward to the pink haired girl.

Sakura's guard went up as she asked, "OK? What is it?"

He stopped, putting an arms length between them, and continued, "I was forced to kill my clan."

Sakura looked at him curiously with disbelief.

'Forced? How is someone forced to kill their whole entire clan in one night?' Sakura thought.

Although the medic didn't say anything, Itachi continued. "The leaders of Konoha suspected that a Uchiha was behind the attack of the nine tailed beast because of our Sharingan. In order to observe us, we were relocated to a corner of the village. Once there, arguments and fights broke out within the clan, so some clan leaders planned to overthrow the elders of the village. I was assigned the task of spying on Konoha from within the ANBU. I did not want war to rage between the clan and the village, so I became a, I guess you could say, double agent. I supplied the Konoha elders and leaders with all of the information and rumors running through the clan. I knew that if the Uchiha clan attacked our village, the war would weaken Konoha. The village's state of weakness would tempt other villages to invade. The violence would escalate until everyone was killed. I couldn't let my family die because of our clan leaders' foolish actions and thoughts," Itachi stopped and took a deep breath, "I apologize. It's just that this is a difficult story for me to tell. It brings back so many memories."

Sakura felt sympathy for the older Uchiha. She went up to him robotically and gently wrapped her arms around him, trying to mend the broken heart that won't ever heal. Itachi didn't move at first, too stunned to even think, but then accepted her embrace.

"I'm sorry you had to carry such a big burden on your shoulders. No one should have to go through what you went through," Sakura consoled him softly, "You don't need to finish your story."

Itachi gave a sigh and said, "I know, but I need to tell someone. I've been keeping it a secret for too long."

"Then tell me another time. How about tomorrow?" She suggested, the both of them separating.

"Thank you, Sakura. Maybe little brother isn't so foolish anymore. I mean, he's a smart person to choose you," he said, smirking at her.

Sakura blushed and mumbled a thank you. Behind her, she heard the rustle of leaves.

"I'll see you tomorrow night at your house," was all Itachi said before poofing away again.

"Sakura?" A male voice asked from behind.

She turned around and said, "Oh, Sasuke! I was just, um, taking a walk."

"OK? Why are you acting so jumpy?" He asked, walking up to her.

"Oh, no reason. I'm just... hungry," she said.

'Nice excuse,' Inner Sakura said. Sakura couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

He looked at her with a curious face, but let the subject drop. "Let's go eat then. How does barbeque sound?" Sasuke said, locking hands with his girlfriend.

"That sounds great," she replied as they made their way to the restaurant for dinner. She mentally let out a sigh of relief that he didn't find out about her encounter with his older brother.

The couple walked into the barbeque restaurant and found Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Kakashi-sensei sitting at a booth, their order of food had just arrived. Kiba saw them first and waved them over, "Hey, over here, guys!"

After much protest from Sasuke, and much begging from Sakura, they finally walked over to join their friends.

'Hm, he's still as antisocial as always,' Sakura thought while taking a seat next to Shikamaru while Sasuke sat next to Kakashi, facing her.

'Yeah, but we still love him anyway!' Inner proclaimed.

"So, Sasuke, how has no more probation been?" Choji asked.

"The same except I have harder missions," Sasuke replied.

Sasuke's probation from when he returned to Konoha ended early, cut down to half a year because of his good behavior, and it was over entirely a while ago. Tsunade let him go on higher class missions, and Sakura didn't have to watch over him anymore.

After placing another order of food, Sakura asked, "So, what's new with you guys?"

"I forgot that Naruto and I were training today, so he flipped out on me," Kakashi-sensei said while reading his novel, "Although, that isn't really new."

Sakura gave an amused laugh as she turned to Choji. "How have you been?"

"Good. I just came back from a mission, actually," he said while eating his meal.

"That's good," Sakura said, giving him a smile. "Shikamaru?"

"Everything's been fine except that Ino's been acting really troublesome lately," Shikamaru said.

"You mean even more troublesome than usual?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah." Shikamaru and Ino started going out after Sasuke came back. Shikamaru's the only one who cares enough to put up with her diva moments. Even so, Ino has been Sakura's best friend and rival since their academy years.

Sakura gave him a sympathetic smile and turned to Kiba. "You?"

"Nothing much. Shino, Hinata, and I are training tomorrow morning if that counts as something," he said, putting a slice of meat in his mouth.

"Yeah, I talked to Hinata a few hours ago, actually," the rosette said, taking a sip of the water she ordered.

"You know, I noticed that she's not as shy as she used to be since you and the other girls have been spending time with her," Kiba said, "I guess I should thank you for that."

"No need to thank me, and yeah, she's improving. But you know what will give her a big motivational boost?" Sakura asked them as Sasuke's and her order arrived.

"No, what?"

"Getting her and Naruto together," she said and watched as four surprised faces and one with an arched eyebrow stared back at her.

"Shy and sweet Hinata with the hyperactive knucklehead Naruto? Are you sure you did your math right?" Shikamaru asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Yes, I'm positive. Please, will you guys help me? Please?" Sakura begged, putting her hands together and giving them puppy dog eyes while batting her eyelashes. Who could resist?

"OK," Choji agreed while continuing to eat his grilled meat.

"Sure, for Hinata!" Kiba said while giving Sakura a high five.

"Naruto could use a girlfriend. Especially someone as calm and down to earth as Hinata...," Kakashi-sensei thought out loud, "Count me in!"

"How troublesome, but sure," Shikamaru said, giving a sigh.

"Yay, thanks, Shika!" Sakura cheered, giving him a hug.

Everyone then faced Sasuke, waiting for his answer.

"Do I have a choice?"

"No."

"Hn." Translated, this means sure.

"Great! You guys are amazing," Sakura said, "OK, we'll have to come up with a plan tomorrow. How does lunch at Sasuke's house sound?"

"Why my house?" Sasuke asked, surprised and irked at the same time.

"Because out of all of us, you're the only one who can even boil water. Also, because I haven't had your food in a long time and I need more of it," the pink haired girl said.

"Hn."

"Good, it's settled then. Can you guys make it?"

"Yeah, our training usually ends at around lunch time anyway," Kiba explained.

The other guys nodded a yes. After everyone finished eating, they left together and then split up as they made their ways home. Sasuke was escorting Sakura to her house again. The night air was refreshingly warm as the stars twinkled beautifully overhead. The couple said their good byes and Sakura watched him until he disappeared down the street. She then went into her own house and laid her excited and happy body down for sleep. Before falling into a deep slumber, Sakura looked out the window and saw the intense, red eyes again.

Thanks for reading :)

Also, credit goes to this site: .com/wiki/Uchiha_Clan_Massacre for helping me with information about the Uchiha Massacre.

E person :)

7-29-11