Chapter 8 – Long Time No See

Itachi silently went through several seals, his hands moving way too fast for her to keep up with them, before the door was sliding open, scraping against the ground as it slowly moved. The sound grated at her ears, making her tense and shudder and she had to refrain from lifting her hands to her ears. The others seemed to feel her pain though, as Naruto cringed and pressed one of his ears into Sasuke's shoulder, his free hand quickly slapping over his other ear. Temari winced, as did Kankuro. The only ones who didn't show an outward reaction (not that it really surprised her) were Gaara and Itachi.

Suddenly, however, the latter tensed, his sharingan glaring at the archway.

Despite this, it was Naruto who spoke as he sniffed the air, "Somebody is here."

"Three of them. All vampires," Gaara muttered, causing Sakura to glance up at him in surprise. She couldn't sense anyone. Realising that he may possibly need both of his hands free, Sakura let go of Gaara and stepped behind him at his silent order. "One female, two males. One is familiar, but I cannot think of who it could possibly be. Do you recognise them, Uchiha?"

"They're masking their scent, but I do recognise one of them," Itachi stated as he stepped forward. The moment he did, however, she shot forward, swerving through their line so that she was behind Itachi. If he needed to fight, she wanted to help. She wanted to be by his side. "Sakura–"

"Let me." There was a silent beg in her voice. "It's going to drive me crazy being all the way back there if something happens."

It really was. Just going through the traps had almost driven her insane.

He nodded once. "Stay behind me."

At his order, Sakura took a step back so that he would have space and shuffled behind him.

It was warm as they entered the hideout – nothing like the entrance and the hallway filled with traps. The room was a comfortable size, perhaps the same size as the living room in her parents' home and it strangely gave her a homely feeling. It was comforting, in a way. There were no windows at all, but due to the fact that they were underground, it wasn't too surprising.

Mikoto's work was obvious in the room as she had obviously done her best to make the hideout more cosy. The wooden flooring beneath their feet creaked as they stepped further into the room and they all knew that that was partly the reason why Mikoto had put it down. Not only was it more pleasant to look at than hard, cold stone, but it also warned them if somebody managed to enter the hideout undetected. The only thing that had Sakura feeling confused was the fact that there was a fireplace. Wouldn't that give away their positions? Wouldn't the smoke go straight up the chimney and alert others? It was nice to see one, though.

In front of the fireplace was a thick, shaggy rug that looked like heaven for her feet. It matched the walls in colour, both the exact shade as the sharingan, she couldn't help but notice and she wondered if it was done purposefully, to signify that the hideout belonged to the Uchiha clan. Sakura inwardly nodded as her eyes moved along the walls, taking in the Uchiha emblem she had seen on the back of Sasuke's shirts as well as on Mikoto's necklace. The fan was like a border around the room and using a black background throughout the border, Mikoto had stopped the red of the emblem from blending in or clashing with the crimson of the walls. There were also several doors around the room, all leading to places she did not know.

The hideout was rustic, traditional. Opposite the fireplace was a black sofa and on each of its sides, was another (three altogether). They created a square formation around the rug if she included the fireplace.

It was as her eyes fell on the sofas, however, that she realised they were definitely not alone in the room.

Reclined casually with his knees spread apart and reading an orange book, she found a silver-grey haired man whose appearance was ruggedly handsome, like he'd only just stumbled out of bed, his hair falling over his left eye, from what she could see of his profile. And while Sakura knew that all vampires were attractive in their own way (yes, including Naruto), she was surprised to find herself describing him as strangely sexy in her mind. Had she seriously just thought that that weird bookworm was sexy? Half of his face was covered by some kind of mask, so how could she even label him as that?

Maybe it was just a vampire thing? She couldn't help but wonder. After all, she'd yet to meet an unattractive vampire.

"Oh," Naruto exclaimed, grinning wildly. "It's just Kakashi–sensei. I thought I recognised that old book smell."

The man, now known as Kakashi, glanced up from his book and gave a wave, his one visible eye creasing. "Yo."

Itachi didn't lower his guard for a moment, but he did relax slightly, she noticed. "Who else is with you, Kakashi–san?"

Kakashi sighed and closed his book as he stood up, soon pocketing it. Now that he was turned in their direction completely, Sakura noticed how there was a piece of material over his left eye and under his hair that veiled it. Why? Had he lost his eye in an accident, perhaps? He was also tall and lean. In a way, he was built like Itachi – obviously for speed rather than strength.

"It's been a while since I last saw you all." He smiled, but tilted his head to the side curiously as he noticed her. "I know that I've never seen you before."

She knew that, had she still been human, Sakura would have blushed. Instead she settled on smiling sheepishly. "My name's Sakura."

"It suits you," he told her before turning to face Itachi. "Your question," Kakashi sighed and scratched his masked cheek. "It's difficult to explain."

"Where are they?" Itachi's voice was firmer as the others began to step into the room and Sakura didn't fail to notice how Kakashi's eye widened at the sight of Sasuke as he was lowered onto the sofa by Naruto.

"What happened to Sasuke?" he demanded, his single eye filled with disbelief. It was as though he couldn't believe somebody had managed to harm the younger Uchiha in such a way.

"Do not avoid my question, Kakashi–san. You are trespassing on Uchiha property. Had it been my father who stumbled upon you–"

"If this is Uchiha property, which I know it is, then he's not trespassing."

The new voice had Sakura tensing, had her shifting closer to Itachi and grabbing his arm. There was something dark about his voice and it sent shivers up her spine. Something flashed in Kakashi's eye the moment she reached out for Itachi, but her eyes weren't on him. They were on the two new additions to the room.

Like Gaara had sensed, one was female while the other was male. It was obviously the male who had spoken and the sight of him had her breath leaving her. Unlike other males she had seen, he was badly scarred all down his right side but still attractive and, like Kakashi, he had a piece of material covering his left eye. His other, was a sharingan.

He was an Uchiha, but apparently, he was not one that anyone other than Itachi recognised, as they all tensed, some more visibly than others.

"Obito–san." Itachi's voice was blank and emotionless, but on the inside, Sakura could feel his shock. Gods, he was good at masking his true emotions. "You are supposed to be dead."

Surprisingly, Obito grinned at him. The expression seemed so weird because of how gravelly and dark his voice sounded. "I got lucky, I guess." However, his grin faded. "Sort of. I don't know what happened. One moment I'm being crushed by boulders then the next, I wake up and I'm in this room with some old geezer who's claiming to be none other than Uchiha Madara." Itachi's eyes widened a fraction. "I know, right? I didn't believe him for a second because this guy, well, he was old and could barely even move and… and he stunk like you wouldn't even believe!"

"Obito." Kakashi rolled his eye. "Get on with the story."

"Shut up, Kakashi," he snapped and right in that split second, Sakura was reminded so much of Naruto. "Anyway," Obito continued once he calmed down with the help of his female companion. "He started telling me that he was healing my wounds and that together we were going to change the world or some shit like that. I couldn't move for a while, so I had no choice but to listen to his crazy stories and allow him to heal me. It was around seven years later when he told me I was now 'grown enough' and suddenly slamming this needle into me. I thought the geezer was nuts, just stabbing me like that, but the pain was too much and I couldn't focus on anything else and I eventually passed out. When I woke up again, Madara was sat in this giant chair thing, watching me. It was pretty awkward. And then he told me that Rin and Kakashi were in trouble, that they had been made to join another war and fight."

A look of pain flashed across Obito's features as he glanced at the female by his side. She was beautiful, what with her short, chestnut brown hair and her warm chocolate coloured eyes. There were strange purple markings on her cheeks, but Sakura didn't think they lessened her beauty. In fact, it sort of reminded her of Kankuro's face paint.

"I made it just in time to save Rin," Obito told them all and Sakura noticed out of the corner of her eye how Kakashi lowered his gaze to the floor. "I swear, if I wasn't so in love with her, I would've killed her myself instead of saving her. But… I couldn't. It was like my body moved by itself as I caught her. Her human scent to me had been intoxicating." Itachi was suddenly listening much more intensely, she noticed, completely stunned by his reaction to the words. "I didn't even need to look at her to feel this… this warmth." His single eye was filled with pain again as he looked at her. "That warmth turned into anger, though, when she tried to end her own life to save Kakashi's."

It was obvious that neither he nor Kakashi had completely forgiven her for such a thing, although Sakura thought that it was extremely courageous of her to do something like that.

"I changed her, but at the same time, I didn't. I wasn't in control of my actions. It had been her muttering my name that made my body move by itself, made me end her life by giving her a new one." His eye slipped over to Kakashi. "I kind of enjoyed turning him, though. I never made him scream in pain before and after stabbing Rin, even if she did throw herself onto the blade, I thought that he deserved it."

Okay, so Sakura could now understand why neither man could forgive Rin. Hell, she wouldn't have been able to forgive her either. To watch their friend give their life for them was one thing, but ending their own life with their blade?

"I told them to stay hidden for a while, just until I returned. When I went back to Madara, I realised that he had planned on me seeing it all, but hadn't expected for me to be so fast that I could stop her death. He underestimated my feelings for Rin. So I played along for a while, listening to his crazy stories, allowing him to show me genjutsu. It makes me feel sick admitting it, but I know that if Rin had died, I would have agreed with his plans of casting an eternal genjutsu over the entire planet. However, once he entrusted everything to me and killed himself, believing that I would revive him when the time was right, because he wanted to be in his prime again or something, I left and never looked back."

The others seemed wary to believe his story.

"How long ago was that?" Sakura asked softly and her hold on Itachi's hand tightened ever so slightly when Obito's single, red eye flashed over to hers.

There was something in his eye as he looked at her, as he took in her features but before she could ask him why he was looking at her in such a way, he glanced at the female by his side. "You have the same look in your eyes," he murmured and then looked back up with a smile, like he hadn't said anything creepy at all. "I would say it was about… a hundred years ago now. Maybe longer. We don't really keep track of time."

Her lips parted and her eyes widened. One hundred years ago? That… That was crazy.

"Why have you never sought us out?" Itachi asked.

Obito shrugged. "You were gone long before my time, so I had no idea who you truly were or how to find you. Of course I heard things about our clan, but not enough to make me want to find you guys or reveal myself to you. You see, there was a difference between our clans, Itachi. The clan you were a member of whilst alive was united. You all stuck together. In my clan, I was an outcast. In their eyes, I was too kindhearted and weak, meaning I was not cut out to be a warrior like the others. That was when I met my team, Rin and Kakashi. We studied under your father, Naruto." The blond's eyes widened, as did many others'. "He was a great sensei and would have been an even better father, had he been given the chance. When we learned of his death as well as your mother's, we contacted Jiraiya–sama, but we couldn't stick around as that was when we were sent into the field, just before I died. Well, supposedly died. I believe that was also when you turned up with your clan, Itachi." His eye saddened for a moment. "I deeply regret that you have to be a part of this life, Naruto, because we were not capable of protecting you. Your father would not have wanted this for you."

"What about my mother?" Naruto asked hesitantly after a moment. "Did you meet her?"

Rin smiled brightly and nodded. "Of course we met Kushina–san. She was beautiful, Naruto–kun and they would both be so proud of you."

It seemed to make him happy as he smiled down at the ground before looking back up. "Were they happy?"

"One of the happiest couples I've ever met," Rin told him honestly, but her smile turned into a frown as she glanced over at Kakashi. "I can't believe you didn't tell him that his father was your sensei." Kakashi didn't answer and Sakura wondered if he was as mysterious as that mask of his. Turning back to the group, she sighed. "Obito and I tried tracking the man who assassinated Minato–sensei and Kushina–san once we were all somewhat used to this life, but we followed a false lead and ended up on the other side of the planet. It was around that time when Kakashi joined us once again after being your sensei for a couple of years and not long after, we were informed that you had been changed, Naruto–kun. That the man had returned and attempted to kill you."

He nodded. "Yeah, if it wasn't for Ero–Sennin, then I would be dead."

Laughter burst out of Obito. "Ero–Sennin? That's perfect for Jiraiya–sama."

"I know, right?" Naruto exclaimed. "He gets mad whenever I call him it, though. He says it 'puts off the ladies'."

Itachi ignored their childish talk as he watched Obito for a moment. "If you dislike our clan, why are you staying in one of our hideouts, knowing that there is a risk of us meeting?"

"Like I said, our clans are – were – different. I know that despite hardly knowing you, I can somewhat trust you or Shisui." There was silence for a moment and during that silence, the air grew thicker and deadlier, making Sakura feel as though she was suffocating. "We were attacked, which is our reason why we are hiding out here."

That suffocating weight eased somewhat as she found herself distracted by Naruto, whose attention had wandered to Sasuke. Narrowing her gaze on him suspiciously, she watched as he suddenly started snickering to himself and she knew – oh she just knew – that he was plotting something that would undoubtedly piss the Uchiha off. Then, Naruto started grinning and stood up, seemingly not noticing their wary eyes as he looked around the room, soon darting to the cabinets and his grin widened as he apparently found what he'd been looking for.

Keeping an eye on the blond out of the corner of his eyes, Itachi asked, "Your enemy?"

"Somebody who wanted my sharingan – both of them. But not nearly as much as he wants Shisui's or yours."

Attention diverted from the idiot, Sakura frowned in confusion and noticing it, Rin smiled. "Obito gave his left eye to Kakashi after he awakened the sharingan and Kakashi lost his eye during battle. At the time, Obito had believed that he was dying, so as a parting gift, he left Kakashi with something that shouldn't even be possible for humans to possess."

"That's quite a gift," Sakura commented in awe, looking between Obito and Kakashi. "But I thought only an Uchiha can possess the sharingan?"

"Oh I've done so much research," Rin told her enthusiastically. "Since Obito gave Kakashi the sharingan whilst it was still activated, it somehow stayed that way. However, it's a continuous drain on his chakra, which is why Kakashi keeps his left eye covered."

And Obito kept his covered because he didn't even have an eye, she realised.

Just as she was about to say something, though, snickering caught her ears once more and her eyes narrowed, turning to face Naruto. What she saw had her eyes widening and her mouth falling open in shock before it slammed shut.

"Naruto," she growled, stomping forward and yanking him away from Sasuke by the back of his shirt, ignoring his startled squawk as she threw him to the ground. "Leave Sasuke alone."

Despite the warning, she couldn't help but giggle at the sight of Sasuke's face. Naruto had drawn whiskers on the Uchiha's face (just like his), then wrote 'bastard' on his forehead, pushing his bangs back so that they could all see it.

"He's going to kill you for that," Kakashi muttered with a shake of his head.

"What's he going to do without his arm?" Naruto snickered. "He won't be able to catch me."

"He lost his arm, Naruto, not his legs," Sakura hissed at him, angered that he was trying to make a joke out of Sasuke's act of bravery. "And if it wasn't for Sasuke, we both would have died."

"What?" Kakashi sounded utterly shocked. "Who targeted him?"

Sighing dejectedly, Naruto apologised to an angry Sakura (the sight making Obito and Kankuro smirk with amusement) while Itachi spoke, telling them, "Hunters. Not only did they target Sasuke, but our entire clan as well as the Sabaku clan and Naruto." The news stunned Obito, Rin and Kakashi, as the three stared at them all with wide, disbelieving eyes, but Sakura had quickly learned that it wasn't every day that hunters acted so recklessly by taking on such powerful clans. "Sakura was unable to battle due to exhaustion from an earlier battle and I gave Sasuke the task of protecting her, since she was in that state because of him." Unlike earlier, there was no anger within Itachi, making her inwardly sigh with relief as she made her way back over to him. "He took an attack meant to end both his and Sakura's lives to protect her. However, Sakura removed his arm before the fire could spread and envelope him."

"Sasuke did that?" Obito asked with a wide eye. "I mean, I've heard stories about you all and apparently–"

"You should not believe everything you hear, Obito–san." There was a serious, cold warning tone to Itachi's voice, one that had them all tensing. Before the conversation could go any further, he changed the subject. "Who was targeting your sharingan?"

"Orochimaru."

The earlier tension was nothing compared to the new one.

"When was this?" Gaara asked as he pushed away from the wall and stepped forward. His gourd was resting against the same wall and since the room wasn't too large and he didn't walk too far from it, he left it there. "Recently?"

Kakashi nodded once, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Yes. I'd say about two weeks ago. We managed to get him off our trail so you don't need to worry about him turning up here."

Shaking his head with a sigh, Itachi gave the three a blank look. "I am not worried about Orochimaru appearing. However, you are all foolish to believe that you have managed to lose him. If anything, Orochimaru will be staying away until his next best opportunity arises. Now that there will be seven who possess the sharingan here, I doubt that he will attack again. He will wait for us to split up."

"He will wait for you to be away from Sasuke, you mean," Kakashi stated.

Itachi showed no outward reaction. Inside, however, Sakura could feel his surprise. "Indeed. If he is given the chance, I believe Orochimaru will attack Sasuke again, but unlike the last time, Sasuke will be prepared and it won't be as easy."

There was a feral grin on Naruto's face as the blond flopped down beside the unconscious Uchiha. "You hear that, Sasuke?" he teased, nudging Sasuke in the side. "He's actually complimenting you and you're not even conscious to hear it and hold it against him."

He was ignored by Itachi, who continued to watch Kakashi silently, blankly. It was beginning to unnerve Sakura, if she was being completely honest. "My father will be arriving tonight with my mother and Shisui. Tell him what happened and he will decide if you can continue to stay here."

While she knew it was his decision because he was head of their clan, Sakura's eyes widened as she stared up at Itachi in shock. Would he seriously kick them out to face Orochimaru alone? From what she had learned, he was an immortal, powerful witch. Sending the three of them on their way would be like sending them to their deaths. How could he do that?

"They are not as weak as you believe, Sakura." Itachi didn't even glance at her as he spoke. "You are still new to this life and you have not been given the chance to hear of or meet others of our kind, so you have not heard of these three or the powers they possess." But hadn't they only heard of Kakashi? From the conversation, she'd been certain that Obito and Rin were listed as dead. "There is a reason why they have survived this long – remember that."

But then, those curious thoughts disappeared as she rounded on him, mouth dropping open in shock. Fortunately for her, even the others seemed stunned.

"Itachi… Did you just hear my thoughts?" she all but shrieked, feeling horrified.

Obito blinked in surprise a couple of times, exchanging a look with Rin before he spoke up. "How strong is your bond?"

"That is none of your concern."

"Fine." Obito shrugged, looking strangely like he was sulking. "I was just going to tell you that my bond with Rin is just as strong. Like between you both just now, there are times when we can read each other's thoughts. Although-" his face scrunched up for a moment like he was thinking hard, "-that's only when things are serious, or when our emotions are extremely powerful, or when we're stressed or–"

"We get it." Temari sighed with annoyance. "Damn it. One Naruto is enough."

Kakashi smirked.

"Whatever." The scarred Uchiha rolled his eye. "Look, don't be confused or anything about the bond and don't try to deny it, either. By around the second or third month of changing Rin, because we spent all our time together, our bond continued to grow stronger. It's natural! Well, sort of." He scratched the side of his head sheepishly. "It's kind of strange having to tell you these things. The bond is hard to explain, after all."

Indeed it was, but Sakura was floored as she felt that Itachi had no intention of speaking about such things to anyone other than her. And hearing his thoughts, she realised he was right. To do so would feel like an invasion of their privacy. "Which rooms are already taken?"

Once it was sorted out who would take which rooms, they all went into their own rooms. Unlike the home she had been staying at for the past couple of months, the hideout was small and didn't have as many bedrooms. While she previously would have been in awe at the sight of a five bedroom hideout (or home), she'd worried endlessly considering there were thirteen of them. However, they'd quickly sorted the issue without any input from her.

Shisui, Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi would be sharing one room (Sakura wished Kakashi the best of luck because sometimes, Shisui could be just as bad as Naruto and it was more often than not that a fight would break out between Naruto and Sasuke), the Sabaku clan would be sharing another. Then, there were the couples. Even though she and Itachi weren't together that way, they still wanted their privacy, so leapt at the chance of having their own room.

The best part about the bedrooms? They were soundproof – the whole freaking place was, since it was a hideout. Sakura was so very glad for that. Not because she expected anything to happen between them, because she honestly didn't know if she would be ready for something like that. No, it was because something may happen between Rin and Obito, or Mikoto and Fugaku. Oh, Gods just the thought made her uncomfortable. It was why Kakashi was sharing a room with the others instead of his own clan.

All of the rooms were basic and rather small, but Sakura didn't complain, since her bedroom back at home had actually been around the same size. The bed they would be sharing was twin–sized (though considering that she liked to be close to Itachi as she slept, it definitely wasn't a problem to her) and the bed frame matched the wardrobe, desk and chair, which all were made of the same dark wood. There was also a small love seat against the same wall as the door. Like the rest of the place, there were no windows.

She placed her bag down on the bed and felt the cool, soft cotton sheets. Apparently Mikoto hadn't spent as long designing the bedrooms as she did the main room, because it was all plain and nothing spectacular. It didn't matter to her, though. What mattered was that Itachi was safe. They would all be safe while they stayed here.

Like in the main room, their bedroom was lit by candles and Sakura found that she was having a hard time focusing on anything other than how so very beautiful Itachi looked in candlelight. It seemed to bring out his best features, making his eyes appear warmer, or was that because he was no longer hiding his emotions? Probably. The moment they were alone, he had allowed his expression to soften, for his guards to lower slightly. No, there wasn't a specific emotion on his face, but he was no longer blank, either. It was hard to explain.

There were no questions such as "how are you feeling" or "are you okay" because they were not needed. They could feel each other's emotions. He would be able to feel that, after her day from hell, she was utterly exhausted and not only physically.

"Will Sasuke be okay?" Sakura asked after a couple moments of silence, her voice vulnerable and soft. "I mean, h–he's been unconscious for a while now and–"

"He will be fine, Hime. What Sasuke needs now is rest and time to recuperate. The more he feeds, the quicker the regeneration will be complete, but at the moment, he is in no state to go by himself. Not with Orochimaru hanging around, at least."

Just the thought of the man being close by caused Sakura to shiver – and she hadn't even had the displeasure of meeting him yet. "Do you really think he's nearby?"

"There is a possibility of it, yes," Itachi told her honestly. "However, if he attempts to approach us, one of us will know."

There was no doubt in her mind that he was telling the truth. Naruto and Gaara both seemed to have much more animalistic senses than the rest of them, which was how they had caught her scent and picked up her trail so easily a couple of months ago. As if that wasn't enough, Gaara could also use a certain technique that changed part of his sand into an eyeball, allowing him to spy on people or prey. He had showed her the technique once when they had been hunting.

It was more or less silent while she unpacked a few of her things to try and make the room more comfortable. It wasn't that it wasn't, it was just that… Well, she had a strange sense of homesickness.

She wanted to be by the lake again, wanted to be held by Itachi as they relaxed and watched the stars. That was their place.

A thought hit her, making Sakura feel saddened as she realised it was more than likely that they would never return to that lake now and even if they could, would it be okay? Had it been damaged during the battle? Sure, it was three or four miles away from the clearing where the battle had commenced, but what if it had moved through the forest? Oh, she really hoped that the lake hadn't been destroyed. She loved it there.

"Sakura?" It surprised her that Itachi was suddenly by her side, his hand gently cradling her face. "Is something wrong?"

"I just…" She shook her head, looking down at the ground. "I'm going to miss our lake, that's all."

His gaze softened. "We can return there one day, just not any time soon. Until then, the certain area where we enjoyed sitting should remain untouched, just like every other time my clan and I returned to Konoha."

Looking up at him, Sakura couldn't help but frown as she repeated his words in her head a couple of times to make sure she had not heard him wrong. Itachi had definitely just said returned, hadn't he? She wasn't hearing things? "Returned? As in, you've stayed in Konoha more than once?"

"Of course," he murmured and to her at that moment in time, his voice was like silk, caressing her ears softly with it. "We are originally from Konoha. After being changed, we travelled a lot, only returning to Konoha when our clan was close to dying out just in case somebody recognised us – my father was once patriarch, after all and after his disappearance, they had their first patriarch who was not a main family member." Sighing, he added, "We always spend as much time as we can in one place before going to the next, always changing things up so that we're not predictable."

"And how long do you stay in one place for?" Much to her frustration, her intentions were instantly figured out. The lilt in her voice gave her away.

Sakura had been trying to guess his age for over two whole months now and still, she was nowhere close. Her answer that was closest to his real age, had been said jokingly, like she hadn't meant it seriously. If Sakura found out how old he really was, would she be disgusted? Sure, Itachi knew that he certainly didn't look his age and his energy was superb for someone his age (though those things hardly counted since he was a supernatural being), but he was a haunted man. The past several hundred years had been difficult and torturous.

That was partly why Itachi was so protective or possessive of Sakura – however one wished to view his behaviour towards her. She was the first truly innocent creature he had laid his eyes on in a long time and he would do anything, give anything, to make sure that she never lost that innocence. It was bad enough that those men had abused her. It was bad enough that his foolish little brother had pushed her into slaughtering said men. Little by little, that innocence was disappearing and Itachi had no idea how to save it. It kept slipping through his fingers.

"A while," he answered cryptically, deciding to tease her.

"Itachi," she whined in complaint. "Why won't you tell me how old you are?"

"Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Why don't you want me to know?"

"Why would I?"

"Will you stop answering a question with a question?"

It really was an amusing sight. Right at that moment in time, Sakura's eyes were flashing with annoyance and amusement, her lips were pursed, her fists were clenching and unclenching. Had it always been so easy to get on her nerves? Since Itachi hadn't known her whilst she was human, he wasn't so sure. Something in his mind was nagging at him, however, that yes, yes she had always been so easy to irritate.

"Why should I?"

It seemed he was in a playful mood right at that moment in time and the thought had Sakura biting back a grin. No it wasn't rare for Itachi to be in a good mood with her or even playful, but after today, she had thought that he would be deadly serious. Was he trying to take her mind off of what had happened? Either way, it was working, even if that hadn't been his goal.

She knew that, if the others saw or heard him acting in such a way, they would be shocked. Hell, if this was two months ago, Sakura would have been shocked, too. Itachi just didn't seem like the type of guy who was playful. He was a serious person (well, vampire). Around her, however, Itachi acted so differently than how he did with his family.

"Why shouldn't you?"

"It is amusing watching you get so wound up," Itachi answered without missing a beat, a soft smirk on his lips.

She opened her mouth, about to yell at him or snap at him (she hadn't even decided what she wanted to say yet), when Itachi's head turned in the direction of the door, his sharingan activating for a couple of moments before his usual dark eyes returned. "It seems they have finally caught up. The traps are being set off."

Finally? Sakura was surprised that they were so fast. Itachi had told her that they would have to get rid of any evidence of their being there, quit their jobs and then leave and it had only been an hour since they all entered the hideout (and met Obito, Kakashi and Rin). How long had it taken her, Kankuro, Naruto and Sasuke to get here? No. That wasn't a fair comparison. They had had to stop once or twice and two of them had been incapable of moving by themselves. So what about Itachi and the Sabaku clan?

Inwardly groaning, Sakura followed Itachi out of their bedroom. Why did it even matter how long it took them? The main thing was that they were all here now and they were safe.

As they stepped into the main room, they found that Obito, Kakashi and Rin were already there. Itachi had thought it best if the others stayed out of it, but since the door was open a crack, Sakura was willing to bet that Naruto was listening in. That idiot. Did he really think that Itachi wouldn't notice such a thing? That had been the first place he looked at when they entered the main room.

He sighed.

"Naruto–kun," he told the blond and not for the first time, either. "It is impolite to eavesdrop."

Sheepish chuckles reached their ears not long after. "I want to know what's happening."

"You will be informed if it concerns you," Itachi said, but realising a moment later that Naruto wouldn't go away, he added, "You must watch Sasuke in case of any change. If my brother wakes up and hears that we are discussing Orochimaru, there is no doubt in my mind that he will set out looking for him."

"Shit," Naruto cursed. "I forgot! Right. I'm on it! I won't let that bastard out of the room if he wakes up. I'll rip his other arm off and beat him with it if I have to!"

And then the door slammed shut.

Sakura growled with annoyance. "Why is he so obsessed with Sasuke's arms?"

As Obito let out a low, throaty laugh, Kakashi shook his head and sighed. "It is best not to try and understand Naruto, Sakura. It will only give you a headache."

That was true, but still. Naruto's obsession with the fact Sasuke now only had one arm was strange. Then again, as an image of Naruto beating Sasuke with his own arm entered her mind, Sakura found it difficult to keep a straight face. Oh, she could just imagine the look on Sasuke's face if suddenly, Naruto was ripping his arm off and hitting him with it.

Itachi sent her a questioning look, obviously feeling her trying to suppress the urge to burst into laughter, but she found that she couldn't look at him. No, Sasuke and Itachi didn't look that similar, but there were still similarities there. Her eyes met his, just as she told herself not to, and a small laugh escaped her.

Obito started laughing even harder, ignoring the sharp look Kakashi sent his way.

"What's so funny?" Rin asked with a small, shy smile on her lips as she looked between Obito and Sakura.

"Just…" Sakura covered her mouth, trying to stop her laughter.

"The thought of Naruto…" Obito shook his head.

It seemed Rin understood as she gave a soft laugh before growing serious. "It's an amusing thought, but we need to be serious, Obito. Fugaku–san will not be pleased if you're picturing his youngest son being beaten with his own arm."

That didn't stop his laughter in the least. "Do you… Do you have to word it like that?"

Itachi shook his head and sighed, as did Kakashi.

Rin did not look amused.

Slowly calming down, Sakura took deep breaths and wiped under her eyes, not even daring to look in Obito's direction for she knew it would only make her laugh again. "Sorry, Itachi," she mumbled with a small smile. "I just–"

"It's fine." He gave her a small smile.

It wasn't like he had no sense of humour, because she could feel through their bond that the thought of Sasuke's reaction to such a thing happening was amusing. However, now they needed to be serious. His parents and Shisui were halfway through the traps, meaning they would reach them very soon. It didn't take as long for them as it did for the first group because there had only been Itachi who had the sharingan and he had to protect the others. With his parents and Shisui, they all had the sharingan, so were all capable of dodging the traps.

And sure enough, not even a minute later, the entrance was scraping open, making Sakura cringe at the loud, ear-grating sound.

The three Uchiha who entered seemed wary, no doubt already sensing three extras in the hideout. Then, they appeared to be shocked. Sakura bit her lip worriedly. Would they really force Obito, Kakashi and Rin to leave? What if that Orochimaru guy got to them?

"Itachi," his father muttered, eyeing Obito with narrowed eyes. "What is the meaning of this?"

"They were here when we arrived," Itachi answered smoothly, his expression and voice both blank. She hated it when he did that.

"Why?" Mikoto asked as she glanced around the room. "And where is Sasuke?"

"And the others?" Shisui added.

"The Sabaku clan are in the fourth room from the right," he replied to them. "And Naruto–kun is currently watching over Sasuke, as there are a few things we must discuss that he cannot be aware of."

"This has Orochimaru all over it." Shisui rolled his eyes, but it was obvious that he was serious and listening to every word his cousin said.

Noticing that he had their full and unwavering attention, Itachi turned his head to the side, nodding once at Obito and telling him, without words, to tell them everything he had told them. And so he did. Unlike earlier, however, he kept it serious, not making any jokes about a certain Uchiha Madara's body odour, or anything of the sort. As he went on, Sakura watched the three by the door. Shisui's features were just as blank as Itachi's. Mikoto looked wary and worried, whilst Fugaku was watching them all with narrowed eyes.

When he was finished, Fugaku closed his eyes with a sigh. "You can continue to stay here and use our hideout," he told them. "However, do not think that this is an act of kindness. I cannot have Orochimaru get his hands on the sharingan."

"Act of kindness or not," Rin spoke softly with a gentle smile, "we're extremely grateful for your help and understanding."

"Rin-san, Obito-san mentioned you are a medic, did he not?" At Mikoto's question, the brunette nodded once. "Please will you take a look at my son? There may not be much that you can do, but I just want to know that Sasuke will make a full recovery."

Sakura lowered her eyes to the ground at the pained look on Mikoto's face, feeling utterly guilty.

"Of course, Mikoto-san." She then turned to Sakura. "Would you like to be there?"

Her head snapped up, her eyes widening. "Me?"

"You've got a medic's eyes." Rin smiled. "That is what Obito meant earlier. You want to be a medic, don't you? I can teach you the basics now, but I'm no Tsunade-sama."

The smile that suddenly brightened Sakura's face had Itachi's chest feeling warm, had that feeling flooding through him. "That would be great!"

Thankfully, there was no permanent damage to Sasuke's body. He was going to be in great pain over the next couple of months whilst his body regenerated, but other than that, he would make a full recovery. Sakura had been so glad to hear that, as had the Uchiha clan and Naruto.

During the examination, Rin explained and showed her how to examine somebody with the use of chakra. Sakura had been unsure about trying it out on Sasuke, but with Rin there to guide and explain things to her, she managed to do it without causing any harm or damage. Like Mikoto had told her months ago, she had perfect chakra control, so knew how much to use and how much was dangerous. The seals were pretty simple for a basic examination and they were not difficult to remember, unlike other jutsu she'd tried to learn.

Rin had then gone on to teach her how to numb the pain Sasuke was feeling, telling her that it would increase when he woke up. Hearing that made Sakura's guilt grow, but it also made her more determined to remember everything the brunette was telling her, to remember all of the seals. Also, as they worked, Sakura found that it was so much easier picking all of this up than the other jutsu that the Uchiha clan had been attempting to teach her. Rin told her that that wasn't too surprising, as it had been the exact same thing for her, too. Like some people were born to be leaders, they were born to be healers.

Sakura liked Rin. She was kind and gentle, yet she could be stern at times too, making it obvious that despite being gentle, she was most definitely no pushover.

"Rin-san," the older woman looked up at her curiously, "earlier, when Obito-san was talking about his bond with you…"

When Sakura trailed off, Rin gave a small smile. "You want to know more about it?" She nodded shyly. "Well, it's by no means simple – but I'm sure you've already figured that much out. It kind of freaked us all out when Obito first changed us and could feel not only my emotions and feelings as though they were his own, but also Kakashi's. We could feel his, too. That's when I learned of his feelings for me. There was this warmth that would be sent my way whenever Obito looked at me, or spoke to me – impossible to ignore, too."

"Is that when you started to fall in love with him?"

"No." She shook her head, her eyes seeming unfocused, as though Rin was lost in her memories. "No, it was when Kakashi and I thought we lost him. That day, even thinking about it causes me pain. I felt like I lost my purpose. On our old team, Minato-sensei and Kakashi were strong warriors, so they didn't need me that much since they were hardly ever injured. Obito, however, always managed to get himself injured somehow." There was a wistful smile on her face. "Even though he tried to act tough, Obito needed me. When he died, or supposedly died, I felt like I wasn't needed anymore."

"It must have been a great feeling to find out that he was still alive," Sakura said gently.

Rin nodded, but her smile dimmed. "It kind of reminded me of the whole Romeo and Juliet storyline. You know, where Juliet pretends to commit suicide, only Romeo doesn't know the plan and actually kills himself?" Sakura nodded. During school, she had had to study the play. "Only, our roles were reversed. I'm not saying I tried to kill myself because Obito was, in my eyes, dead. It's just… I don't know. He 'died', then I was about to die, only for Obito to suddenly appear before me, just like in the play." Looking down at her hands, Rin frowned. "It was the most horrifying discovery I have ever made. That look in his eyes… It was like torture and it made me regret my decision. If I had just held on for an extra couple of minutes, if I had hesitated just a little longer–" Suddenly, Rin shook her head. "No, I still would have done it. It was to protect Kakashi, my team, to protect Konoha."

The younger woman's eyes widened and her jaw slackened. "You almost killed yourself for our home?"

"You were never involved in the wars, Sakura-san," Rin told her seriously. "You never saw what it was like for us. People were dying everywhere we looked and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I'm supposed to be a medic, yet I couldn't save them, just like I couldn't save Obito."

It looked as though she was going to start crying and Sakura wondered if she should comfort the brunette. However, a moment later, another person appeared beside her, sitting down next to Rin and taking her hand. Sakura's eyes were wide as she looked up to see Obito there, staring down at Rin with saddened eyes. It was like he had materialised.

"It's okay, Rin," Obito soothed her, his hand raising and cupping her cheek gently. It surprised Sakura that the scars on his body didn't continue onto his hand or arm. Had the transformation only healed parts of his body? For her, it had healed all parts and left no scarring at all. Why was it different for Obito? "I don't blame you for what happened. I did what I had to, to protect our team, just like you did what you had to, to protect that idiot Kakashi."

Rin let out a shaky laugh and nodded, looking up at him with warm brown eyes. The moment made Sakura's dead heart melt as she watched them. It was almost as though they were exchanging thoughts and suddenly, she felt like she was intruding on a very private moment, but not a moment after she decided to get up and leave, Obito turned to face her and she noticed that, even with the scars, he was still quite a handsome man.

"You want to know more about the bond, right?" Sakura nodded more surely this time, because if the information was coming from Obito, then she would be learning about how the bond felt for Itachi. The thought excited her a little. "What do you want to know?"

For a moment, she was silent. What did she want to know? She wanted to know everything. "Um," Sakura murmured, looking thoughtful, "the intensity. I mean, how strong it is."

Obito nodded and this time, he was the one who seemed thoughtful. "You and Itachi haven't been separated that long since he changed you, have you?"

"No more than a few hours."

He chuckled. "Damn. And how long have you been a vampire for?"

"Just over two months, I'd say. Closer to three."

"I think your bond with Itachi is a little like my bond with Rin. Not exactly like ours, because it's different for everyone, but close enough. Like you two, we were never separated for longer than a few hours and I stayed with her throughout the entire transformation. How long were you out for? A day like the rest of us?"

Sakura looked down at her legs with a frown. Everyone else had only been out for a day? No wonder the Uchiha clan had thought she would never wake up. "A week."

The two opposite her gasped with shock and exchanged looks. "A week?" Rin asked, her voice sounding shocked. "What happened to you? If you don't mind my asking, of course."

Her eyebrows knitted together as Sakura felt her chest clench, as she felt her breathing quicken ever so slightly. "I…" Her eyes watered and her lower lip trembled, no matter how hard she tried to stop it. "They…"

"Sakura?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, wiping her eyes. "I–"

"Sakura." This time, the voice did not belong to Rin or Obito. It belonged to Itachi.

Hearing his voice, she glanced over her shoulder, giving him a grateful smile as she stood up and made her way over to him. Was it strange that it was still difficult to think about what happened, even though it had been almost three months now? Inwardly, Sakura shook her head, accepting Itachi's outstretched hand as he guided her into their room so that they could have some privacy.

At that moment in time, everybody was scattered around the place. The Sabaku clan and Naruto were doing a perimeter run. Sasuke was still unconscious in his bedroom, where Shisui and Kakashi were relaxing and watching over the younger Uchiha. Mikoto continued to check up on her son every couple of hours, but otherwise stayed in her bedroom with Fugaku. And before he had gone to Sakura's side, Itachi had been in their bedroom, reading a book. She had been speaking with Rin in the main room, where Obito had joined them not too long after.

"I thought I was getting better," Sakura whispered the second the door was closed and she knew that Obito and Rin would no longer be able to hear them. "I mean, I thought I could at least speak about what happened without…"

Itachi regarded her silently for a moment or two before pulling her against him and sighing. "It is perfectly normal for you to be upset, Hime."

"But I don't want to be."

"I know."

It was easier speaking to Itachi about how she felt and not only because he could truly understand how she was feeling because of their bond. It was because he radiated peace. His presence relaxed her and made Sakura feel safe. Unlike when Naruto had been holding her earlier that day, she felt comfortable in his arms.

Pulling back to look up at him, Sakura watched his expression for a moment. His eyes were warmer than what they would be around his clan, around his father. He didn't look as unapproachable. There was no smile, but she didn't care. Their current topic wasn't one for smiles and laughter. When he did smile, however, it never failed to make her smile, too. There was just something so beautiful about Itachi when he smiled.

"I'm really glad I have you."

The words hadn't meant to leave her mouth and it seemed Itachi knew that, since he gave her a soft smirk. "Really?" She nodded and her breath caught as Itachi leaned forward ever so slightly, his voice dropping to a low murmur whilst he stared at her lips. "How glad?"

Her mind clouded over with an emotion she couldn't understand fully. All Sakura knew was that she liked whatever he was doing to her. She liked feeling his hand brushing a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. And his eyes… Sakura didn't even know where to begin.

"Very," she whispered.

"Hime." Sakura's lips parted as his breath washed over her, clouding her mind even further. "We still need to continue our previous conversation."

Previous conversation? Which one?

And then his lips were against hers and Sakura knew exactly which conversation Itachi was talking about.

It was a simple kiss, warm and soft, yet it still managed to make her stomach fill with butterflies, still managed to make her feel as though her entire body was tingling. But then it ended far too quickly and Itachi leaned back to look at her far too soon.

Her eyes flickered between staring into his impossibly dark eyes and his lips until Itachi leaned forward once more, making Sakura's breath catch as he kissed her again. As he cradled her head, her lips moved against his hesitantly. She knew he could feel her uncertainty, could feel the small feeling of panic beginning to grow when his free hand rested on her waist, especially since Itachi moved his hand away. However, a second later, she surprised him by pulling his hand back to its resting place on her waist, her own shaking with her uncertainty.

"I–I trust you," Sakura whispered against his lips a couple of moments after they parted. "Just…"

When she trailed off, Itachi felt his chest constrict. "I will not hurt you, Hime."

"Good." She smiled weakly, her lower lip trembling ever so slightly. "Because I really don't want to be hurt again."

He gently shushed her as he captured her lips once more.

A/N - Just to make it clear: Madara wasn't a vampire! He had a vampire's venom and injected it into Obito, but he didn't want to change himself until he was brought back into his prime. A little like the manga, where he puts his trust in Obito. However, there's no Zetsu to make sure Obito keeps to the plan. Don't forget: Obito only agreed because he lost Rin!

Edited on: 02/09/2016