AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews you've left me so far! It is so encouraging to hear what you guys have to say.

Itachi was very much displeased. No, he was beyond displeased, he was livid. Karin and Sakura, whom he now considered to be the perverted duo, were laughing like school girls. He did not have to listen to their whispers to know what they were giggling over. He did not want to hear any of their immature antics. It was not until Karin had asked how hairy Sasuke had been that that he knew it was going too far; it had taken all of his will power to neither spit out, or choke on, the miso soup that had been in his mouth.

By the time breakfast was over, he swore that his cheeks were aflame, and that the two kunoichi had the most indecent minds of anyone he had the misfortune of knowing. He was then convinced that no male could ever be safe around the pair, with how in depth their conversation was veering. Itachi ha to stop the mayhem, before any other man were subjected to their perverse reasonings.

Sakura left the kitchen first, her spirits lifted and her cheeks pink from the details of the conversation she had just shared with Karin. Karin had stayed to make an attempt at flirting with Itachi, which he quickly deduced. He wanted no part of it, and so, much to Karin's aggravation, he left just as speedily. Itachi chased Sakura down, deciding to actually stop her talks of Sasuke and himself, instead of just ignoring it like he should. It was beyond inappropriate.

"Haruno!" He called after her angrily, making Sakura pause in place. She did not have to turn to see that it was Itachi who had called her. She had half the heart to continue, and ignore him all together. It would only serve to annoy him though, and without any further ado, she turned to face him.

"Yes, Uchiha-san?" She asked sarcastically, crossing her arms and looking up at him as he got closer. Itachi really did not want to tell her to stop talking about his brother in such an inappropriate way, but seeing as she did not know any better, he clearly had to do it.

"Cease to speak of my brother and I in such a degrading way." Itachi commanded darkly. She bristled, and then the blood went straight to her cheeks. Sakura did not know which was more embarrassing, the fact that Itachi had approached her on the matter, or that he had heard them in the first place.

"I do not know what you are talking about." She said in an attempt to deny the truth. He glared at her, not for a second believing her lie.

"You know perfectly well of what I speak." He replied in irritation. Sakura's face reddened even more, something Itachi had not suspected possible.

"It is none of your business what I talk to Karin about, and-"

Itachi interrupted. "I made it my business when I heard you both talking of me. I am not someone to take so lightly, Haruno."

Sakura stared up in shock and disbelief. Fine, she told herself, if he wanted her to be truthful about it, then she would be. He was not going to like it any more than he had when she denied it. She was normally a truthful person anyway, and had a hard time lying, but she was brutal about it. There was not way Itachi was going to get any satisfaction from her, she could not allow him to. Sakura's stare slowly turned into a disdainful glare.

"Fine, Uchiha, we were talking about your junk. I still do not see why it concerns you so much, do not all guys have some sort of pride about your dicks? Or did I somehow injure that pride?"

Itachi blinked, and his eyebrows lifted as high on his forehead as they could possibly go. Her blunt retort had come as quite a shock, so much so that he was sure he was blushing. It was not fair, he told himself, that kunoichi was doing such terrible, cruel things to his mind. All she did was tease him, play with his thoughts. Nobody had ever done that to him before. It was uncomfortable and unwelcome.

"My pride had nothing to do with it. It is wholly improper for you to regard me in such a prudent manner."

"I think it has everything to do with your pride. You do not have to worry though, Karin spoke very highly of your... Assets, if it makes you feel any better."

"I am well aware of what Karin has told you. I had the great pleasure of hearing her say it herself. As I said, my pride has nothing to do with it, I just..."

His voice trailed off, and Itachi found himself incapable of finishing his sentence. He was not a very blunt person, not was he at all vulgar, making it difficult for him to even look her in the eye when they stayed on the current topic of conversation. He preferred to speak in riddled, to say something without actually saying it. Sakura waited to no end, and quickly grew impatient for him to finish his statement.

"You just... What?" She asked in a complaining tone. He looked down at her and instantly knew that he could not say what he intended to. He partially wished that he was a blunt, truthful person, but it went against his general character. It would not do.

"Never mind. I cannot tell you." He sighed. She would only tease him again if he said what he wanted to, and rightfully so. He might have even laughed at his own foolishness if he had finished the statement. Sakura was put out.

"Tell me, Uchiha." She growled. He shook his head, much to her chagrin.

"No."

"Tell me."

"I cannot."

"Yes, you can."

"No." Itachi repeated. It became very clear to Sakura that he would not relent until he was throughly pushed into doing so. She was not letting him go, if her (after)life depended on it, not until he finished his sentence.

"Tell me!" She shouted, hammering a fist into his chest. He flinched, and was undeniably thankful that she had not packed it full of her deadly chakra. Itachi realized very quickly that he was playing with a fire that he could not control, and that it would be safest if he retreated.

"I am not telling you, Haruno."

"Yes, you are."

To this, she only got silence, and Itachi tried to make an escape. She grabbed him by the shirt as he began to leave though, making it impossible for him to continue. The kunoichi was going to be the (second) death of him, he swore it.

"Tell me!" She demanded loudly. Itachi was sorely tempted to just to take off the restricting shirt and then walk away as such. Then she hooked a finger through the belt loop to his pants. There would be no escaping, at least not with any shred of dignity left. She was silently telling him, 'you are not getting away until you have throughly disgraced yourself.'

"No." He replied quietly, a tone of begging underlining his voice. He hated how weak he sounded, just from the one word he had uttered. Did she have to be so cold hearted to him?

"Yes."

"No." Again, such shameful weakness.

"Tell me!"

"I will not tell you, Haruno."

"Tell me now, dammit!"

"Resorting to profanities will not persuade me in the least."

She tugged slightly on the belt loop, threatening to tear his pants from his body. His eyes twitched, that being his most expressive way of showing how terrified by the idea he really was.

"Tell me!" She barked.

"No."

Another, harsher tug.

"Tell me now!"

"No!" He finally rose his voice. Why could not the infuriating kunoichi merely turn around and leave him be? He did not want this, and she did not have anything real to gain from it. He recieved another tug.

"Tell me now, Uchiha!"

Silence. He hated his very existence, and hers even more. Tug.

"Fucking tell me!"

"I just do not want to hear you talking about our dicks!" He finally relented, fully disconcerted. More silence passed between them before Sakura began to laugh hysterically. Had that really been it, that whole big ordeal over that?

He looked completely mortified, both by what he had just said, and by her reaction. He knew she would laugh at him, and he refusal to be frank.

"Was that so hard to say?" She finally asked through giggles. Sakura could not remember ever having talked to such a modest man before. It was utterly unthinkable. So much so, that Sakura failed to realize that he had said he did not like her talking about him, that he had not mentioned Karin at all.

"Yes, it was." He replied blandly. Once more, she laughed at his expense.

"Anything more you would like to say, while you are at it?" Sakura sneered. She unhooked her finger from his belt loop, releasing him. His only response was a grunt, with which he disappeared. Sakura did not fail to notice the pink hinting at his cheeks, and though it was amusing, she was not sure what to make of it. Perhaps she should have left it like he had wanted and not pushed him into saying 'dicks.' It clearly was something he never said, and maybe it had been wrong to force him to. She had an idea of what he was going to say before he did, Sakura had just thought it would be funny to hear him say it.

Sakura refused to feel even remotely bad for him, until she passed what apparently was Itachi's room, based on the blare of death metal. If he had transitioned to the roaring sounds somehow considered music from Three Days Grace, she knew he had been sadly effected. For some reason or another, she never pictured Itachi as being such an emotional person. Then she remembered the one time they had meet in life, and realized he was not.

The time they had met during life, he had been completely emotionless and uncaring, he had not spared her more than one glance. He had attacked Naruto and Kakashi, and then be defeated. He had shown nothing of his personality in that fight, so Sakura had assumed he simply did not have one. Now that he was out of his element, it was clear that he did have a personality, and a very interesting on at that. He was for the most part, quiet and soft spoken, but in certain matters (or so she guessed) he gathered his courage, and spoke out. Some would consider him proud, but Sakura saw Itachi as being more socially awkward, or perhaps even shy, than that.

Karin, who had heard most of their argument, chose to approach his door. Itachi could sense her unnerving presence outside his room, and waited for her to knock for entrance. She, if anyone, should have known that he was in a foul mood, seeing as she spied on him on a regular basis. He did not want to talk to the obnoxious kunoichi, but with Karin standing outside, he grew paranoid. His anxiety would not leave until she did, so he angrily stomped to the door and violently slid it open.

The redhead's eyes shot up in shock, and her face flushed from being caught. He hoped Karin seriously did not consider her actions to have been stealthy, because he could have sensed her nervousness through a brick wall. He glared down at her, waiting for the kunoichi to either run, or speak. She opted for the latter.

"Itachi-kun, you are upset about something." She murmured, looking away from his mesmerizing eyes. The last thing she needed was to be distracted and the be made into an even bigger fool in front of Itachi.

"Really now, what would make you think such a thing?" He bit sarcastically. His tone made her jump, and then a more prominent blush touched to her cheeks, clashing with her red hair. Itachi did not feel guilty for scaring her, not after what he had heard her say.

"Because, you are playing that music again." She muttered, looking up at his chin, refusing to look him in the eyes. Itachi was astounded, he never intended for her to reply, his question had been rhetorical. He was also surprised by the fact that he listened to death metal when his mood went south. Karin seemed to know more about him then he would like. In his opinion, their relations should be left utterly platonic, he could never feel anything for such a dense kunoichi. His sympathy for her could only go so far, and he was not going to stretch his feelings for her because she was killed ruthlessly. The idea went against everything that he believed, not to mention the unexplainable feelings he held for Sakura.

She was just a female, who if he dared pursue, would give into his bodily demands. She was a challenge, unlike Karin, making her more worthwhile. He had to tell himself that, he refused to think his feelings for Sakura were anything more than physical desire. Still, the nagging voice in the back of his head told him that if he wanted a woman merely as a release of the sexual tension built up inside of his once perceived hormone-less body, then he would have gone with Karin.

"And by that music, I assume you mean Shai Hulud." He grounded out, feeling slightly insulted by how she had regarded his favorite metal band. She gulped, hearing the defense in his voice, but nodded her head nonetheless.

The silence that passed between them for the next minute created such a thick atmosphere, Itachi was sure he could have cut through it with a knife. Surely she had heard what Itachi told Sakura, he mused. No doubt, everyone in the vicinity had heard his outburst. Part of him was under the impression that she would act as plastic as ever, and pretend that she heard nothing of his yells. The other part of him was more concerned with the fact that she, being a rather foolish, misguided woman, might bring up the subject he so wished, but knew he could not, avoid.

"I assume that it is unnecessary for me to repeat what I told Sakura to you." He said, just to be sure that she got his message, if Sakura would not tell her herself. He could never be sure with either of the kunoichi running about. If Itachi thought about it, he could only come to one conclusion; things had been so much simpler when there had only been males around. Itachi could only pray to whatever kami that would listen that Sasuke's recent trend of killing infuriating women did not continue.

"What are you talking about, Itachi-kun?" She asked innocently, a sweet, lying smile dawning her face.

Ah, so this was the card she would play, Itachi concluded. Just as Sakura had, Karin planned on denying what he had already discovered her guilty for. How could someone so small and weak be so truly annoying?

Cautiously, Itachi glanced both ways down the hallway, then pulled Karin into his room by the collar of her revealing shirt. It seemed that he would have to repeat what he told Sakura, but he had no intention in doing so where people could overhear again. Her eyes widened at his forward actions, and Itachi realized almost too late that she must have been misinterpreting what he did. It was not his problem though, if she was now deluded into thinking he had an attachment to her.

Karin inspected the room in which she stood, finding it rather plain. She was not sure what she had been expecting, but it was not what she saw. There was a bed instead of a futon, a well stocked book shelf, and a small table. Besides this, there was nothing worthy of mentioning. The walls were bare and eggshell white, his sheets clean and tightly fitted onto his bed, and not a single book was out of place. Part of her had been hoping to find dirty clothes on the floor (she wanted to steal them and wear it to bed), but there was nothing to be found. His room was so clean, she thought it might have been sterile enough to be used as a hospital room.

"Do not presume that I am foolish enough to fall for that." Itachi ground, sliding his door shut. It became very clear, very fast, that Itachi was in as bad of a mood as he ever could. It would be stupid of her if she continued to uphold her plastic-like facade, Itachi thought bitterly.

Karin blinked a few times. "I do not know what you are talking about, Itachi-kun."

He groaned in exasperation, suppressing the growing need to strangle Karin. It was needless for her to keep acting as if nothing happened, he already heard everything he wanted to hear. Hopefully, if she hung around Sakura enough, she would start using common sense, and do as she was told. Chances of this were slim though, and he knew this. Running a hand through his hair in irritation, Itachi looked the kunoichi in the eye.

"This is a warning. If you ever talk about my brother and I in the same manner as you did this morning, I will find a way to kill you a second time." He snarled, his eyes gleaming with his heartfelt death threat. She looked down at the floor in guilt and embarrassment, unable to meet his eyes. How pitiful, his mind silently sneered. If she really had 'feelings' for him, than she should at least have the backbone to keep eye contact with him.

"Look at me when I am speaking to you. I do not have the patience to deal with your spinelessness." He ordered. Karin winced at his cruel tone, and allowed her eyes to meet his. The hard, cold glare he gave her was almost enough to make her jump. Flustered, her eyes drifted downward, stopping at his lips.

Karin gulped at the sight, saliva collecting at the thought of kissing the Uchiha Itachi. She shivered in anticipation, thoughtlessly inching closer to him. Itachi watched in horror, his eye twitching slightly, as her tongue ran over her lip slowly. There was no way she could seriously be thinking of kissing him, Itachi silently hoped.

Then he saw the lustful haze in her eyes, and he quickly realized that she had every intention in actually kissing him. The thought was disturbing. He had been wrong, it really was his problem if she misinterpreted his intentions in pulling her into his room. He had to set her straight, before something dreadful happened.

Before she got any further, Itachi grabbed her by the shoulders, stopping Karin abruptly. "I do not pretend to know what you think you are doing, but I have no partiality for you. Stop this foolishness."

A hot flush covered her face, giving away both her disappointment and shame. She looked up into his eyes, begging for him to give in, but he would not be swayed. His expression hardened, the polar opposite reaction than what she had been going for.

"I want you to obliterate the tapes in your possession, and cease their production." He continued coldly. Karin bobbed her head up and down and wordlessly ran for her very life. It was so typical, she realized; she could never have the person she wanted, he would alway have feelings for someone else. Itachi sighed, closing the door behind the redhead, and then turning up the music.

His mind was still swirling, as if he was somehow unable to comprehend what had just passed. Karin had made very obvious moves on him, which he had, in turn, shot down. This proved one thing to him, his need for fulfillment from a woman was more than just that. If it had been merely sexual need, then he would have taken Karin then and there, without a second thought. Instead, the idea disgusted him.

She would have been willing, would have let him do anything that he wished to do. He did not want that though, he wanted to believe that sex was really something special, that it was sacred. It was not something meant to be used to get frustration out. This all could mean only one thing: he had every forethought of an attachment to Sakura.

Unlike Karin, Sakura would not be willing, she would not give into his desire for her, because despite whatever happened between them less than ten minutes ago, she still was desperately in love with Sasuke. She was getting better at hiding it, no doubt with the therapeutic help of another female, but her facade would break eventually, and she would succumb to her misery. He wished there was something he could do to change this, but it was irreversible. Meant to happen.

Itachi was suddenly taken over by anger. How could Sakura feel love so acutely for someone as selfish as Sasuke, for someone who had killed her? He had never expected Sasuke to forgive him for what he did, for killing their clan, yet she was so willing to forgive Sasuke for what he did to her. What did his brother do to deserve someone so unwavering as Sakura? Absolutely nothing.

Sasuke did not have to see a war play out before his eyes when he was four years old. Sasuke did not have to become impossibly strong for the glory of the Uchiha clan. Sasuke did not have to join the ANBU ranks at thirteen, nor was he given the mission of espionage on his own family. He had not been given the order to kill everyone he loved, and then have to flee the village. He did not have to slip himself into a secret organization filled with true murders for the protection of Konoha. He did not have to plan his own death, just so someone else could have a chance at a better life. Sasuke was not dead. He was.

If Sasuke had been the older one, if he had been the one to go through the hells he had been through, he would not have survived. He would have been selfish and uncaring, and do everything for himself. He should not have the right to Sakura's heart. But he had it anyway. It was maddening. Itachi was sure that this was the first time that he had been so angry with his younger brother, and it was not for something he had even done directly.

He sighed, trying to relax himself. He needed to just find a distraction, until he could figure out what to do with Sakura and his unwelcome feelings for her.

In the solitude of her room, Sakura sighed to herself. It was at these times that she felt so utterly alone. She should have been used to being alone, she realized, considering the fact that she had not really seen much of Sasuke for the past few years. Yet, there was that complete despair that threatened to overtake her, just by her knowing that she could never be with him again, even if she wanted to be. He had been her hopes, her dreams, her everything. Now all of that was gone, leaving her to the solitary loneliness of purgatory, or where ever this place was.

She would never wake up in the morning, the sun already starting to show itself, and Sasuke holding her in his arms possessively, even though he was still asleep. She would never experience the feeling of a man loving her as much as she loved him. Sakura would never know the heat of making love to the man she loved, nor the feeling of giving birth to the child of that man. She could no longer live until she was grey and wrinkled, and die of old age in her sleep. She was already dead, and it was all thanks to that one man she was so stupid as to love. And that is what hurt her the most.

It was all of his fault, but Sakura still could not find it in her heart to blame Sasuke.

AN: Thank you for reading my third chapter, please leave me a review! I want to get some constructive criticism, no matter how much it hurts. Just no insults.... I don't want to hear that.