Deep at the bottom of the ocean, about a mile out, everything was dark and silent. Opening her eyes, Sakura found that she had been laid on the ground. Pushing herself up, Sakura could barely see a thing. The ground she was lying on was made of water, but she couldn't understand how she could be balancing on water without using chakra to hold her there. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her little medical flashlight. Switching it on, she saw that she was in a bubble.

"You wanna be spotted?" said Kisame, standing behind her with his hand on the wall of the bubble.

Switching it off, Sakura turned around to face him in the dark.

"What are we doing now?" asked Sakura.

"We are waiting for Itachi. My copy is bringing him here."

Sakura felt nervous. After that whole display, she was now insecure about how Itachi would handle it next. Taking her hand, Sakura reached out and felt the wall.

Amazing... she thought. He must be using chakra to hold the water out instead of in. I can't even tell a difference in the pressure we're in.

"Kisame, you'd make a great medical ninja," she said in the dark.

"Hmph, my job is to damage things, not fix them."

They stayed there in the dark for about ten minutes in silence. Soon though, Sakura could hear the wall of the bubble slurping. The other bubble had arrived and was connecting to theirs. Sakura couldn't tell what was going on, but she stepped back from where she heard the noise.

"Itachi," said Kisame suddenly. "I'll go check the surface."

Sakura held her breath as she heard Kisame's copy swimming away.

He's here, she thought, tensing up.

Sakura wasn't sure if Itachi could see her, or if he even knew she was there. What's worse, she hated to think what the copy was saying to him on the way here. Biting her lip, Sakura waited in the dark for a word from above.

A minute had passed and nothing happened. No one said a thing, but she could feel Itachi's presence standing between her and Kisame. Soon however, she was startled.

Sakura could feel someone coming closer to her. They stopped just short of a foot from her. She then felt arms slowly wrap around her, and pull her in for an embrace.

"Komen..." said a whisper by her ear.

Sakura felt so sad and yet so relieved. wrapping her arms around him, she squeezed tightly. Tears began to pour as she dug her face into him. She tried hard to stiffle her sobs, but she failed to hold them down.

As Itachi's hand caressed her head, he put his head on hers to try and ease her pain. This made Sakura squeeze harder. She never wanted to let go.

"He's back," said Kisame. "It's clear to move."

Itachi and Sakura released eachother, but Itachi grabbed her hand and held it. Turning back to Kisame, Itachi dealt a plan.

"Let's move further down the coast and cut back. Dawn is approaching. We should use the opportunity to get back into the forest under the cover of dark. How much longer can you hold up?" asked Itachi.

"Mmmmm, about an hour, but I think a half hour should be good."

"Ok, let's move," said Itachi, knowing that he had to break his verbal restrains because Kisame couldn't see him nodding in the dark.

"Mmm, don't move," said Kisame. With that, the bubble began to rise towards the surface of the water and stopped short five feet below so that it was enough to keep them hidden, but allow Kisame to see the area around them. Kisame moved his hand around the bubble to face the opposite direction of where they wanted to go. Concentrating his chakra, he created a slight whirlwind action to propel them away.

It was the most amazing thing that Sakura had ever seen. Never had she seen someone with such control over the water element, and marveled at Kisame, understanding now what had earned him a place in Akatsuki. The things he could do with his chakra was pure genius.

As the bubble sped through the water, Itachi stood behind Sakura so that he held her up during the ride. He also did it so that he could have her pressed up against him with his arms around her. Wrapping her arms around his, Sakura held him tightly so that she knew she wasn't going to be let go. Her breath scattering as she breathed in and out, Sakura's heart finally began to calm down. Turning her head to lean back into his chest, Sakura shut her eyes and sighed a heavy sigh.

The surface of the ocean was calm in a little indent in the land. The appearance of the bubble soon began to rise above the surface of the water, and barely made a noise as it did so. As the top of the bubble began to open and flow down the sides, Sakura, Kisame, and Itachi stood there in the dark of the tiny bay and began to walk to shore. None of them said a word. As they approached the sand, they looked cautiously from side to side. Something in their gut told them that something wasn't right. However, nothing stopped them as they made their way up the sand and into the tree line.

"Did you feel that?" asked Kisame to Itachi.

Itachi nodded, looking cautiously through the trees as they walked.

Sakura could feel it too. It was one of the strongest killing intents that she had ever felt. Somehow though, she knew it wasn't Sasuke. Whoever it was hiding in the trees, Sakura secretly knew that the person it was after, was her.

"Sakura," said Itachi. "Stand between us."

As they continued walking the feeling eventually vanished, but all of them knew that it would be back and that the next time, its purpose would be made clear.

Where they were heading, Sakura wasn't sure. They had now been walking for about an hour and the sun was beginning to peak its head over the horizon, casting a light glow through the trees. It was chilly and she was still a bit wet. Sneezing, Sakura blinked tears as her nose became stuffed.

"We're almost there," said Itachi, holding her hand.

Sakura was thankful that Itachi had held her hand the whole way. He could sense that the incident had shaken her, and that she needed comfort after being traumatized.

The further they walked the thicker the woods got. Sakura felt that they had slowy turned east and were now heading back to Konoha. Soon the trees became so thick that it almost seemed night again. Coming into a small clearing, she almost walked into Itachi's back as he and Kisame had suddenly stopped.

Placing his hands together, Kisame said, "Kai!"

Soon the area they were standing in began to swirl in image. There was a juitsu place on that spot, and soon Sakura found herself standing in front of a giant two-story house.

Akatsuki was nomadic in their nature, and Sakura could see that they needed quite a few locations to house themselves as they journeyed. The fact that there was one so close made her wonder how many more there were strategically placed across the land. As Kisame slid the door open, the smell of a hearth could be smelt as it breezed outward.

Leaving her shoes near the front door, Sakura went in to find that the hearth was kept clean with a pot that hung over it attached to the ceiling. With a short blow of chakra, Itachi had lit the fire to a nice blaze.

"There's rooms upstairs," said Kisame to Sakura. "You might want to change out of those wet clothes."

Walking slowly up the stairs, Sakura looked behind her to see that Itachi sat by the fire, watching her with his periphial vision. She wondered if he'd follow her.

Sliding open one of the doors to the rooms, Sakura found a bed and a desk, very uniform to the first hideout that she was taken to. There were no clothes, so Sakura figured that she'd have to use the sheet.

As she peeled the wet clothing off her body, she got goosebumps from the chilled air touching her bare skin. Rubbing her arms, Sakura tried to warm herself. Pulling the sheet off the bed, she wrapped herself from her chest down so that it was tight about her, revealing nothing but her arms and shoulders. Sliding the door back open, she walked back down the hall with her wet clothes in hand and began to descend the stairs.

Just as Sakura got midway, she passed Kisame who was walking up. As he passed she could see a smirk on his face and mischeavous gleam in his eye, and sure enough, just as she passed he turned to grab a hold of the blanket to rip it off.

Sakura was too quick. Leaping off the stairs, she twisted mid-air so that she landed facing him at the bottom.

"Hehe, just kidding," said Kisame, turning to continue up the stairs. "Just keeping you on your toes."

Sakura smirked. She knew he was joking, but whether or not he would have really pulled the sheet off of her remained unclear. Walking over to the hearth, Sakura sat down on one of the floor mats and began hanging her wet clothes on a little railing that surrounded it. When she was finished, she sighed deeply and looked over to Itachi.

Itachi sat facing deeply into the fire. He had not looked at her since she came back out. Prodding the fire with a stick, Itachi took out a rice ball and tossed it to her. Unwrapping the rice ball, Sakura stayed by the fire getting warm. After she had finished, she felt sleepy and leaned herself against a post.

The warmth of the fire was comforting and soon her skin and feet no longer felt cold. As her eyes blinked more frequently, her head slumped downward as she nodded off to sleep. Itachi walked up the stairs and soon returned with sheets and pillows in his arms. Laying them down by the fire, he made a bed spread for two.

Sakura kept picking herself back up every time she slipped off the post. Soon however, she didn't notice that she was sliding sideways, and just as she slipped off the post, Itachi had caught her. Lifting her in his arms, he picked her up and carried her over to the bed he had made.

As Itachi laid her down, he was careful to make sure that he didn't pull her hair. Standing up, he took off his coat and hung it on the stairs' railing. Pulling off his shirt, he hung it alongside his coat before adding his netted undershirt to the ranks. Reaching up, Itachi untied his headband. As he brought it back down, he stared at the mark of Konoha, crossed off. It was the first time that Itachi ever thought about what it would be like to go back. Knowing that he couldn't, he placed the headband alongside his belongings and made his way back to Sakura.

Slipping his legs beneath the sheets, Itachi hovered over Sakura for a moment. Untying her headband, he placed it above her pillow before brushing the remnants of her hair out of her face. Lying down, he wrapped his arm around her and tucked her in. Sakura moaned in her sleep as she unconciously snuggled up against him, curling her arms in so that she could get as close as possible.

Itachi lay there stroking her back. As he stared at her face, his face was blank but his eyes showed just how much he missed her. He had thought about her every day since he left her, and regretted every day that he had not taken her with him. He knew though, that it would not have worked. There was too much happiness left for her in Konoha that leaving to be by his side would have been a step down. He could not have done that to her, but those many nights he spent wandering with Kisame were his lonliest. He had never once felt that way since he left Konoha, and this was the only time that he had ever ventured to look back.

Taking her hand in his, he pressed it to his face and closed his eyes. Thoughts swirled in his head. Thoughts of love and belonging, things that he had never had thought of before. Questioning whether he would choose this life over Akatsuki, Itachi opened his eyes to find Sakura staring back at him.

As their eyes met, Itachi's heart beat faster and his breathing became quicker. This was the first time in a long time that he had been in such close proximity to her.

"Missed you," said Sakura, softly.

Itachi dug an arm under her and pulled her onto his chest for a hug. As Sakura lay there, her hands ran down the contours of his chest. Taking a deep breath, Sakura was happy to know that her memory still found it familiar. Itachi took a bigger breath, causing Sakura to rise and fall as he did so. Squeezing her tightly, he brought his head to hers and rolled over.

As Itachi lay hovering just inches above her, he traced the curves of her face with his eyes, and brushing his nose against hers, brought his lips down for a kiss. As his hair fell upon Sakura, she closed her eyes to feel his embrace. Nothing but the soft crackel of the fire and the sound of the sheets moving about them could be heard.

The taste of her was so familiar to him. The texture of her lips, so soft and gentle, seemed to wash upon him like a warm breeze. The smell of her was intoxicating, and when he felt her arms wrap around him, his hand moved down the side of her body so that he could feel her body flex to match his shape. His hand shook as he brought it back up to grab the sheet that covered her, grasping it firmly before pulling it down to her waist. Taking that same hand, he followed her arm until his fingers entwined with hers, pinning it beside her head. Pulling back, Itachi looked into her eyes until his own had softened. His lips shuddered, but no words came out. As he stared at her intently, he mustered the courage to say what he had felt for her desperately all along.

"I love you...Sakura..."