AN: I don't know exactly how many more chapters I promised you, but there is only one more after this. I actually decided to change around where I was going to end this story. Anyway, here is chapter 20!

Please review!

Nothing but the Truth

Chapter 20: Something Wicked

"By the pricking of my thumbs
Something wicked this way comes."

― William Shakespeare, Macbeth

"Have you talked to him yet?" she asked quietly from her place in the kitchen. The look that Itachi gave her was so blasé and indifferent that the overwhelming urge to throw her frying pan at him washed over her. Gritting her teeth, she turned back over to the stir fry in her pan, mixing in the appropriate vegetables now that the meat was cooked enough. "You know, you're going to have to talk to him at some point about everything. Nothing will be better until you do."

"Uchihas do not talk about their feelings, Sakura." His tone was more arrogant than she had ever heard it, and it nearly made her give way to her impulse to beat sensibility into him. If she could do it to Naruto and Sasuke, then she could certainly do it to him. Careening her head over her shoulder to glare at him, she shot him an angry glance before flipping the knob of the stove off and spooning the stir fry onto a large serving plate.

"Maybe Uchihas should start talking. Maybe if you had all talked before, none of this would have happened," she shot back furiously, slamming the plate down on the table and stomping back into the kitchen to get the rest of the plates and utensils. However, his hand shot out and he grabbed her by the wrist.

It had been a long day at the hospital, preceded by training with Sasuke and then succeeded by training with her ANBU unit, and she was in no mood to argue with pig-headed, stubborn, and close-minded jerks. If she hadn't had this exact same conversation with Sasuke, who had ultimately told her the exact same thing, then she wouldn't be so touch on the subject. But two of the people that she loved and cared about most in the world were in a tense, unsure standoff with one and other, and it was getting frustrating tiptoeing around their tender feelings. Because, whether they wanted to admit it or not, they were acting like children.

"Do not speak of things you do not understand," he hissed back suddenly after a moment of a silent, apprehensive standoff of Sakura's angry jade orbs glaring fiercely towards those of her lover's. His mouth was stressed into a thin, pursed line that reeked of irritation, and his deep black eyes were narrowed in annoyance.

Sakura scoffed. "Don't you dare say I don't understand, Uchiha," she responded curtly. "Sasuke-kun is one of my best friends, and you and I aren't exactly strangers now, are we?"

"That's why I expect you to understand," he replied without missing a beat. Sakura jerked her arm out of his grip roughly and continued back into the kitchen for the rest of the kitchenware they needed to eat their dinner. By the time she returned, Itachi had fixed his attention onto his rice and wasn't speaking to her. Sakura rolled her eyes.

With the exception of going out to train in the early mornings, by himself or sometimes with her, Itachi didn't leave her apartment. Deidara and Kisame would come by after Sakura got off work to visit, but that didn't help much. Assuming that Itachi was just suffering from cabin fever would be too easy. She knew how much being in Konoha was affecting him emotionally; she wasn't an unobservant idiot like Itachi seemed to think she was. It must be incredibly hard to be back here, but she knew he would feel better about it if he would just go talk to Sasuke and hash things out. Plus, if the village saw that Sasuke had accepted his brother back into his life and into the village, then they would be much more likely to show Itachi the same acceptance.

And it would get him the hell out of her apartment for a little while. Although she loved having him here, it was difficult for him to be cooped up and cranky all the time, on top of her work and planning for the imminent attack on the village. The entire population of Konoha was stressed to the breaking point, and if something didn't happen soon, every shinobi and civilian alike would go crazy with worry and stress. Since Sakura was helping in the plans, she was receiving the brunt of pressure from the other ninja and her shishou. Coming home to a melancholy Itachi didn't help. If only he would just go out sometimes other than to train, he may be a little more amiable.

The thought almost made her snort out loud. One thing Uchiha Itachi would never be was amiable, but she would settle for less of an asshole any day. She nudged the rice between her chopsticks dejectedly. Sometimes Itachi didn't realize how mean he could be. Sasuke was the same way, she internally conceded, but he was getting better at realizing when he said something arrogant or rude quickly. It only took him a few moments for him to gruffly apologize.

"Eat your food," came a soft command from the other end of the table. Sakura looked up from her rice and stir fry to see his penetrating, bottomless obsidian orbs boring into her person. Instead of starting another fight, she just stuck her tongue out at him childishly but began to eat her rice. The deep chuckle he gave out resonated throughout the small, silent apartment, and it instantly made her body glow with warmth that spread down to her toes. The constant air of hostility and friction that had permeated throughout the room since the beginning of their little spat seemed to disintegrate naturally, and she could feel the tension in her shoulders and body release instantly. Smiling up at him, she grinned and dove into her food with growing intensity because suddenly she realized that she hadn't eaten much at all today with the exception of a small bento at lunch.

"I still think you're wrong. I think you two need to talk," she reiterated between bites. There was a barely audible sigh of exasperation from her partner, and she grinned again. Slowly, she was breaking down his will to defy her. Fine, she reasoned, if he's going to stay in this apartment and be a jerk about everything, then he can listen to her nag him until he leaves to get some fresh air.

"I will…try," he conceded quietly. Sakura's smile got bigger.

"I love you, you know that?" she confided happily. His head shot up to look at her for a few moments. That was the first time she had ever said such things out loud, and frankly, he didn't know how to reply. Because Uchihas do not talk about their feelings. Sakura waved her hands at him, almost laughing at the dumb look on his face. "You don't have to say it back. I know this is different and difficult for you. It's harder. But I just wanted to make sure you know."

Itachi nodded his head once before taking another bite of the stir fry. "I know."

Because how could he not know after everything she has done for him? Sure, she was a little cranky sometimes after work, and she was pushy and liked to shove her nose into everybody else's business, but this was a woman who had gone to the ends of the earth for him and his family.

He could talk to his brother. He could concede this one conversation for her.

X

The next day found Itachi sitting in a training field, gritting his teeth as he attempted to convince himself that Uchihas could not be jealous. Although, this twisting in his gut was difficult to explain away if he wasn't jealous, which he wasn't. Really, he should have been happy that Sakura had Sasuke here to train her with her found Sharingan abilities. Since the time that she had left the Akatsuki base, she had clearly improved her skills markedly. The current spar that he was watching, Sakura and Deidara versus Sasuke and Kisame, proved that.

They were in the seclusion of the Uchiha training grounds. Finally having overcome some of his apprehension in visiting his old home, Itachi decided to join Sakura in her daily sparring sessions with Sasuke while he worked to improve her use of the summoning jutsu that no one seemed to understand.

The new grounds were smaller than the old compound because there were significantly less Uchihas. Sakura had designed six houses that sat close enough together to be friendly, but far enough apart for each house to have privacy. The main house, where Sasuke lived, was traditional in build and had its own private training grounds and gardens, along with a few other amenities that Sasuke insisted he didn't need. Sakura had also cultivated the natural hot springs that were on the Uchiha property and created an onsen with two separate baths and a small bath house. There were more training grounds and a small wooded area next to the old lake on the other side of Sasuke's house, and overall, it radiated with the feeling of hominess that Sakura could create wherever she was.

But when he had heard that there was a new compound and Sakura had designed it, he had never really thought about how much time it meant Sakura had been spending with Sasuke.

However, when Sakura had told him that she and Sasuke had gotten closer during their time together on their walk to the compound this morning, he hadn't realized exactly how close. Most men would be happy to have his only living relative get along with the woman who he was courting, but things were different when the relative was his lover's first real love.

Now he could see exactly how much Sakura and Sasuke had learned to depend and rely on each other. Each hit, each stab, each jutsu was well-oiled. The reaction from the other party was like choreography, an intricate dance that only the other knew.

When Itachi and Sakura would spar, Itachi would hold back from Sakura and watch her. It was much more of a teacher-student relationship when they fought. Sasuke was a different story. He put his entire being into his matches with his teammate, and only through months of sparring, training, and fighting, could they have learned each other's movements so well.

Leading to Itachi's not-jealously. It was something else because Uchihas didn't get jealous. Sasuke had gotten to spend the past six months with Sakura, and Sakura had grown closer to his only living relative and dear otouto. He knew he sounded like a petulant child, but when he was gazing at the outcome of months spent together, day and night, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of something contemptuous in his gut.

Watching her was mesmerizing, though. Her movements were violent and explosive, just like her, but she fought with such grace that it was contradictory to her chakra-infused punches that could shatter mountains in one blow. He watched her moves methodically, having denied their invitation to join in on the spar because he wanted to observe her progress.

Rearing her fists back, she threw a hard punch at Kisame, who blocked with his Samehada. Sasuke was there to attack but was thwarted by a clay bomb on Sakura's wrists. The bomb spider jumped off of her wrists to attach itself onto Sasuke's shirt in a lightning fast move. Deidara was grinning like a madman from the side of the clearing when he lit the chakra to ignite and explode. Sasuke shook the bomb off just before there was a quiet poof in the clearing that was overshadowed by the sound of a light explosion, ending the fight.

"Ow," the newcomer said, his eyes blinking from the sudden explosion that happened to occur right where he was standing the moment he decided it was time to find Sakura – a whole thirty minutes late.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're back from your mission!" Sakura greeted happily, her red eyes fading into jade once again. Itachi hadn't been informed that their sensei knew about her Sharingan, but he shouldn't be surprise that Sakura's father figure would know.

"Hello Sakura-chan, Sasuke, Deidara-san, Kisame-san, Itachi-san," Kakashi greeted in kind, smiling behind his black mask. "You've been training hard, I see."

Sakura nodded jubilantly, like a proud daughter being praised by her father, bounding over to her sensei, and Itachi saw the slight hero-worship in her eyes that would always be there, had always been there since she was a young child. They were chatting amiably for a few minutes, Sasuke listening on from behind Sakura.

"So," Sakura started, "Any word from Naruto?"

Kakashi grinned, his eye wrinkling as proof of his pleasure, and Sakura's face lit up. "His training on Mount Myouboku is going well, I hear."

Sakura laughed. "Of course it is. It probably is taking more dedication than he's ever experienced to go without ramen for so long."

"Yes," Kakashi agreed with a light chuckle, ruffling Sakura's hair affectionately, but then his face turned somber rather quickly. "I came here to let you know that the Hokage would like to see you, Sakura. They have finalized plans for the invasion if it happens, and she would like to meet with you. Then you'll be going to a meeting with the Nara clan and some other strategists to go over a plan of attack for ourselves, so we aren't just sitting here twiddling our thumbs. She had requested that Itachi-san, Kisame-san, and Deidara-san join in for that meeting as well."

Sakura nodded and glanced longingly back to the spar that had been interrupted. It wasn't often that she got to spend time with the boys like this between ANBU training and the hospital. With a slightly sad sigh, she turned around to her boys who were looking on with various degrees of disappointment on their faces because she had to leave. Kisame and Deidara were the most obvious. Often times the only action they got in a day was their morning spars since they were mostly confined to the Uchiha compound, and that was rather difficult for two men who were used to running around wherever they wanted.

"I'll see you all later!" she chirped happily, eyeing Itachi thoughtfully for a moment. He heard the other three say their gruff goodbyes to the rosette but didn't register what they were saying.

He saw something akin to indecision in Sakura's beryl eyes before she turned around to leave, and he suddenly knew what he was supposed to do. It was instinctual, and although he didn't pretend to understand relationships or emotions at all, he knew that he had not seen her off properly.

Sasuke and the other two were already heading towards his house for lunch, and Kakashi was standing at the front gate of the compound waiting for her. Itachi flash-stepped in front of her, and his sudden movements made her jerk before her eyes sparkled with surprise and confusion just before he leaned down and captured a quick kiss.

"I will see you in a few hours," he promised quietly. His reward was a radiant smile and quick nod that was filled with sunshine and sparkling happiness that only someone with bright pink hair and green eyes could exude. If he had seen himself acting like this, he would have beaten that crap out of himself, but this woman had taken him completely.

"I'll see you later," she responded before twirling around him and breaking out in a run towards Kakashi. Said jounin was eyeing Itachi balefully over Sakura's departing shoulder before he crinkled his eye into a smile at Sakura and rubbed her hair fondly when she reached him.

Sakura trotted along with Kakashi, who seemed to be in a very big hurry for this meeting. They were probably late, she surmised, from the slightly nervous glances he was sending her every now and then. Rolling her eyes, she just allowed herself to enjoy the comfortable silence that was her sensei before reaching the Hokage tower. Jumping onto the roof and into the window of Tsunade's office in one go, they interrupted the meeting in the middle of a report from Shikamaru.

"Hatake," Tsunade bit out threateningly when they entered the room and took their seats as inconspicuously as possible, so, of course, they blatantly drew the attention of everyone in the room.

"You see, Hokage-sama—"

"Shove it, Hatake," Tsunade growled back as her eyebrows twitched in annoyance. Sakura took a moment to note the three large wooden bins in the room filled with scrolls. Shikamaru finished his report quickly and sat back down in his seat. Tsunade stood and clapped her hands a few time, garnering everybody's already fixed attention.

"Alright," Tsunade said forcefully. Eyeing Kakashi with some contempt, she began, "Now that we're all here, we can get down to business. As you can see, there are bins with several scrolls in them on the other end of the room. There are two different scrolls – one for civilians and the other for shinobi. They will be distributed today and will only be opened if Konoha falls to the hands of Madara, Pein, or Danzou and I'm no longer able to lead the village."

The room filled with a palpable tension, and everybody looked around nervously, waiting for her to continue. "These scrolls are to be kept a secret and unsealed unless I fall during an attack. Nobody besides me knows what's on them, and that is for security purposes. The message on the scrolls will only be revealed if I die or become incapacitated, and that way, our enemies will have no way to anticipate our next move. In fact, with what I have left in those scrolls, not even I will know the next move of the Leaf shinobi."

"Is that wise, Hokage-sama?" Morino Ibiki asked from the back of the room. He was standing next to the head of ANBU, Fujioka Takeo. Said captain nodded his head knowingly.

"Is it right to leave our fates up to chance like that?" he voiced.

Tsunade nodded her head once. "If I fall, the shinobi will be in good hands," she promised seriously.

This seemed to be answer enough for the two old-timer shinobi as they nodded their consent. Although they were outwardly cold and stoic, even they were fearful for what would happen to their village. Three of the most powerful shinobi in the world were all out for Konoha, and they knew exactly what that meant. It meant lives lost, people destroyed, and their home's ultimate demise if they weren't properly prepared for it.

"Hokage-sama, if you do become incapacitated, what do we do to protect you?" one ANBU asked; a Hyuuga, if Sakura surmised correctly, but she couldn't tell which one from underneath their mask. Tsunade smiled tersely at the masked man.

"You leave that up to me, my apprentices, and my guard," she replied. Her voice was a little softer, some of the edge removed from the somber nature of the subject. "Everybody's first priority should be protecting the village and the civilians from Danzou, Madara, and the remaining Akatsuki."

There was a quiet murmur that radiated throughout the twenty or so shinobi who were in the room, and Tsunade had to clear her throat loudly in order to garner everyone's attention back to her. The rest of the meeting, two more hours on safety protocols and the distribution of guard duty, was rather tedious and boring. It was also all stuff that Sakura knew prior to attending the meeting. After the last speaker sat down, Tsunade called attention to herself once again.

"I'm expecting you all to distribute the scrolls to the Konoha population today. There isn't much time to waste. Nara, Hatake, Morino, Fujioka, Sakura, and any others who I've previously spoken to, I expect you to stay for the next meeting. Everyone else is dismissed," she bellowed forcefully. Everyone besides the aforementioned shinobi stood and shuffled out of the room, each of them taking a few scrolls with them.

Just as the last ninja left the room, Sasuke entered followed by his brother, Deidara, and Kisame, who were in the middle of a scuffle due to something that Deidara said to his fellow refugee, most likely about his gills. Kisame had Deidara in a headlock, and the blonde was thumping the shark-nin on the back in order to free himself. Itachi was watching them impassively, but the slight contemptuous glances he was sending towards his comrades spoke miles of his irritation. Sakura took a moment to grin at them before standing in her place and twisting around, frowning at them and waiting for them to stop their childish behavior. When it seemed that their brawl wouldn't end promptly, she nodded at Sasuke before snapping at the two men.

"Cut it out, you two," Sakura barked when they finally crossed the threshold. Sasuke took the cue and hit the two troublemakers on the back of their heads like he would Naruto in this situation.

"Hey, yeah!" Deidara cried, rubbing the back of his head and his neck simultaneously from where he was hit and strangled. Kisame just grunted while sending the younger Uchiha a furtive glance of contempt. Sasuke merely glowered at him for a moment before walking over to Sakura and taking his normal place flanking her side.

Sakura could only roll his eyes at his predictable behavior before plopping herself back into her seat. Sasuke looked as if he was going to sit down next to her, but when he saw that Kakashi was taking the other seat next to his teammate, he sent a look towards Itachi and moved a seat over. Itachi glided towards them and sat down next to Sakura.

The other ninja in the room watched them quietly with their guards up. Many of them were still not comfortable with the Hokage's decision to allow two missing-nin from other countries into their village, and others were still unwilling to accept Uchiha Itachi back into their midst even though Sakura seemed more than willing to do so. Nara Shikamaru had no such qualms, and he joined the odd group by sitting on the other side of Kakashi.

"This is such a drag," he muttered under his breath. Kakashi merely chuckled a bit before casting a sidelong glance at his former student.

He could see it – the change that occurred the moment that the elder Uchiha was around her. It was like a switch clicked inside of her that lit her up like a mega-watt bulb. Sakura was glowing when her lover, boyfriend, partner – whatever she wanted to call him – was around. Kakashi had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. His little girl was growing up much too fast, and she had found the most unsightly of partners. In short, he didn't approve. Then again, no matter who Sakura would choose, he wouldn't approve. Nobody was good enough for his Sakura-chan.

Itachi noticed Kakashi's furtive, slightly menacing glances, and he tensed slightly under the watchful gaze of the copy-nin. Their black eyes met briefly before flitting away just as quickly over Sakura's head. Kakashi was hardly a threat to him physically, but his influence of Sakura and her decisions was slightly worrying. He knew that Kakashi's opinion mattered more to Sakura than she let on, especially now that Sasuke was back and Naruto was gone; Kakashi had been the only constant in her life over the past few months or even years.

The Hokage interrupted their small, silent exchange by coughing loudly. It appeared that the Godaime had noticed the entire exchange if the slightly amused lilt to her eyes and mouth was any indication. She glanced over the smaller crowd of shinobi, the men and women who she trusted the most with her village, and could only sigh deeply. The weight of her troubles was starting to take over her and she was getting frustrated with how slowly things were progressing.

"So," she began while clenching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. "My plan is to send the Akatsuki brats along with both Uchihas to hunt down Madara before he can come for us."

There was a stifling silence for a moment before the complaints began to rile up the four men who had just been addressed.

"What?!" cried Deidara and Kisame simultaneously. "No!"

"No," snapped Sasuke just after. Itachi remained silent and impassive, but his entire demeanor shifted into one of intense annoyance and defiance that Sakura had only felt once or twice before – and it was long before they had ever entered their relationship.

"And why the hell not?" Tsunade retorted hotly.

The answer was simple and synchronized between the four: "I will not leave Sakura."

Which promptly caused Tsunade to bellow in laughter. The genuine mirth leaking from her person was completely shocking to most of the ninja in the room. Even Ibiki's and Takeo's eyebrows rose at the sudden outburst.

"You four act as if she's completely incompetent and incapable of taking care of herself," Tsunade accused. The four ninja in question sent a glance to Sakura, who was flushing with annoyance and rage at the insinuation. Kakashi was stroking her back slightly, trying to keep her from exploding in a fury of rage over them. Tsunade cleared her throat loudly. "Even if you were here, you wouldn't be assigned to protect Sakura. I'm not intending on assigning anyone to protect her because she's a kunoichi and she can take care of herself."

"But –"

"No buts, Uchiha…Sasuke," Tsunade replied hastily, realizing there were now two Uchihas to address. "If you really are concerned, I will assign Hyuuga Neji to protect you while you're gone."

"No."

This time, the defiant inflection was coming from Itachi, and Tsunade looked nothing less than amused at the situation. She continued, "Well then there is no reason to worry. Sakura is stronger than you four give her credit for. Additionally, she will be in charge of the hospital and aiding the wounded if something was to happen. I will have Katsuyu there to support her, and she can protect Sakura from any major attacks as well. Is that agreeable?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, huffing dramatically while crossing her arms over her chest in annoyance. Really, these guys thought she was some weak little princess?! Well fine, she would show them how weak she was in training later today.

"Hokage-sama," Itachi interrupted her thoughts suddenly. Sakura glanced over to the man sitting beside her. His eyes were pinned on the Hokage, who tilted her head in the slightest of inclinations to get Itachi to continue. "While it is unlikely that Pein-sama and Madara-sama will be working together, it is more likely that Dazou-sama will team up with Madara-sama…"

He trailed off for a moment and sent a quiet glance towards Sasuke, who was watching him carefully. The smallest of reassuring breaths left Itachi's mouth before he continued, "The Uchiha massacre came to fruition because of the planning of these two men. They knew each other from a long time ago, and they will be a large threat if ANBU Root is also backing their cause. Pein-sama is perhaps going to be their decoy, and he will come in and weaken the village, but if he fails, Madara-sama and Danzou-sama will then strike. If Pein-sama succeeds in taking down the village, it will leave him weakened and open to attack from them as well."

Sakura could see the sudden shift in Sasuke's demeanor, his eyes widening in shock and his posture stiffening completely, telling her that he never knew the extent of his clan's demise. Sakura wanted to roll her eyes and blurt out 'I told you so' to Itachi, but decided it was hardly the time. Maybe later.

"So they are using both of us to weaken the other. If Pein attacks first, then neither one of us will be able to defend ourselves against the combined power of Danzou and Madara when they decide to strike," Shikamaru summarized before adding, "Troublesome."

"Indeed," Itachi agreed.

"That's why I'm sending you four out to take down Madara before he can come in and do that," Tsunade replied almost nonchalantly. "Naruto has completed his training in the senjutsu arts with the toads, and he will be on his way home shortly. I'm confident that he has the power to protect us from an attack by Pein. Word on the street is that I'm no pushover either."

Itachi merely inclined his head and accepted the Hokage's word. It would be much more difficult to destroy Madara then the Hokage was letting on, but she knew that. Her confidence in the four of them was rather astounding, and Itachi couldn't help but allow that once-familiar sensation of pride to come to him once again. It was something he hadn't felt since he was a young ninja being praised by his father, Shisui, or his sensei or the Hokage.

Once again, the rest of the meeting went by rather monotonously. Ibiki and Takeo argued for over an hour on the progress of the ANBU, and then Shikamaru stepped in and began discussing contingency plans if Pein attacked before the group going after Madara was able to leave or take him out. By the time the group of shinobi left, they all had a solid plan as to handle an attack should one occur, but there was that inkling of feeling for all of them – what if it didn't work?

When they exited the Hokage tower together, Sasuke looked at Itachi for a long moment before asking, "Danzou and Madara planned it?"

Kakashi looked as if he was going to say something, but then a strange feeling began to unsettle him. With a small nod of departure and a small poof, he was gone to investigate the strange aura that was surrounding a person he had seen – a person with orange hair that he had never seen in this village before.

The others, seemingly oblivious, watched the exchange between the two brothers with guarded expressions.

Itachi tensed and sent a sidelong glance towards his younger brother before shooting a glimpse towards a very smug looking Sakura. She sent a very pointed look to Sasuke and then looked back at Itachi. Her arms automatically sat on her hips, jutting one out to the side in a very defiant pose – meaning she wouldn't be taking no for an answer this time. If Uchihas rolled their eyes, he would have done so at her childish behavior. The exchange took less than a second and then Itachi was looking back at his younger brother.

"Perhaps it is time that we talked about this." Sasuke nodded his assent and the group headed towards the Uchiha compound together.

X

Sakura barely dodged the kunai that Kisame had sent her way, and it took her more than a moment to realize that Deidara had snuck a clay spider onto her blouse. With a quick jerk, she was able to dislodge the little bomb, but not before it detonated and singed the edge of her shirt. Instead of focusing on this, she glanced secretly towards the dock by the lake of the Uchiha compound where Itachi and Sasuke were sitting, feet in the water.

Neither of them was looking at each other, and their postures were both an odd mix of slumped, dejected shoulder and rigid discomfort that Sakura couldn't quite understand.

"Oi, woman, will you pay attention?" Deidara called from across the training ground.

Sakura smiled sheepishly at her lack of focus and nodded her head towards her two friends. Kisame was rushing her in an instant, Samehada in hand, and she jumped to avoid the blows that he was bringing with surprising speed for such a heavy sword.

But just as she flipped far enough away, her eyes roved back over to the two brothers who were in the exact same position as before and had been for almost two hours. She couldn't help but be curious as to what they were talking about and how they were handling this difficult conversation. Both of them were so conversationally stunted that she wouldn't have been surprised if they actually weren't talking at all.

The way their shoulders would move and their postures would change told her that they were discussing what had happened all those years ago. Somehow, it didn't make her feel better. In fact, she probably wouldn't feel better until she got the full story from either Sasuke or Itachi later.

Deidara was throwing a barrage of explosive kunai, so she jumped out of the way of the maelstrom of vicious weaponry that was heading her way, especially now that Kisame was jumping into the mix and began attacking her with powerful thrusts of the Samehada. Once again, though, their spar was abruptly ending by the sound of a small poof into the battlefield. This time, however, it was not Kakashi, but an ANBU with a mask covering his face.

"Haruno-san," he greeted quickly. Sakura jumped out of the way of the Samehada and landed in front of the ANBU gracefully.

"ANBU-san."

"There is a medical emergency at the hospital. Your expertise is needed immediately," the ANBU informed her before bowing and disappearing just as quickly as he came.

"No, don't go," Deidara cried out, clutching onto Sakura's hands like a sulking child, pulling her back towards the training ground. Sakura threw her head back and let out a small laugh before prying her hands away from Deidara.

Grinning, she reminded him, "It's my job, Deidara. Now I have to go. You two make sure that Sasuke-kun and Itachi don't kill each other."

Kisame ruffled her hair affectionately, just like Kakashi, and she smiled up at him. Glancing back towards the lake, where Sasuke's shoulders were suspiciously shaking as if he was crying, Sakura's face instantly melted with concern.

"Don't even think about it kid," Kisame chastised lightly, poking her in the nose to prove his point. "You know that this is something they have to do by themselves, but we'll make sure they don't kill each other."

Sakura nodded and sent Kisame and Deidara a grateful look before forming the hand signs that would take her to the hospital.

There had been a very grievous accident with a genin team when the sensei had gone to get the group lunch. Apparently one of them had decided to show off his brand new fire jutsu, almost obliterating himself and his teammates along with a good portion of the Konoha forests, and earning them all a trip to the hospital's intensive care unit. It took Sakura almost three hours to put back together one genin's hand and muscular tissue before deeming it good enough to heal on its own. Really, if their sensei hadn't been on his way back when he saw the flames, all three of the twelve-year-olds could have died.

But Sakura couldn't help but smile a bit, being reminded of a worried but furious sensei at his group of mischievous students who almost got themselves killed. It was like nostalgia had hit her all at once, and since the genin hadn't died and would all make a full recovery and take a good lesson home with them, she didn't feel too guilty about the small smile that bloomed across her face when the sensei began chastising the barely conscious genin harshly.

It was well past dark when she left the hospital that night. It should have been more of a surprise to see Sasuke standing outside of the tall building, hands shoved in his pockets with a bag of takeout by his feet, but this had been a small ritual that the two had held since he was let out a prison all those months ago.

"You haven't eaten," he acknowledged gruffly when she approached him with a timid, unsure smile on her face.

"I haven't," she conceded.

"Hard day?" he asked quietly while handing her a small box of rice and some chopsticks. He lifted the rest of the bag into his hands and she ate while he walked her back to her apartment.

"I should be asking you the same thing," Sakura shot back between mouthfuls of chicken fried rice. "How was the talk with your brother?"

Sasuke was quiet for a moment before stopping in his tracks. They were just a block away from Sakura's apartment when he took the takeout box from her hand and set it down next to the bag on a bench.

"It was necessary," he said facing towards her with an incredibly serious expression on his face. "We spent most of the time talking about you."

"Me?" she sputtered in the most unladylike fashion. Sasuke sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. "What about me?"

Instead of answering, Sasuke just gave her one more incomprehensible look before hooking his hand behind her neck and slanting his mouth over hers, kissing her full on the lips.

Her hands pushed on his chest, ripping the two apart after a mere moment of one of the most passionate kisses she had been subjected to, and she wondered how a kiss that ended so quickly could be so fervent. Both of them were panting from the sudden exertion while Sakura just gaped at him, wide eyed, like a fish trying to find air. Sasuke almost looked smug before shrugging his shoulders and picking up the food and setting out for her apartment.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" Sakura cried, running to catch up with him when sense had smacked her back in the face. "What the hell was that?!"

Sasuke didn't even bother to stop or look at her. "A kiss," he answered evenly, as if she was asking the stupidest of questions. "And he was right. Interesting."

"Who was right? What? Please do explain that to me before I pound your face into the pavement and then castrate you. Your hopes of reviving the Uchiha clan will forever be terminated," Sakura insisted while grabbing onto Sasuke's arms, effectively halting him and forcing him to turn towards her.

"I told Itachi that I thought I was in love with you."

The statement, said so indifferent and apathetic was like a smack in the face, the air and shock whooshing out of her lungs all in one blow. "What?!"

"So he told me what it felt like for him to kiss you," Sasuke iterated with another shrug. "Then he told me I should kiss you to see what it felt like. He said that I wasn't in love with you and I wouldn't feel what he felt. It's really disgusting that you two feel like that if you ask me."

This was a dream. It had to be a dream.

"You thought you were in love with me?" she practically whispered so quietly it was barely audible. Sasuke shrugged again.

"Yeah, but I wasn't. Aniki was right. It was nothing special," he commented gruffly and began walking again, leaving her to sputter over the newest revelation.

"What? How?" she asked quietly.

"Since before I proposed to you," he explained rather easily. The facts were whirring throughout Sakura's head and only a few things came to mind that she voiced before she could even stop the words from filtering through her mouth.

"It was nothing special? How dare you?" she hissed. "AND HE TOLD YOU TO?"

Sasuke nodded again, and by that time, they were standing outside of her apartment complex.

"This should be good news. I'm not in love with you," he reiterated. Really, Sakura should be offended, but it was almost a relief that he hadn't felt anything when they kissed or something very bad could have happened. "Unless you're still in love with me."

"What," Sakura inflected, but it wasn't a question. Her face turned so deadly that Sasuke let out a light chuckle. Prying her clenched fists open, he placed the bag of takeout in her hands and turned to leave.

"Good to hear it. I'll see you tomorrow. I think you and my brother have some things to discuss."

"YOU TOLD HIM TO KISS ME?" she was screaming before she even got the door all the way open. Itachi, who had been sitting on the couch reading, let out a small laugh before setting his book down on the end table.

"Aa."

"Uchiha Itachi, you are an idiot," she accused, throwing the takeout down on the dining room table and stomping over to him. Her cheeks were reddened in fury, and it was most endearing to Itachi that he didn't even feel angry at her for calling him an idiot.

"I wasn't worried," he replied nonchalantly. He stood up then, taking measured strides over to her so that he was just a hairsbreadth away from her. Cheeks puffing out angrily, she gave him a look before continuing her rant.

"And what if it had backfired, hm?" she asked heatedly. "What if Sasuke-kun had kissed me and we both saw fireworks and felt all those wonderful feelings. What if I ran away with him and we eloped and had a few dozen Uchiha babies?"

Itachi arched a brow at her antics. "If you did," he replied with an amused lilt to his deep voice, "then you wouldn't be here, now would you?"

Sakura looked just about ready to hit him over the head at his confidence, so he looped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "So did you Sa-ku-ra?" he practically purred into her ear, instantly sending her insides flipping and warming all at the same time while a palpable shiver ran down her spine. "Did it feel like this when he kissed you?"

Leaning down, Itachi captured her lips in a soft, yet passionate kiss. The air and anger left her all at once and she eagerly responded to his advances, looping her arms around his neck to bring him closer. The guttural growl he let out when she bit his lip sent her heart racing, just like it did every time, and she knew her ruse was up. When she pulled back, his deep black eyes were a shade darker with lust, if it were possible.

"Maybe," she quipped.

"Well then," he replied, hooking his arms behind her legs to wrap around his waist before kissing her again. As he began walking them to the bedroom, he spoke between kisses, "Then I should remind you what kissing me feels like."

The kiss with Sasuke, the anger towards Itachi, and the bag of takeout were quickly forgotten.

X

It was the first loud explosion that jolted her awake suddenly. The adrenaline was already coursing through her veins as she and Itachi yanked the covers back simultaneously. Due to their earlier rendezvous, she was completely naked and was struggling to find her clothes in the dark. A breath of warm air from behind her was the only warning she had to the fire jutsu that Itachi created, lighting several candles in the room at once.

"The power is out," he stated flatly, as if he had expected it from the beginning. Just as the last word left his mouth, another large explosion rocked the town, causing her apartment building to shake mercilessly.

"That was closer," Sakura breathed, yanking her shirt over her bindings and pulling her black pants on. Her ANBU gear was next, securing her mask into place just after fixing her chest and arm guards. "Remember the plan?"

He smirked at her muffled words, and Sakura fought back the urge to roll her eyes. He was Uchiha Itachi – of course he remembered the plan.

Sakura grabbed the scrolls that Tsunade had distributed to every civilian and shinobi the day before – the last resort. If Konoha would fall tonight, and only if Konoha fell into the enemy's rule, would they open this scroll. Sakura clutched it tightly, a dark sense of foreboding falling over her, making her shake in fear. Not even she knew what was in this scroll. Only the Hokage knew the last plan although Sakura suspected that perhaps Kakashi or even Shikamaru had an idea.

Snapping herself out of her thoughts, she tucked the scroll into her back pouch in case she needed it.

"I'm going to the Hokage Tower first, but I'll probably end up either at the hospital or evacuating citizens," Sakura stated calmly.

"I will find my brother, Kisame, and Deidara," Itachi returned evenly, making move to jump out the window. Before he could, Sakura had grasped the sleeve to his shirt. He turned around to find that her ANBU mask was up. The fear that was prevalent in her verdant orbs jolted him, and he removed himself from the window to her.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

"I know," he replied impassively. "Don't be."

His lips met hers softly, but the passion that was fueled within it made Sakura's heart jump. Only their lips touched, and when Sakura went to grasp him, he moved back to avoid her arms. A small noise of protest escaped the back of her throat, making Itachi pull back completely, his eyes half lidded. The kiss he had her was a clear message, a silent promise.

I'm here to protect you.

When he pulled back, he almost smirked at the dazed look in his lover's eyes. Without another word, he jumped from the window down in the streets. She watched as his fluid, dark form jumped from rooftop to rooftop in the direction of the newly minted Uchiha compound.

Sakura followed quickly. There was an eerily calm madness on the streets – an oxymoron, she knew, but it was true. Civilians, all with panic-stricken looks on their faces, ran in even patterns towards their designated evacuation areas. Due to their preparation for this event, every shinobi and civilian knew exactly where to go if and when this happened.

Sakura ran quickly to the Hokage tower to find it completely in flames.

AN: Some people wanted a little more input of Deidara and Kisame because they were so quiet last chapter, so I tried to get them in here a little more.

Others wanted a little more ItachiXSakura fluff, so I tried to give you that as well.

I'm sure the Sasuke thing was a surprise, and I know that I said that Sakura and Sasuke weren't going to enter into a love triangle, and they aren't. This was something I had been planning for a while now because I feel like it's difficult to spend six months with a person constantly, especially two people like Sasuke and Sakura where their feelings have been all muddled for so long, without having some mixed feelings. I hope I was able to do this realistically and in character without blowing it out of proportion.