Chapter 1 - Injuries

Oh, I'm a lose bolt of a complete machine

What a match

I'm half doomed, and you're semi-sweet

- Fall Out Boy "Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes"

"Itachi's been brooding more."

Naruto snickered. "Like your brother can get any more grim. He's an Uchiha."

"Don't insult my clan dobe."

"Whatever teme."

Sasuke almost rolled his eyes at his blond teammate. Sakura always pestered him to be more open and talk about his feeling instead of bottling everything inside. Now that he tried to talk, Naruto cut him off with another moronic statement that insulted his clan.

Team seven spent the morning training together on their usual training grounds. It was a three-way spar between them, since Kakashi completely failed to show up this time around. Sasuke would be lying if he said he did not miss Sakura's fiery punches. She was always either cooped in the hospital or on missions with his Onii's team. Sakura always smirked and teased that they should have decided to become medic-nin instead of brute shinobis if they wanted a quick entry into ANBU.

Sasuke was thoroughly exhausted. The spar was a free for all, except Naruto could not use his senjutsu, Sasuke his Sharingan, and Sakura her medical chakra as a weaponry tool. After training with only Kakashi and Naruto for so long, Sasuke almost forgot that Sakura had suddenly become a capable kunoichi and he rather enjoyed sparring her. She was highly intelligent and used her wit and genjutsu expertise as tactical devices in their match. Without his Sharingan, Sasuke barely realized he was caught in her genjutsu until the last minute. He knew she was training with his Onii and he was most likely sharpening her genjutsu skills. Sasuke almost grumbled at the unfairness; Itachi was his brother, he should be training him instead of Sakura.

The three finally decided to stop sparring, as it was a complete standstill, and laid down on the grass to cool off. Sasuke snuck a glance at his female teammate, whose eyes were closed, as she was trying to relax, but her shoulders tense. He wondered if Sakura knew anything about Itachi's recent behavior. Sakura accompanied his brother on many missions; as she spent equal if not more time on missions with team eleven than team seven, a fact Sasuke never would feel comfortable with. She was also Itachi's medic-to-go. Sasuke knew that Sakura, Tsunade, or Shizune were the only ones permitted to heal Itachi, ordered by the clan elders, and only those three along with the elders and his family had access to Itachi's confidential health records.

Sasuke knew Itachi failed a psychological evaluation a few days ago after returning from a mission. Sasuke almost choked on his rice ball at the dinner table when Itachi had stated he failed the assessment and would be required to remain in the village for three weeks. Their Okasan looked concerned as their Otousan looked certainly displeased, but quickly mentioned Itachi was now free to attend the coming clan meeting. Itachi hated those meetings as much as he hated their Okasan's scolding. Itachi's distaste of those meetings were so apparent that after a while Itachi lost the courtesy to seek out the elder to find out what had conversed in those meetings. Sasuke himself hated those meetings. He felt sorry that his Onii was usually the topic of discussion.

If he were in Itachi's shoes, he would be going on back-to-back missions too, no matter how exhausting that it may have been. But his Onii failed a psychological exam. Sasuke could not remember the last time his brother failed anything. Surely, Sakura would know the exact details regarding the issue, as the psychological evaluator and medical examiner both had to concur to finalize a shinobi's state of mind.

But did Sakura really sign off for Itachi's psychological exam. No wonder Itachi was moping more than usual. His subordinate basically signed off him as mentally unstable. It must be awkward, Sasuke concluded. There was a part of him that was not thoroughly convinced Sakura would do such a thing. What would compel her? Sasuke closed his eyes and pondered for a few minutes before it hit him. Sakura was a healer and Itachi was stubborn. Judging from the rare moments Itachi was home, Itachi was always exhausted. If Sasuke noticed this, surely Sakura had. She probably told him to take a break from missions and Itachi probably refused. Sasuke snorted. How many times would he have to tell Itachi never to refuse Sakura, as she always got what she wanted. Sasuke knew that Itachi definitely noticed Sakura boss him and Naruto around on multiple occasions.

Sasuke had to ask Sakura if this was true, but she would never disclose Itachi's health records, as it went against doctor-patient confidentiality and many other rules and codes. She would be a dead end on acquiring information. But maybe it was worth a try.

"He failed a psychological evaluation."

Naruto started choking on air, and rolled around the ground overdramatically before he sat up suddenly with bewildered eyes. "What! I always knew your brother was crazy. This just proves it."

Again, a vein throbbed on Sasuke's forehead at Naruto's ridiculous comment, but kept one eye on Sakura as did not miss the way she visibly flinched. "My onii-san is not crazy."

"Maybe you should go for a psych exam teme, if you share blood with the Prince of Darkness. Kami only knows what's wrong with your head. Hey, Sakura-chan can even–"

"Shut up! Both of you!" Sakura finally spoke, clearly irritated. "Failing a psych exam isn't something to joke about."

Sakura quickly stood up, brushed her top of the invisible dirt, and started walking away. "Wait, Sakura-chan, where are you going? I thought we were going to get Ichiraku," Naruto pouted.

"Ichiraku is unhealthy. I'm going home to take a shower. Then to the hospital to actually help people," Sakura shouted over her shoulder.

Naruto continued pouting and blamed Sasuke for upsetting their Sakura-chan and making her leave. Sasuke, on the other hand, was fully convinced Sakura knew something about Itachi's psychological exam that he did not. Now, all Sasuke had to do was decide if he wanted to find out what happened or not.

And it was decided. If it concerned his Onii, Sasuke was involved. He quickly got to his feet and started heading the direction Sakura took off at.

"Oi, you're leaving too teme"

"Clan business, dobe," Sasuke smoothly replied ignoring Naruto muttering something along the lines of 'stupid clan' under his breath. Technically, it was clan business, since Sasuke was sticking his nose into Itachi's business and Itachi was an Uchiha as well as his brother.

Sasuke headed the path down to Sakura's home. She lived in a peaceful, aesthetically traditional district of Konoha relatively popular with high-middle class civilians that was located close to the Konoha's medical center. The narrowed streets to the cobblestone ground to the lanterns that connected rooftops of opposite buildings all supported the beauty of the district. Sasuke had to admit Sakura lived in alluring neighborhood that looked twice as pretty during the nighttime.

It was easy to get lost if one did not know their way around the narrow streets. Sasuke knew the way to Sakura townhouse in his sleep. Catching a glimpse of pink, Sasuke noticed Sakura reaching her doorstep.

Sasuke approached his pink haired teammate. "Sakura."

"Oh Sasuke, what are you doing here?"

Her big, expressive, concerned-filled eyes only fostered Sasuke hypothesis. "We need to talk."

A smile covered her face. "Am I trouble, mister police officer?"

Sasuke flinched. He hated when she called him that. When he was little, all Sasuke wanted to do was work alongside his clan members at the Police Force. His teammates, however, never let him live his former dreams down. "It's about Itachi."

The teasing smile disappeared from Sakura face as she frowned at Sasuke. She opened her door as Sasuke silently followed her inside. Sasuke ditched his shoes at the doorway as Sakura walked into her kitchen. "Do you want tea, Sasuke?"

"Hn."

Sakura could not cook to save her life, but her tea was directly sent from kami. She knew Sasuke and Naruto loved when she made tea, and always kept cold, iced tea in her fridge for when she would get spontaneous visits. Sasuke walked into the kitchen and sat at one of the stools by her island. He always wondered why Sakura had a nice kitchen when tea and rice balls were the only edible food-related items she could muster.

Sakura grabbed two cups and poured tea into each as she handed Sasuke one and leaned against the counter with her arms crossed. Her face was hard and revealed nothing. "What do you want to know?"

"Did Itachi fail his psychological exam?"

Sakura took a deep breath, as Sasuke noticed she was choosing her next few words carefully. "Itachi's body is under a lot of stress. It's only a matter of time when he would collapse," Sakura explained slowly, "He doesn't take care of himself. I only took the appropriate steps of what I thought was right as his doctor."

She completely avoided the question. But it was enough for Sasuke. Sakura cared for Itachi's wellbeing and Sasuke could not be mad at her for that. Though he would never feel comfortable with her being around Itachi often, including missions and trainings, Sasuke rather have Sakura on Itachi's team than any other ANBU team. Sasuke knew Itachi would never let anything happen to her; she was his teammate and friend, and Itachi knew how much Sakura meant to Sasuke. If Sakura ever came back in less than pristine condition, Sasuke had a good enough reason to beat up Itachi. Though a part of Sasuke knew Itachi was still levels ahead of him.

Sasuke waved goodbye and headed back home.

Sakura let out a satisfied moan as the warm water hit her tense shoulders. It seemed that recently she was always tense or stiff or tired. Although she had not been assigned a mission for the past two and a half weeks, Sakura was always in the hospital or training. Yesterday's spar with Naruto and Sasuke was more exhausting than normal.

She had not been training with team eleven, as Itachi would always inform her on such trainings. It had almost been a week since Itachi was forced to remain in the village and not once did he come contact her for a training session. He was probably ignoring her as retribution to what she did. She leaned against her shower wall and mulled over her actions.

Her actions were completely wrong and inappropriate as well as illegal. The guilt was finally starting to hit. Itachi had every right to ignore her. If her subordinate ever challenged her mental status, Sakura was sure she would punch them into next week. How was she ever going to face him? She had played with his mental status along with inaccurate medical diagnosis that she was pretty sure Itachi had no idea she filed. When she went to the Sandaime to notify him of Itachi's medical state, the Sandaime did not believe that Konoha's best shinobi failed his psychological evaluation. Sakura was so sure her masterpiece plan collapsed and she was caught conducting felonious acts. So she came up with the most pathetic excuse to why Itachi failed his assessment and hoped the Sandaime was convinced.

Lucky for her, the hokage understood and she promptly left the hokage tower. It was more nerve wrecking than her first mission with team seven in Wave that had gone horribly wrong. Hopefully her act could be buried somewhere deep but Sakura had a gut feeling it was going to come back and bite her in the behind.

Tsunade, on the other hand, after returning and finding out about the Uchiha heir's medical ailment only raised a knowing eyebrow at her apprentice. Thank god her Shishou did not ask any questions because Sakura was sure she would break down from all the guilt. At that point, Sakura was fine with Itachi ignoring her. She did not want to face him. Sakura had no idea how she could ever look in her Taichou's eyes ever again. How did Ino not shame at their actions? The last time Sakura saw Ino, Ino was all bright and normal, like the two had not committed illicit activities. Well, she was a shameless kunoichi, a part of Sakura reasoned.

Sakura grabbed the shampoo she apparently shared with Pakkun and gently washed her hair. Her hair was mid-length. Sakura smiled when she and Ino, along with every other fan girl, grew their hair out for Sasuke back in their Academy days. Her crush on Sasuke was pathetic. It only took almost dying in the chunin exams for her to realize it. After narrowly surviving the chunin exams, Sakura decided no boy was worth changing herself for. She and Ino concluded that Sasuke was not worth their friendship and quickly made up. As a sign of letting go of their stupid obsession with the Uchiha, the two girls cut their hair to shoulder length. Ino had grown out her since then but Sakura never let her hair that long again.

Sakura sighed. Her actions were of the past and she had to get over it. She had carried out more abominable acts than a simple flunking of a psychological exam. Turning off the water in her shower and pushing the guilt deep down in her stomach, Sakura stepped out into the bathroom that attached to her bedroom.

Steam filled the room and fogged the mirror. Sakura did not realize how long she spent in the shower. Her shift at the hospital started soon. Haphazardly drying herself in a fluffy white towel, Sakura threw on scanty pink panties adorned with green polka dots. Shopping with Ino was always an insufferably experience. It usually ended up with Ino buying everything for the two.

Drying her hair as best as she could, Sakura walked out into her bedroom in just her panties as little droplets of water followed her footsteps. Goosebumps adorned her arms and her nipples reflexly hardened to the sudden cold air.

Only after taking a few more steps into her bedroom did Sakura notice that her Taichou was leaning against the wall by her balcony. Itachi was wearing standard black shinobi pants with ninja sandals. He had on a skintight black, sleeveless top that only highlighted the muscles underneath his shirt and brought attention to his strong arms that were crossed against his chest.

His stance looked almost bored. Sakura always wondered how he managed to look so effortlessly dangerous and gentle at the same time. She was either the sweet, soft medic or the crazy, kunoichi bitch.

"Sakura," a deep, seductive tenor broke the silence in the room and her concentration as Sakura looked up to meet dark eyes staring inquisitively into her ivy, emerald eyes.

Sakura remembered back in her genin days when Sasuke would describe his crazy older brother – 'enjoys assassination missions… masochist… sadist… cannibal… cold-blooded' – and she instantly imagined a grim reaper that stomped on pretty flowers and ate innocent bunnies for dinner as he cruelly laughed in a dark castle as thunder roared in the background. Little did she know, Sasuke was only over-exaggerating through his jealousy of his older brother.

When she first met Itachi, she almost choked on her saliva. The three genin were having dinner at the Uchiha household. Itachi had returned from a mission as he was wearing standard ANBU gear that Sakura barely noticed. Sasuke's Okasan had pressed Itachi to join his brother and his friends for dinner. Sakura did not know anybody who was more beautiful than Sasuke but Itachi officially had triumphed Sasuke in that category. Unlike Sasuke, Itachi was poised and gentle, and he showed utter devotion and love to Sasuke that was so apparent through his eyes. She was thirteen and naive at the time and the Uchiha heir was eighteen and hardened.

His eyes, Sakura noted, changed so much since the first meeting. They revealed numbness and desensitization but clearly still held that devotion to Sasuke she first saw. But that was not important now. What was he doing in her bedroom? Sakura almost put her arms on her hips before asking what he was doing here, but she noticed his eyes flicker down to her chest. It was then did Sakura realize she was only in a pair of skimpy panties. Her face quickly started turning the color of her hair.

Sakura let out a screech as she instantly covered her chest with her arms and started to turn to dash back into the safety of her bathroom. But Sakura slipped on the small pool of water that garnered by her feet and quickly crashed onto the floor, her head high-fiving her hard wood floor.

Her vision blurred, but she knew she saw Itachi's dark figure above her before unconsciousness completely swallowed her vision.

Sakura did not gain consciousness for another three hours. When the medic blinked her eyes open, she was on a hospital bed. Glancing around the room Sakura concluded she was in her Shishou's personal hospital room. As Sakura sat up, her head suddenly started pounding a million miles a second.

"Lay back down," a stern voice commanded, "you suffered a concussion."

"What?" Sakura mumbled, taking her Shishou's advice and completely laid down on the bed and stared at the blond Sannin while she pressed healing chakra to her head trying to alleviate the pounding headache.

Sakura heard a sigh and a 'I need sake' before her Shishou continued. "Uchiha brought you in, said you slipped and hurt your head."

Sakura instantly covered her flushed face and groaned. "Oh Kami." She heard Tsunade laugh as Sakura promptly pulled the blanket over her head. Sakura wondered what her Shishou must have been thinking. "What time is it Shishou?"

"Five in the afternoon," Tsunade smiled at her apprentice's groan, "Your shift technically doesn't end till eight. And, Sakura," Tsunade paused to make sure her apprentice was looking at her, "guilt make people do stupid things."

With that, Sakura was left alone. She was never coming out of her mini blanket cocoon where Tsunade's teasing could not affect her. Although Sakura never told Tsunade that she failed Itachi's assessment, she knew her mentor had figured it out. Sakura was not guilty, not anymore at least. She confronted her guilt earlier. And look where that brought you, a voice inside Sakura's head scoffed. Pretending her life was fine, Sakura decided that she would have to say goodbye to her mini cocoon and face reality. Crawling out of bed, Sakura noticed Tsunade left a nurse's outfit by her bedside.

Her eyes quickly stared at the long dark t-shirt that covered her chest. Funny, last time she remembered, she was only wearing panties that would make Ino blush. Her legs were also adorned with loose shorts. Itachi must have dressed her before taking her to the hospital since she realized she was wearing Kakashi-sensei's old t-shirt, Sakura mused before a blush spread across her cheeks. He must have had to rummage through her drawers to find her clothes. He saw her topless. Her Taichou saw her in just her panties. How embarrassing. This was the furthest she's been with any guy.

CHA! One step closer to falling in his–

Sakura quickly hushed her inner and quickly slipped out of her baggy clothes and into the nurse's outfit. She never liked wearing the nurse's dress, as it was too short for Sakura's liking. She realized she would have to go braless, as Itachi failed to dress her in one, Sakura bitterly contemplated. She could feel Ino's encouraging remarks on her outfit in her head. Sakura could not help to wonder, what had gone through Itachi's head. Was he ever in this type of scenario before? Probably not. What did he think of what he saw? Sakura flushed at her thoughts and shook her head hoping her train of thoughts would scatter. "I don't care what he thinks," Sakura muttered to herself.

Liar.

Sakura hung in her head down. She was lying. She realized she cared more than she wanted to admit of what Itachi thought of her. He was always quiet and watchful, a man of few words. Sakura knew he accepted her but that was as a teammate. He saw more of her skin than anybody else. It made Sakura feel exposed and only further mortified her.

Slipping out of the room and into and out Tsunade's empty office, Sakura walked into the hospital hallway. This was her comfort zone. Smiling at some passing nurses, Sakura grabbed a few patient files and made her way to heal the sickly.

Her first patient was a seven-year-old boy named Yuki. He had the most stunning blue eyes. He reminded Sakura of Naruto in more ways than one. His mother brought him in for a broken arm. Apparently, Yuki had been playing ninja with friends and he thought that nothing would happen to him if he jumped down from a rooftop, like 'those cool ninjas do'. After Sakura explained that jumping down rooftops was dangerous if he was not properly trained, the boy badgered her to train him. When Sakura politely refused, he asked to marry her. Sakura smiled at the boy's infatuation. "Come back in twenty years, Yuki. Then we'll talk." Yuki pouted his way out the room as his mother apologized at her son's antics.

Her second patient was not a cute, little boy. He was a middle-aged civilian with stomach pains who continuously flirted with Sakura even after she stated she was married. "So why aren't you wearing a ring?" he pestered. Sakura tried to keep her temper in check. "It's unwise to wear a wedding ring in surgery," Sakura replied. She thought that would shut the man up but he only continued to pester her with questions.

"I didn't hear anything about Tsunade-sama's apprentice getting married."

"A lot of shinobis don't publicize their marriages."

"I think you're lying."

"I'm not lying."

"Prove it."

"How am I supposed to prove it!?"

"Who is he?"

"No one you know!"

Sakura hastily finished up healing the civilian and left the room. Civilians were generally easier patients than shinobis were, but they were definitely the ruder of the bunch. Civilians also tended to be the chattier of the two groups, especially when a nurse came to check on them. Many nurses complained of patient's inappropriate behavior and Sakura blamed it on the stupid nurse uniform. Although it was not as slutty as those degrading nurse costumes, the nurse dresses were definitely on the risqué side.

Sakura decided she would check one more patient before switching into scrubs and finding a very long surgery. Sakura almost slapped her forehead. She should have changed into scrubs when she left Tsunade's office. Sakura concluded that it was Itachi's fault. If he never was in her room, she never would have slipped and her head would have never been messed up.

Room 204. Inside was her last general patient. Sakura walked inside before coming to a quick halt. She filled with dread while her inner was jumping with excitement. At least one of them was getting a kick out of this.

"Sakura-chan, long time no see," a bright smile greeted her as he enthusiastically waved with a lollipop still in his mouth, "Whoa Sakura-chan, if you wanted a date, all you had to was ask. No need for any seducing, not that I mind, right Itachi?"

"Hello Shisui," Sakura greeted back with a smile on her face ignoring the Uchiha gawking at her outfit, "What happened?"

Shisui pouted dramatically and he took the lollipop out of his mouth. "Ita-chan put me through a beating."

Don't look at him, don't look at him, don't look at him, Sakura internally chanted like a mantra. She looked up at Itachi and almost regretted it. She could feel her cheeks starting to heat. He looked tall, dark, and mysterious like always. She quickly looked down at Shisui and scanned his injuries. He had a few cuts and bruises and most likely a broken rib. She poured chakra into his chest.

"So, Sakura-chan, where have you been?" Shisui broke the silence.

"In the hospital. I trained with team seven this morning."

Shisui pouted again. "We're your team too."

Sakura almost caved into his pout. Shisui was the rare breed of Uchiha who was not very Uchiha-like. He was almost like Naruto – social, lively, and charming. Shisui was a flirt, not as bad as Gemna but still a flirt. Sakura would be lying if she said his alluring smile did not send butterflies to her stomach occasionally. Unlike the Uchiha straight-hair gene, he was graced with curly, unkempt hair that somehow matched his personality. He shared his height with Itachi but had more muscle to his arms where Itachi was leaner.

It was his relationship with Itachi that Sakura admired most about. Shisui cared very much for his cousin and she figured Itachi saw Shisui as a best friend and another brother. Sakura did not know who could get away with calling Itachi 'Ita-chan'. Sasuke rather stab himself with a kunai than throw silly nicknames at his brother. The cousins were ying and yang, but they complimented each other's personality on and off missions. Shisui brought humor and spirit, where Itachi brought inscrutability and seriousness. Despite their antithetical personas, Sakura held deep respect for both individuals.

Sakura smiled at Shisui. He always made her smile. "I know. You're my team too."

That seemed to please Shisui. A few more moments went by in silence before Shisui broke tranquility. "So, is Itachi's mental stability going to be ok or should he be in counseling too?"

Sakura almost choked on Shisui's seemingly innocent question. She warily looked up at Itachi who was glaring a hole into Shisui's head. Great, Sakura mulled, let's confront the elephant in the room. Itachi's eyes meet Sakura's eyes and she swore he displayed genuine curiosity on Sakura's answer and almost challenged her to answer.

"You should ask Yamanaka-san," Sakura dodged the question.

"Pity. I think Ita-chan really would've benefited from counseling."

"Maybe he should seek out Dr. Fujiki. He is charge of all shinobi counseling and therapy treatments."

Sakura felt Itachi's glare fix on her, as Shisui's grin grew wider at her response. "Maybe he should. A shinobi psychological state of mind is just as important their physical state."

"Exactly." Sakura agreed as she finished healing the chatty Uchiha, missing the secret smirk Shisui sent to Itachi. "Ok, you're all good."

Shisui jumped to his feet and grinned at Sakura. "Thanks Sakura-chan. Make sure you come to our next training. Kami knows Itachi will combust into flames if he remains in one spot for too long."

"I will," Sakura flashed him a smile before glancing at Itachi to see if he carried any wounds from the two Uchiha's spar. Satisfied seeing him uninjured she scanned his face once more, but found his eyes flickered down to her chest before meeting her eyes. She almost saw disbelief flash through those midnight eyes. Sakura's face quickly turned bright pink for the hundredth time that day. She quickly mustered a goodbye and promptly left the room.

Shisui turned to Itachi with a sulky expression. "You scared her away Ita-chan."

Sakura spent the rest of her shift and majority of the night in the operation room – her safe haven. Tsunade had told her to go home sometime after midnight but Sakura countered that she spent the greater part of her day unconscious and she had all the rest she needed. All she wanted was the past twenty-four hours erased from her mind.

Walking out of the OR, Sakura made her way to the hospital cafeteria after informing the shinobi team that their teammate was going to be fine. She noticed the sun was starting to rise. She really needed to get into a more stable sleeping schedule. Sakura sat down at an empty table with a fruit cup.

What was Itachi even doing in her apartment early last morning? He was wearing his usual training gear, Sakura perceived. He probably came to inform her about a training session. Sakura snorted. It only took him a week to stop ignoring her. But he was not that immature. Sasuke had mentioned the clan elders had forced Itachi to attend clan meetings now that he was obliged to stay in the village. Sakura felt bad. She knew the Uchiha clan elders would give Itachi a hard time for his failed psychological exam.

They were a rude bunch of dying geezers. They were almost as bad as the Konoha council. Maybe the two groups conspired with each other. One time, about a year after Sasuke's retrieval from Orochimaru, team seven had decided to train at one of the Uchiha training grounds for a change. Unfortunately for team seven, two members of the clan elders were taking a tranquil walk around clan grounds. The trio were taking a short break between sparring and the elders just so happened to walk past the team. The elders berated Sasuke for bringing undeserving commoners on clan property. They insulted Naruto by calling him an unstable, jinchuriki unfit to be around an Uchiha and had called Sakura an inferior civilian and worthless kunoichi.

It was only days after when Sakura found out that Sasuke was ordered to renounce membership from team seven. Naruto had wanted to go on a rampage into the Uchiha estate and Sakura would have gladly let him. The only thing that stopped Naruto was Sasuke, who continued to come to trainings and missions. He had clearly defied the elders' wishes. Sakura was not naïve to know that Sasuke had simply said 'no' to the elders and suffered no repercussions, but whenever Sakura asked him about the matter he told her not to worry about it.

She knew the clan would be upset about Itachi's unsuccessful assessment. Sakura was sure they would bring the matter to the Sandaime and Inoichi but Ino told her that her Otousan was not confronted about Itachi. Their plan was still alive and unscathed. So far.

Sakura could not help but to wonder what kind of trouble Itachi was in. Sasuke had mentioned on several occasions how Itachi would busy himself on missions to get away from the elders. She had basically fed Itachi to the elders with her actions. That only made her feel guiltier and more embarrassed.

Sakura almost laughed when she summaried the sequence of events in her head – Itachi goes on missions to get away from the elders, Itachi's health deteriorates, Sakura interferes and breaks the law, Itachi is stuck in the village, elders get what the want. Elders are happy. Itachi is unhappy. Sakura is both.

Although guilt was a very heavy emotion in her life at the moment – along with mortification, distress, and shame – Sakura knew she would not be able to live with herself if she had let Itachi prance around on missions in that condition. He was a formidable shinobi, the best in their generation, maybe the best ever, but he was still human. The elders and the village could continue treating him like a piece of meat or tool. That was fine. But Sakura resolved she would fight for him. Hell, she would even break more Konoha law if it came to it.

After Sakura came to peace with her decision regarding Itachi's evaluation, she remembered the almost naked run in with him. Groaning once again, Sakura vowed not to ponder upon the subject anymore. She stood up and started making her way to Ino's apartment. She knew that bottling her feelings up would only prove to be catastrophic in the end. It was better to get everything out in the open. At least, everything that was appropriate.

Ino's apartment she shared with Shikamaru was fairly close to the hokage building. The two had moved in almost a year ago. Sakura remembered the pig's smug face and light teasing that Sakura was falling to far behind in their race of achievements. The Yamanaka heir and Nara heir were officially together for two years. They had been sneaking around for months before Ino kindly demanded that they make it official if Shikamaru continued to want sex from her. It was Ino again who kindly explained that they could die any day in the line of duty and they should move in together. Poor Shikamaru did not even have a choice, as Ino had already bought an apartment.

In all reality, Sakura admired their relationship. They were complete opposites. Ino was loud and scheming while Shikamaru was lazy and unenthusiastic. But they made quite the pair, on and off the battlefield. Sakura knew Ino had Shikamaru wrapped around her finger and she knew Shikamaru knew that. The consequences for the Nara would be too troublesome if he did not do what Ino wanted. But Sakura knew that Shikamaru would do anything for Ino regardless.

Sakura jumped onto the couple's balcony. It was almost six thirty in the morning. Sakura slid open the glass door and stepped inside the couple's bedroom. The two were sleeping but Ino slowly sat up, feeling Sakura's chakra. Shikamaru remained still as Sakura did not know if he was truly sleeping and did not notice her chakra or if he noticed and ignored her presence.

Ino scooted closer to Shikamaru making room for Sakura and tapped on the empty space motioning for Sakura to come over. It was almost a tradition for the two friends. Whenever either kunoichi wanted to talk, the two would curl into bed together and talk it out. It was an open door policy. Shikamaru almost had a heart attack when he remembered sleeping next to Ino and waking up to Sakura who had curled up in between the couple. Shikamaru just sighed and accepted that Sakura was the third member in their relationship.

"What happened forehead?" Ino asked, rubbing the sleep out her eyes.

Sakura snuggled into the bed and pulled the blanket to her chin and stared at Shikamaru.

"He probably figured it out already," Ino pointed. Though Shikamaru did not say anything, Ino know that her genius-of-a-lazy-boyfriend would not say anything about the matter.

"Don't you feel a little guilty?"

Ino sighed. "I knew this was going to happen. You have too much of a conscience."

Ino stared at her best friend. Sakura was so determined to fail Itachi's psychological exam. It was the craziest thing that had ever come out of Sakura's mouth, but Ino knew that Sakura would do anything to the people that she cared about. Ino also knew that once the adrenaline ran out, guilt would overcome her best friend. Ino was now in charge of damage control.

"Of course I feel a little guilty, but I'm not going to let that stop me from sleeping at night. Besides, what's done is done. We can't undo it."

Sakura nodded. Ino was right. It was in the past now. "Ughhh." Sakura completely buried herself under the covers.

Ino narrowed her eyes at the pink haired medic. "What are you not telling me?"

"My whole life story," Sakura sarcastically replied.

"I'm serious forehead. You're not telling me something."

"I don't know what you're talking about pig."

"Liar."

Sakura popped her head out of the blanket and glared at Ino. "I'm not lying."

"Sakura, I spend my days in the dungeon learning interrogation techniques. If I couldn't tell when someone is lying, Ibiki-sensei would kick me so far, I'd end up in Suna, especially if that someone was my best friend who I've known for years. Besides, you look like you just kicked a kitty," Ino smirked.

Sakura exhaled. "I don't know how to explain."

"Start from the beginning."

"Itachi saw me naked," Sakura blurted. Ino's jaw fell. "Well not naked-naked. I was wearing panties, which really can't be categorized as any type of article of clothing that covers, because they did not cover much," Sakura ranted.

"Pause! He what!?" Ino had jumped out her spot and accidentally pushed Shikamaru off the bed who landed on the flood with a thud and groan but made no movements to get up. Sakura's cheeks grew pink. "Forehead start talking."

"Then I slipped and gave myself a concussion."

Ino started laughing. "How unfortunate," she sarcastically replied.

"It was an accident."

"What do you mean an accident? You know what I think, I think you 'accidentally' took your shirt off hoping to help him relieve all that stress you claim he's under. Instead, you slipped and gave yourself a concussion. Now you're unsatisfied, he unsatisfied, and that unsatisfactory feeling is messing with your head and making you go crazy."

"Ino!"

"Geez Sakura, the way I see it, it's only fair that he saw you in only panties. All the time he takes his shirt off, it's about time you repaid him the favor. Chest for chest, right forehead?"

"Pig! You're unbelievable! It wasn't even like that."

"Stop being so prude Sakura. You're going to die a virgin if you keep this up. I'm sure he liked what he saw."

Sakura crossed her arms and pouted. "How do you even know that?"

"I don't. I'm just trying to make you feel better," Ino reasoned, "Maybe he didn't like what he saw. I mean, what can he do. Kick you off his team and spread nasty rumors about your flat chest?"

"I'm not flat chested!"

"No one said you were."

Sakura groaned. She felt even worse now that she talked to Ino. She did not have a flat chest. Not anymore, at least. And Itachi would not kick her off his ANBU team – a team she was not even an official member of – because he did not like her 'flat chest'. That was unethical. A tiny voice of reason reminded Sakura that she wrongly failed Itachi's psychological exam, which was also very unethical. But she was concerned about his health, Sakura tried to reason with that voice. It was a futile attempt, as it did not make her feel any better.

Sakura had to get away from Ino. Ino was basically bouncing in glee at Sakura's situation. She decided not to tell Ino about her frisking through the hospital without a bra. The pig might have died with joy at Sakura's scandalous behavior. Sakura was not about to let Ino have that satisfaction and gloating rights.

"I'm leaving now, pig."

"Just remember forehead," Ino said, looking deathly serious, "keep your clothes on."

Sakura chucked a pillow at the laughing, blonde's head before promptly leaving the Nara-Yamanaka residence.

Ino smiled. Her work was done. Her prudish best friend was soon going to do something she regretted. Ino could feel it. Her devilish smile widened. This was going to be interesting. Ino snuggled in her warm blanket, completely ignoring her boyfriend who continued to lie on the floor. More room for her.

Sakura transported home dropped on her bed. It was a mentally exhausting day. She looked at her bathroom door, knowing that she should take a quite shower before sleeping. Sakura grumbled. The last time she was anywhere near the bathroom, she slipped in front of her Taichou in nothing but panties. She decided to take a shower after some sleep.

She did not know how long she was asleep, but an influx of chakra woke her up. Sakura quickly sat up on her bed and stared at the ANBU that appeared in her room.

"The hokage requires your presence for a mission with team eleven."

Before Sakura could nod in understanding, the ANBU disappeared as quickly as they arrived. Anger bubbled through her stomach. There should be no missions with team eleven, at least for another two weeks. All the hard work or committing multiple crimes and the pounds guilt that came along all flushed down the gutter. She disrespected her Taichou and Konoha law so Itachi could get recuperation time from missions and seemed that no matter what lengths she went through, Itachi was a magnetic for missions. Sakura groaned as she fell back into bed. Her bed was so comfortable though. Sakura sighed. The last thing she needed on her plate was an angry Itachi for being late to the hokage tower.

She rushed out of bed and threw on her ANBU attire before jumping out her window. The sky was a beautiful shade of orange as the streets started dwindling with people. Sakura must have slept more than she realized. As the hokage tower came to view, Sakura transported herself into the building outside the hokage office. After knocking gently and receiving a 'come in', Sakura walked into the office. She was relieved that Genma was yet to arrive judging from the chakra present in the office. But that only left her with the Sandaime, who was diligently working on paperwork, Shisui, who was innocently standing next to Itachi, and her captain, who she choose to ignore. It seemed he was doing the same to her. Genma arrived not to long after.

The Sandaime stopped signing some paperwork and looked at the Itachi. "How's that groin injury?"

Dead silence.

Sakura had never been so happy that she was wearing a mask – her face wore mixed expressions of dread and trepidation. She was almost afraid to swallow for she knew Itachi would catch that movement and throw her into Tsukuyomi. She stood deathly still and tried to act normal while prayed she came out this ordeal alive. Her plan backfired just like her guilty conscience reminded her everytime she seemed to finally relax. Sakura noticed Shisui slightly shake, probably trying really hard to contain his laughter behind his mask and she could feel Genma's grim. Sakura would probably be laughing in this situation too, if only she was not the one who would suffer Itachi's wrath.

To her surprise, Itachi played along. "I have recovered."

"Good. I apologize for cutting your break short. We can't let our best shinobi sit around for too long," the Sandaime took his eyes off the scroll he was reading and scanned the four men team, "this is a retrieval mission," he grabbed the mission scroll and handed it to Itachi. "I want you to avoid any unnecessary combat if possible. You will leave in an hour."

The four ANBU bowed and transported out the hokage tower.

Sakura appeared in the safety of her bedroom. She resisted the urge to look over her should to make sure her Taichou did not follow her to her home. This was exactly what she was trying to avoid. Sakura almost scoffed at her naivety that she would get away scratch free. She had vowed to ignore him for as long as possible before going to sleep earlier and now she was going on a mission with Itachi. She had no idea how he would react.

When she and Ino controlling Inoichi's body went to notify the Sandaime of Itachi's final readings of his assessment, the Sandaime originally did not believe that Itachi would fail the psychological exam. The hokage almost did not follow protocol and was determined to continuing sending Itachi on missions without assigning him a leave of absence. Sakura started panicking. She almost did not catch the look Ino sent her. She suddenly exclaimed that Itachi could not go on another mission. The Sandaime had raised an eyebrow Sakura's way. Using all of her composure, Sakura informed the Sandaime of Itachi's recent groin injury. He did not quite believe her, but Sakura garnered her best concerned medic persona and explained that Itachi's body was under a lot of stress and with the groin injury, he would not be able to function at his best. She added that specific groin injuries should just heal naturally. Ino quickly interjected how his physical state impacts his mental state.

If only Sakura was in a more observant state, she would have caught the small look of tension in the Sandaime's eyes when she and Ino informed him of Itachi's state. But she did not catch the look of consternation. She never would.

She took a quick shower before sealing necessary supplies and belongings into a scroll. Grabbing her mask a cloak, Sakura made her way to team eleven's usual meeting spot by the main gates. Shisui was already there, leaning casually against a large rock. He nodded in greeting as Sakura arrived. She could already feel his widening grin behind his mask.

"So, Sakura-chan," Shisui started as Sakura automatically rolled her eyes, "I didn't hear about my baby cousin's little injury."

"He asked me not to mention it." The words came faster than her voice of reason could stop her.

Sakura could feel Shisui's glee. "Oh really. I wonder how did he retained that injury," Shisui teasingly thought out loud.

Sakura crossed her arms and faced away from the teasing Uchiha. "I'm not continuing this conversation."

"Aw, Sakura-chan, I'm just concerned about Ita-chan."

"Me too," Genma's entered the conversation as he jumped into the scene, "No wonder he was so antsy. He couldn't use his manhood properly."

Sakura resisted the urge to physically cover her ears with her hands like a child. "Ugh. I don't want to hear about this."

Shisui and Genma laughed. For cold ANBU killers, her two comrades were quite odd. Between nonchalant Itachi, flirty Genma, and playful Shisui, Sakura concluded she was the only normal one on the four-man team.

"He must have been pissed that not only a subordinate, but also a very beautiful lady told him that the clan's most prized possession would be deficient for some time. It's not something a man wants to hear."

The two immature ANBU shinobi snickered as Sakura blessed kami for the mask she was wearing. She would feel how red her face was. Genma had just talked about Itachi's manhood like it was of normal discussion. It was a particular topic that Sakura never once thought would be a topic of discussion. She never even thought of Itachi is such a suggestive manner.

"Hey Sakura–"

Sakura did a complete one eighty and jabbed Genma's chest with her finger. "Why don't you take your dick and shove it up your ass before I do it for you, which will cause way more than a groin injury."

"That would be unnecessary," a fourth voice said.

The three members turned their heads to face their Taichou, who had appeared with his arms crossed, and straightened a little. Like Genma, he was not wearing his mask. Evidence of irritation and mirth played in his eyes. Sakura felt his dark eyes pierce through her mask. He kept his eyebrow raised as Sakura straightened a little more.

There was a short interval of silence, as Sakura did not trust what would come out her mouth. Shisui quietly giggled to himself as Itachi shot a quick glare at Genma who sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. Itachi took out the mission scroll and passed it to Genma.

"We are to go to borders of Yugakure," Itachi started explaining, "There have been increased reports of rogue ninja spotted in the area. The rogues have recently kidnapped the daughter of wealthy merchant. We are to retrieve the daughter, gather intel on the kidnappers, and avoid any conflicts if possible."

The group nodded in understanding. After the scroll was passed among all members of the team, Itachi burned the scroll. Shisui quickly pulled Itachi to the side and whispered something that did not reach the ears of the other two members. Sakura, on the other hand, promised to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the mission.

The team promptly left Konoha. Their destination was a straight two-day run, although Sakura hoped they would camp out for the night. She looked at Itachi who usually lead the group in front, whereas Genma followed right behind and Shisui tended to stay closer to Sakura in the back. Itachi was ignoring her. A small part of Sakura knew it was just paranoia. She certainly did not expect him to sit down and play tea with her, but she knew he was acting more broody than usual and definitely ignoring her. Man up, Sakura told herself. They were on a mission. She should not be moping about personal issues.

The team had darted through the trees for most of the night. The specific lushness of Konoha land started to recede as new breeds of trees sprouted from the ground and increased streams adorned the land. The Land of Fire, especially around Konoha, was one of the rare lands that enjoyed all four seasons and every weather type between. However, the weather at the Fire Land's border varied drastically. Moderate spring-like weather usually engulfed Yugakure and the Land of Hot Water with heavy showers in winter.

Yugakure had once been a hidden village, Sakura remembered from one of the history book she read awhile ago. It renounced their hidden village status to become a more commercialized village. By renouncing their hidden status, the village dramatically diminished their need for shinobis. Although they had a small assembly of shinobis, it was nowhere near the amount of ninjas they had decades ago. The village usually commissioned mercenaries or other villages for shinobis if they ever needed manpower. They definitely had the money. By commercializing their village, Yugakure grew to be a rather wealthy village. It was popular vacation hub among regular civilians.

Sakura lost track of the hours they traveled at high speed. The first mission with team eleven had been one of the most gruesome missions Sakura was ever assigned to. It was a simple mission; there was no vigorous battle with the enemy. It was the traveling that nearly killed her. Sakura came to understand Itachi was pacifist when it came to the battleground, but a tyrant when it came to traveling. The man could travel for hours without a break, which he rarely allowed.

It had started to rain about an hour ago. It was a slow drizzle to now a heavy downpour. Sakura noticed Itachi start to slow down before he completely halted and turned to face his team. "There is a town several miles north. We shall rest there."

They made their way to the small town and found a pleasant little inn. It was a small establishment of three mediocre stories located at the town borders. The team walked inside to the front desk.

A newspaper blocked the individual at the front desk. They made no move to look at the Konoha shinobi. Itachi let out a small cough to get their attention. The individual lowered the newspaper. An old lady stared at the team with a bored expression.

"What do you want?"

With the utmost politeness, Itachi responded. "We would like two rooms."

The old woman narrowed her eyes at the Uchiha, obviously trying to classify him in some category. "Are you married, son?"

Sakura almost choked as Shisui and Genma tried to contain their laughter while Itachi's civil facial expression remained the same. "No, I am not."

"Such a pity. My daughter was engaged to his handsome fellow with dark hair and darker eyes. Almost looked like you. She ran away on her wedding day with the neighbor's son, of all the men she could've had. Apparently they've been having an affair for almost five years. She's expecting now. Six months along."

Itachi was patient. Sakura commended him for that. She was already rolling her eyes at the old lady's story.

"They live in the next town over. It gets quite difficult to visit them, especially in the wintertime with all the rain and my age. My legs are weak now. I used to be able to run miles without break, now I can barely visit by own daughter," she handed Itachi two keys, "Your rooms are on the second floor."

Itachi thanked her as the team made their way to their rooms. Whenever Itachi displayed a change of heart on missions and let his team check into a motel, he always checked into two rooms after Sakura once half-jokingly stated she did not feel comfortable staying in a room with Genma. Sakura was teasing Genma when she said that but it seemed Itachi took it a little more seriously. She usually shared a room with Itachi or even Shisui occasionally.

Genma and Shisui grabbed a key from Itachi's hand and hurried into one the rooms and slammed the door shut, leaving Itachi and Sakura alone in the hallway. Those pricks, Sakura thought as a vein throbbed on her forehead. They did that on purpose. It was not the first time Sakura shared a room with Itachi. Although it was awkward the first few times, Itachi was a gentleman. He even let Sakura take showers first. Sakura did not think it was a big deal but her views slightly changed after Shisui told her that that there was an unspoken rule within the ANBU that captains got dibs on the bathroom first. With team seven, it was a free-for-all when it came to showers. Sakura got no special treatment but usually ended up taking showers first after much threatening, pouting, and puppy dog eyes.

The two remaining Konoha nin walked into the small room. The room was decorated with a standard queen sized bed and a large table by the door. A loveseat was placed near the window and the walls were embellished with countless picture frames. Sakura took off her wet cloak and placed it on the chair by the desk to dry.

"I'm going to get food," Itachi stated without meeting her eye.

Sakura nodded. Her paranoia vanished. He was definitely ignoring her. It was a fact. Sakura took off her vest and boots and decided to take a quick warm shower. Slipping into the bathroom, Sakura took a swift shower to warm her up from the cold rain they travel through. She changed into shorts and a loose long sleeved shirt and cozy ankle socks. Itachi was still not back yet. Feeling the exhaustion of traveling, Sakura curled into bed and threw the warm blanket over her shoulders. She was asleep within minutes.

Sakura's unconscious jumped to the story the old woman at the front desk told. Sakura was the daughter and Itachi was the dark haired man she was originally united to. She saw herself running through the forest in a pure white shiromuku kimono. It was lightening and thundering as the rain hit her like stones falling from the sky. She tripped several times but continued to chase the nameless voice that was calling her to come closer. Just as she seemed to reach the voice, a dark figured jumped in front of her. Sakura fell backwards as she stared into bleeding red eyes.

"Sakura, you lied."

Sakura could feel tears in eyes. "I'm sorry, I just–"

"Just what?" His voice was uncharacteristically coarse. "Just told the whole village lies about my groin injury."

Tears spilled out of Sakura eyes as they blend with the rain. "I'm sorry I'm sorry–"

"Now the whole village thinks I'm marred. The hokage discharged me from active duty. The clan disowned me. I am nothing now."

"I didn't mean any of this to happen. I just wanted you to get rest."

"It's too late Sakura."

An abnormally bright strike of lightening blinded her eyes as thunder impaired her hearing before she could respond. Sakura jumped out of bed, heavily breathing. She grabbed her and sighed.

It was a dream.

It was just a dream.

No, it was her guilty conscious admonishing her for her recent actions. She could still feel Itachi's fiery eyes carving a hole through her soul. Sakura checked if her clothing was still dry and not wet from running in the raining forest in her dream. Her paranoia was on high alert. She sighed a breath of relief before glancing around the room. Itachi was absent, but there was an unopened takeout box on the desk.

Sakura threw her legs over the bed. This was getting out of control. She was going to find Itachi and confront the growing issue by apologizing. He had to stop ignoring her and her conscience could finally stop reminding her of her wrongdoings. She sensed his chakra in another room on the first floor. Sakura panicked. Had he really gotten another room to avoid Sakura? Sakura felt a unsettling emotion pooled in her stomach. He was probably disappointed by her actions. She rather him yell and shout at her than avoid her with disappointment.

She swiftly followed his chakra to the first floor. He was in what looked like a lounge sitting on a window seat with his back against a large pillow and arms crossed as he stared out the window. A small wave of relief washed some of the sourness away. He did not get another room to get away from her. Sakura slowly walked towards the Uchiha and sat a safe distance across him, just enough room for her to quickly jump back if he did not accept her apology and attacked. He did not look at her but she knew he probably sensed her presence the second she got out of bed.

The raw determination of apologizing to him quickly disappeared with nervousness. Silence broke between the two as Sakura watched the rain fall from the sky. The weather mirrored her inner turmoil. It seemed kami had a sense of humor.

"Sakura." That deep, sensual voice that always sent goose bumps up her arms broke her empty thoughts as Sakura quickly turned to look at Itachi who was giving her a questioning look.

He looked calm, almost peaceful. But Sakura knew he was a master at controlling his emotions and actions. Exactly unlike her. There were probably two hundred different emotions going through inside him but he rarely displayed any of them. After spending countless missions and training sessions together, Sakura considered herself an expert body language reader. She had enough practice from Sasuke. Sasuke was much easier to read though.

"I like this weather." Sakura stated as she moved her eyes from her Taichou to the window. Her inner slapped her forehead. Itachi did not respond as he also shifted his eyes to rain outside.

"I'm sorry," Sakura blurted keeping her eyes strictly on the window. "I know it wrong for me to do what I did and I did a lot of wrong things in this situation, I'm sure you've figured everything out by now. And if you didn't – who am I kidding you probably figured everything out and I can explain, I really can," Sakura knew she was ranting but she lost control of her tongue.

"You were just overexerting yourself and although you weren't showing extreme signs of exhaustion but it was evident that you were projecting down a dark road coming from a medic's prospective. And I couldn't let you do that to your health because your health matters, just as much as going on mission for the village. And I apologize for my tactics but you weren't listening and I didn't know what else I could do and I don't agree that you should be on this mission but–"

Sakura stopped herself as she noticed Itachi raise an eyebrow at her. She gave him a sheepish smile. Maybe she could smile her way out of this awkward apology session. "I'm sorry," Sakura repeated, "I hope you're not mad at me."

Sakura averted her eyes from the Uchiha. She could feel him observing her from the corner of her eyes. She refused to think about what was going through his head at the moment.

"I'm not mad."

Sakura looked up to see if he was joking. His expression remained serious but truthful. Sakura could feel herself gaping but did not care. "I appreciate what you did."

Her jaw completely fell. Sakura tried to decide if he was joking or complimenting her. His expression showed no signs of deceit. Sakura mulled over his words. Of course he appreciated her actions, a part of Sakura resolved. No one probably went the lengths she did for him. If anything, her actions for Itachi's health were in all likelihood, quite surprising to both parties.

"Really?"

Sakura noticed the corners of his mouth turn upward.

He was smiling.

Sakura stared wide-eyed at him, her mouth probably still hanging open. The Uchiha heir was smiling at her. She felt butterflies in her stomach. His smile was rather attractive. She's seen him smirk multiple times, usually after her snarky comebacks to their other two teammates, but in all her years of knowing him, he has never smiled at her. He would smile at Sasuke, who never seemed to notice.

"Really," Itachi assured.

That was good enough for Sakura and her conscience. She abruptly stood up and smiled back at Itachi.

"Ok good. I've really been worried," Sakura said, her attitude taking a quick one-eighty, "I'm going back to the room. You should get some sleep."

Itachi nodded but did not get up from his spot. Sakura started walking away before coming to a halt and glancing back at the Uchiha. "I'll always fight for you, ok." Sakura did not wait to see Itachi's reaction as she quickly disappeared form the lounge. She did not get a chance to see his small smile get a little wider.

And then I fell into pieces and she fell into me

Saying, "Play me a song it's been too long since I've heard you sing."

And you got here just in time

To let me know I was worth saving

It's nothing more than for the hearts

Too proud to breathe

But I'm too scared to say the things worth saying

Who knew this trip would be this hard?

-Mayday Parade "Walk on Water or Drown"

Lovely readers. Thank you so much for your kind comments and favorites. It fuels my writing, keep them coming. I been doing nothing but writing for the past few days and got this chapter out way sooner than I expected. Sorry again for any mistakes you may find, I was so excited to post this chapter. I don't think the next chapter will be out this fast.

I think the hardest thing about writing is choosing which song lyrics to post and what to name the chapters. So far, I'm planning on this story to be around 15-18 chapters long. No promises. I have two endings in mind - one happy, one sad. I don't know which one I'll be following, so I guess we'll just have to wait and find out. I love Sakura and Ino's interactions. I wish it was something that was shown more in the manga, but I love exploring it in stories. I hope I got all the characters' personalities right. It's something I'm aiming for.

Recently, I have been on a netflix binge. I am starting to watch Grey's Anatomy for the fourth time now. I am the biggest fan of Grey's. Best show ever. MERDER FOREVER!

Hope you've enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to ask any questions, comments, concerns.

Until next time :)