Hey guys!

I'm loving the number of people actually reading this story, it makes me really happy that so many of you are interested!

But I have to express the feeling that I'm a little disappointed in the number of reviews I've had from people; if you have time, even if you're guest, it would mean the world to me if you could leave a review. It doesn't have to be long, it could just be one word but I really want to know if you like the story; if you can, I'd love to know what you think of the plot and my writing style!

I would like to dedicate this chapter to all the people who have reviewed so far:

- 1Animefeakgurl

- ayingchan

- Aurora-Chan

- A random guest! Thank you unknown citizen!

- Dina Sana

- Korabu

And an extra special mention to DiamondForest who has reviewed every chapter I've published so far! You even reviewed on my other story! Love you! xx

Anyway on with the chapter!

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Chapter 5: What have I done?

Sakura only had to take one look at the face in the window to feel her body tense up in horror, her eyes widening and hand flying to her mouth to stifle the nauseated sound she made. Sasuke pulled her back to them, trying to get her away from the little girl in case she tried to do...something; she could be there to do anything if she had travelled from the forest they had been before.

She could see her teammates visibly stiffen at the sight of the bloodied little child scarlet haired child; she herself may have seen her before, and in some twisted way have SOME form of understanding with her, but the boys did not. She was a complete enigma to them and they did not know how she was going to react.

The little girl pouted in a way that would have been considered cute, had she not spilled blood from her lips at the action.

"Sakura," she whined exasperatedly. "You ran away from me again! I thought I told you I wanted you to stay and play!" Sakura swallowed thickly, her throat and mouth becoming suddenly very dry. "What do you want from me?" she croaked. "What have I done to make you follow me?"

The little girl giggled and Sakura inhaled sharply at the vaguely familiar noise. "You mean you don't remember?" The little girl questioned innocently, head tilted to the side curiously. "Do I need to remind you of that night?" Sakura narrowed her eyes in confusion and strode forwards, moving away from her friends and standing only feet away from the window. "I don't understand!" She cried frustratedly. "I've never done anything to you in my life, I've never even seen you before!"

The little girl grinned. "You'll see!" Before Sakura could even make a noise, the little girl had glided through the wall at an alarming speed and passed right through Sakura.

Shouts of her name that sounded from behind her were soon lost as images flashed through her mind.

A young girl and her older pink haired friend played together on the swings, laughing gleefully.

Smiles as they shared an ice cream together at the ice cream parlour.

Cries of horror as the little girls fragile, lifeless body fell to the ground, covered in blood and staining her brilliantly white nightgown...

"STOP IT!"

Sakura fell to her knees, head held in her hands, tears welling in her eyes and bile rising in the back of her throat. "I didn't do it... I wasn't the one to kill you!" The little girl turned her head slightly from where she stood only feet from her male friends, a frown playing on her young face.

"I didn't kill you... I didn't know you...! Please... just leave me in peace!" Sakura pleaded, pain now flourishing in her temples from the aftermath of the possession.

The little girl cried out in frustration, eyes closing briefly in her anger. "I will not stop!" She insisted stubbornly. "You need to remember!" Just as she was about to make a move towards Sakura again, Itachi flashed in front of her, sword unsheathed and shining in the moonlight. "Don't touch her," he growled, the sword only inches from the girls forehead.

The child looked completely unaffected by the protective gesture show by the other ninja. "This won't affect me mister," she told him irritably. "Because if you haven't already noticed..." There was a slight pause, in which the little girl looked to Sakura's trembling form.

"I'm already dead."

With those words, she vanished, her voice lingering for a moment after she left.

Quickly, Itachi, Sasuke, Kakashi and Naruto knelt next to Sakura and sat there comfortingly. Sakura took a deep breath before looking up. "The sooner we finish this mission, the sooner we can go home. Please, can you just stay with me for now?" When she got nods of assent she slowly got up and went back to the bed.

"But I have something to tell you,"

They looked up at her questioningly. Sakura gritted her teeth slightly. "I might have known her when I was younger."

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After explaining what the little girl had made her see, they had all gone to bed, uneasiness washing over them so much that they all got little sleep that night.

The following morning, they awoke with very little sleep and very wary nerves. While Itachi gave back the room keys to the front desk, Team 7 were all sat together, brainstorming possible ideas. "So you don't think you knew her at the academy?" Naruto questioned, to which Sakura shook her head firmly. "She's too young, at least 3 years younger if her physical stature and nature is correct; but she may be acting so I'm not sure."

"And you definitely didn't know her from another country you might have visited with your family?" Again Sakura shook her head.

Sasuke growled frustratedly. "This is impossible!" He groaned. "She's not a family member, or else you would have remembered, you didn't know her from the academy either so where could she possibly have seen you before?"

Sakura shook her head tiredly; she had absolutely no idea whatsoever. It was really starting to irritate her; she didn't seem to know anything about this mission and was beginning to feel like she could offer nothing to it.

They all looked up when Itachi walked back over to them. "We've got to start travelling to the town; we're late so any possible tracks or clues may be gone by now, so be ready to execute a thorough search." The youngest members of team 7 nodded. "Yes Captain!"

Just as they were about to leave, Itachi called out behind them. "Sakura, can I speak to you a minute please?" The boys looked at Sakura protectively, aware of Itachi's feelings for their only female member. Itachi gave them a pointed glare and they all left the reception area reluctantly.

Sakura turned away from them and smiled at her best friend. "What's up?" She asked curiously, making her way over to him; he looked a little uneasy. "Can we go somewhere a little more private please Sakura? I'd rather talk about this elsewhere." Sakura blinked in surprise but recovered quickly, flashing him a quick smile. "Sure! Let's go to the gardens outside."

As they made their way out to the gardens, Sakura's mind was going haywire. 'Oh god oh god oh god! Has he figured out that I like him? Is he going to send me HOME?!'

When they were out of the way of any potential passersby or eavesdroppers, Itachi turned to her and looked at her seriously. "Sakura, tell me honestly; is there anyone on the team at the minute that could possibly be distracting you? Someone you're attracted to possibly? I've never seen you act like this before." Sakura thought she saw his eyes flash jealously, but maybe it was just wishful thinking. "You've been off recently, not just here and at the hotel, you were like this for a while at home too. Do not lie to me; I'll be able to tell."

Sakura paled slightly before turning impossibly red. 'Oh shit!' she cursed inwardly, small beads of sweat beginning to appear on her forehead. 'What the hell do I do now?!' She swallowed slightly; he'd said not to lie so she'd tell the truth and just have to hope that he didn't ask her who it was.

"Um... Yes..." She admitted in complete embarrassment. "Yeah there is someone..." Did Itachi look disappointed, or was it just her? What was up with him? "Oh?" he deadpanned quietly.

'Please don't ask the forbidden question, please don't ask the forbidden question...'

"Who might that be?"

'Oh damn, oh damn, oh damn... I'm so screwed!'

Sakura blushed so furiously, she was sure she was going to faint dead away. "D-Do I have to tell you...?" She asked quietly, to which Itachi nodded stubbornly, his onyx eyes never leaving hers.

"Well-Um-I l-like... Um..."

"Naruto?" Sakura's head shot up in mortification. "NO!" She half screeched. "Now way in hell do I like-"

"Sasuke then?" He queried even more quietly than before. Sakura just grimaced, but inwardly she was panicking at the limited options there now were. "No, d-definitely not Sasuke..."

There was an awkward pause for a moment. "It's Kakashi?" he asked slowly, his tone not hiding his obvious distaste.

That's when Sakura lost it.

"Dammit Itachi!" she yelled frustratedly, much to his confusion. "It's you! I love you!" Not even giving his shocked face another thought, she babbled. "At first I thought you were really arrogant and a jerk but after I had been hanging around you for a while I realised how kind you were and I realised how much I cared about you and what you thought of me so I just tried to be friends with you!" She paused to breathe and what she'd just said now fully occurred to her and she started to turn red and he words came a lot more slowly.

"I didn't want to admit how I felt because I didn't want you to see me as another fangirl, or for things to be awkward between us; you probably don't feel the same way so that why I never-" She was cut off by Itachi's hand on her cheek and she started in surprise, not realising how close he had gotten to her while she was talking.

"Sakura," He said her name deeply in his throat, his voice becoming slightly strained as he moved both arms possesively around her waist and pulled her to him. "Shut up."

With those words he dipped his head and gently captured her lips with his.

Sakura's eyes widened at the man before her, not daring to believe it; he actually returned her feelings? She relaxed into his arms, eyes closing, and kissed him back, her own arms winding around his neck. Itachi growled slightly and pulled her even more closely to him, making a sound of contentment come from the back of Sakura's throat.

After a time (Sakura could not be sure; it might have been minutes, seconds, hours...), they pulled back and Sakura blushed slightly as darkened eyes met her own. She looked almost confused. "Why?" She questioned breathlessly, her eyes searching his. He smirked lazily at her. "You appear to be almost as oblivious as myself; I have also been... Attracted to you for a long time. I didn't want to ruin what we had by pursuing my feelings."

Sakura could have cried; she couldn't believe that she had been so completely oblivious to how he felt for so long. They both had though in all fairness, both thinking that the other would not be interested. She smiled at him and pecked him lightly on the lips. "I see..." She rested her head on his chest. "Well we'd better be getting back to he others; they might be getting worried." She said this reluctantly and Itachi picked up on it, looking smug.

"Disappointed Sakura?" he questioned in amusement, at which said girl blushed furiously. "Shut up." She growled irritably, untangling his arms as he did. "Sakura, when we get back home... Would you be willing to court me?" Sakura looked up at him in surprise; so he really meant this...

She smiled radiantly. "Of course!" she beamed. She was just so happy, so happy...

...That neither of them realised the figure that was watching silently in the trees above them, smirking all the while.

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And cut! Aww, Itachi and Sakura finally admitted their feelings for one another! I apologise if that was cheesy, I don't do romance scenes often in my writing so it's not something I've practiced much.

Hope everyone enjoyed that and don't forget to review; if you review I'll put in a special mention for every single reviewer! Yes even you random non-member!

Ja ne everyone!

Sakurablossom606 xx