Thank you for the reviews!

This is a long chapter. Not so much ItaSaku yet, but be patient.

Please don't hate me for bringing them trouble. Remember what I said about the sweet and the sour... ;)

dai86.

Chapter 5

Misleading

Five years ago...

The girl was lying on her back, breathing evenly. She seemed to be sleeping, but his shinobi senses were well aware that she was barely napping. Relaxed but alert. She was a shinobi too, after all.

Lying sideways on his elbow, Jin took his time to appreciate the view in front of him.

The clothes she usually wore didn't do her any justice. Sakura was barely out of teens, but it was easy to spot the feminine curves developing. Her breasts were small but perky, perfectly proportional with her narrow waist and slightly wide hips. She had one of her legs bent, outlining the curves of her thigh and calf. His eyes ran a sinuous path over her body out of their own volition.

When faced with the prospect of a scantily clad Sakura, Jin had imagined all kinds of lewd sexy images. But looking at her now, she didn't look sexy.

She looked beautiful.

Dragging his eyes over smooth skin, he settled on her face, studying her features. She wasn't traditionally beautiful, he thought; but there was something exotic about her looks.

He caught himself gazing at her plum lips, wondering if they would feel as soft as they look.

A scream shook him out of his reverie.

Sakura snapped her eyes open. Both her and Jin turned to the couple in the water. Sasaki and Kouga were splashing around like children, laughing at their own clumsiness.

The four of them had taken the day to check one of the oases Sasaki kept talking about. So, after days of begging, Sakura had finally gave in and left the lab for a day to hike in the desert towards this oasis. She wasn't disappointed. On the contrary, this place was wonderful.

After an hour walking in the desert, they thought Sasaki might have been lost. Everywhere they looked all they could see was sand. It seemed to stretch on forever in every direction. But they soon spot a small dot on the horizon. A while later they reached it.

The sand gave place to a rocky ground. At first they were faced with what seemed to be the beginning of a small forest. As they approached, running water could be heard among the trees. Walking through the greenery, they followed the sound. Shortly the trees opened to a clearing, revealing a small waterfall feeding a lake twenty feet below. Sakura was amazed.

They walked around the edges of the clearing to reach the other side, where the rocky slope gave place to a flat slab running into the water.

The group proceeded to dive in the cool water to refresh, washing away the desert sand and sweat. Nothing ever felt so good. The water was so clear that they could see the bottom of the lake even on its deep side.

It wasn't long before Sasaki asked Sakura for a water walking demonstration. Living in Suna, the young nurse was familiar with the many shinobi skills, but never had the chance to fully understand how it was done.

Sakura had patiently explained about chakra and many things genin kids learn early on. Then, to demonstrate, she walked to the middle of the lake and back over the water. Her three companions seemed impressed. She supposed this must be somewhat fascinating to civilians.

After that, they decided to try it out. Hence the couple currently splashing around in the lake.

"Do you think they can learn to do that?" she heard amusement in Jin's voice.

"Eventually… If they take it seriously, maybe in a couple of years," she smirked to him.

The man lying beside her laughed. Sometimes, Jin was amazed at his own interpretation skills. He laid there listening to her talk about chakra like it was such a foreign concept for him, playing the part of the fascinated civilian guy.

"It takes years to learn to draw chakra, to control it, and then finally manipulate it. Besides, it's a skill better learned when we are children," she explained. "There are very few people who learn to manipulate chakra as an adult; and they will never do it very well."

Sakura looked at the man listening intently to her words. He was always so focused on her – what she said, where she looked, how she moved. It was very disconcerting, if not a little flattering.

Of course she had felt him ogling her earlier as she basked in the sun. Her shinobi instincts would always alert to prying eyes. Besides, Jin wasn't being subtle at all, not even for a civilian. But she chose not to acknowledge his stares; better to pretend being oblivious in such situations. Acknowledging his obvious interest would be inviting a whole world of trouble.

Feeling that any second longer the silence would become awkward, Sakura was compelled to speak. "This was a great idea. I loved this place, it's so beautiful!"

"Yeah," Jin agreed, "we don't have places like this back home."

They have spoken about their home, Sakura remembered. It was a village in Fire Country, further to the east, in a region she had never visited. From what Kouga and Jin told her, the landscape wasn't much different from Konoha's region. She imagined life wouldn't be much different there either.

"You guys aren't homesick yet?" she asked.

"Nah," Jin waved dismissively, "we are enjoying this nomad lifestyle."

"Well, I'm quite fond of traveling too, but I guess I need an anchor point. Somewhere to go back to when I'm tired," she said looking in the distance. "Besides, I couldn't possibly carry everything I need in a pack," she chuckled.

"People get used to anything when they want, Saku-chan."

After they constant interaction, they acquired some familiarity. So, she really didn't mind the way he addressed her. It was quite endearing actually. She only hated it when he called her 'momo-chan'. It sounded so childish. Jin had given her this nickname because of her pink tresses, he said, laughing at how she grimaced at the sound of it. He forfeited its use, saving it only for when he intended to mock her.

Jin watched her smile at him, automatically smiling back. There were moments when he wasn't sure whether he was pretending or not. He was constantly transitioning between himself and this civilian persona, thinking of the mission's goal and playing the part of the civilian boy in love.

It wasn't his first undercover mission. He had done this before. But whenever he played a part, he always kept his emotions at bay. But now…

He didn't love this girl. No, that was too much of a strong word, one that Jin wasn't familiar with. But he was drawn to her nonetheless. Strongly drawn. He knew where his loyalties laid though. In the end he would do what the mission requires. However, this feeling nagged him at times, making him feel conflicted.

She turned around after hearing another splash coming from the couple. Jin watched her shoulder bobbing with laughter, wet tresses brushing it lightly. She had gotten a somewhat golden tan from Wind Country, despite spending most of her days holed up in that lab.

He imagined what her skin would taste like.

He shook himself inwardly. All these distractions were making him loose focus on the mission. Damn hormones. But it took more than a cute girl to deter him from his duties. Drawing the plan back to mind, he calculated that now would be a good moment to plant doubts on her mind.

Decided on throwing the bait, he sat up. "Anyway, I guess you're right. I like to have a place to go back to ever once in a while, too. Somewhere I could eventually settle down with a family of my own, maybe."

She assessed him for a moment. Jin could almost see the question forming in her mind.

"Have you ever considered starting a family?" she asked casually.

'Hook, line, sinker.'

"Once," he shrugged.

Sakura turned her body slightly towards him, sounding interested. "Really?"

"Yeah," he looked at nowhere specifically, "I had a girlfriend a couple of years ago."

"So, what happened?"

"The thing is nobody knew we were seeing each other." He watched the subtle raise of her brow.

"My mother worked for her family when I was a kid. We kind of grew up together. Long story short, when my parents started a business, we moved to the village nearby. We missed each other's company and started meeting. That's when we got involved."

Sakura kept on listening quietly.

"Miho's family was very rich and traditional. They would likely reject a man like me for their daughter," he saw her throw him a sympathetic look.

"But since she had an older brother and sisters to keep lineage, I had hoped I could convince her parents to allow our marriage. They were nice people and quite fond of me when I lived there with my parents, after all."

"Let me guess," Sakura interrupted, "they didn't agree."

"I never got to talk to them," he said. At her confused expression he explained, "Miho didn't let me."

Jin put on his best sad smile. "When I told her what I intended to do, she threw a tantrum, talking about reputation and egocentricity - her reputation and my egocentricity," he explained. "Apparently, her parents weren't the ones who thought I was beneath her."

Despite his sad eyes, he was smug inside. The expression on Sakura's face telling him she had bought his story.

"Don't get it wrong. She did love me, I'm sure of it. But she would never marry me. Her up bring wouldn't allow her to seriously consider marrying someone like me."

"And then what did you do?" she asked with a gloomy frown.

"I left her. Last I heard she got married to a rich nobleman up north, older than her father. People said she didn't look happy about it. I didn't want to be petty, but I have to admit part of me was glad to hear she wasn't much happier than me," he paused, "but mostly I was sad because I knew she loved me as much as I loved her. She just didn't have the guts to overcome her family's traditions, social appearances and all that crap."

Sakura had heard his story holding a sad frown the whole time. Jin's story rang a bell in her mind, making her think of herself and Itachi. Sakura too knew Itachi cared about her, but… to what point? They've been sneaking around for months because of his position as heir. Would she be such a distasteful candidate in the eyes of his clan?

But Sakura already knew the answer. Having Sasuke for teammate for years had given her a taste of the Uchiha clan's workings.

But the main point was not the clan. They were bastards, she was aware of that, and they always would be. What concerned her was Itachi's position. Did he think she was not worth of him? Not only beneath his clan's standards, but his own? It hurt to think that, especially after hearing Jin's story, seeing as it could very well be true.

She felt prickles in the corner of her eyes.

"Don't," she heard him say. His hand reached for her face and she held a breath. "Don't be sad, Saku," his thumb wiped a tear she didn't realized escaped. "It was a long time ago. It's just a sad memory now."

Sakura felt bad. She wasn't really crying for him, she was crying for herself. Deep down, she feared that one day Itachi would only be a sad memory for her, too.

She didn't want do dwell on that now. Pushing this depressive thoughts aside she squeezed lightly the hand on her face, "okay," she said in a small voice. The boy smile, his hand lingered a moment longer on her cheek before he withdrew it.

Shaking herself and putting on a new spirit she suggested animatedly, "let's eat!"

He nodded and rose to his feet, "I'll call those two."

- 0000 -

The group kept a steady pace towards Suna on their way back from the oasis. The visit to that little piece of paradise had been totally worth the trip. Didn't mean they liked the idea of having to walk back again under the sun, though.

The harsh heat, however, didn't deter Jin from chatting amicably with Sakura. They came all the way from the oasis talking about little nothings, every now and then falling into a comfortable silence.

The fake civilian looked back to the couple lagging behind them. Sakura probably thought they were enjoying each other's company. Jin knew his sempai most likely was giving him opportunity to spend as much time with the pink haired kunoichi as possible, 'building trust'.

He looked sideways at her, examining her pink tresses pulled in a high ponytail, and a sudden thought occurred to him.

"Is that really your natural hair?"

The girl cocked her head at the sudden question. "What?"

"Your hair. Is it really naturally pink?"

Understanding his question she giggled. "I get that a lot. And yes, I was born with pink hair. One hundred percent natural."

"How come?"

Repeating an explanation she'd given countless times she simply said, "my father was blond, and my mother was red haired. Guess the result could only be pink, right?"

"It's quite unique." He smiled pushing a loose strand behind her ear.

By now Sakura was pretty used with these displays of affection. After all, Jin was nothing but affectionate. He used to pat children on the head, even young girls like herself or Sasaki; or put a hand on people's shoulder when talking to them.

Didn't make her feel any less embarrassed though. But she chose to ignore the felling and take the gesture for what it was – a friendly one.

"I hated when I was a child. I thought it was such an odd color, and the other children would always make fun of it and my large forehead," she said covering her forehead self-consciously. "But my father would always tell me it was his favorite color, and that my mom just ate too much strawberry ice cream when she was pregnant." She smiled fondly at the memory.

"Sounds like a nice man. Are you two close?"

She gave him a weak smile. "My father died when I was a kid…"

Of course Jin already knew that from her file, but he faked a guilty expression, "Oh, sorry. Did he die on duty?"

"No, my father was civilian. I'm actually the first shinobi in my family. My father just had a weak heart and left us early."

"And your mother is ok with that? You pursuing this career, I mean," he asked curious.

"She was never fond of it, but always respected my choices. Besides, shinobi status is highly respected in hidden villages, however dangerous. I guess she believed I wouldn't go beyond genin. She almost blanched when I made chuunin; and she'd would probably beg me to resign if she saw me reach jounin."

Jin cocked his head with a confused frown. Sakura explained further. "My mother passed away almost two years ago during an attack to the village."

Jin raised his eyebrows. "Sorry about that," he said apologetically.

"So am I," she said honestly.

"I heard about that attack. It was an attack from the Rain Country, right? Every civilian village in Fire was concerned with safety after that and many people feared an incoming war. Everybody expected Konoha to retaliate after that," Jin said.

"The Hokage managed to settle issues through political measures and diplomacy. We were rebuilding, taking care of the wounded, mourning…" she continued with sad eyes. "The last thing we needed was more suffering brought by war. Tsunade-sama understood that."

"And everybody accepted that? I mean, weren't you bothered by a pacific settlement after lives were lost? Weren't others bothered?" At this moment Jin was thinking about himself, about his own loss of a dear friend during the invasion by Suna; and bothered didn't even begin to describe his state of spirit in the face of a peace treaty.

Sakura words caught his attention again. "I wouldn't use the word bothered… more like irate. To be honest, I was furious. I just lost the last family I had, and I wanted retribution," Sakura said with a bitter grimace. "And I indulged in those feelings for a while, until I had to remember what was important. Until I remembered there were living people depending on me."

Jin contemplated her with a bit of silent awe. He never considered that she would harbor the same feelings he had harbored against the invading enemy. She seemed to have embraced peace so willingly.

Sakura continued. "Konoha could have retaliated, and we would probably won a war. But then more lives would be lost, and the war would have spread through each village between Rain and Leaf," she sighed. "There was no point anymore. By the time the attack ended, Rain's forces were already subdued. I did all I could do – I treated and helped the wounded. The Hokage made the best decision by settling matters politically. "

Jin snorted. "Political solutions are palliative at best if the people don't agree with their leaders. Give it time and the problems will surface twice as strong."

Sakura stared at his black eyes a bit surprised. This cold demeanor and rational argumentation made her think of another man who often argued with her about village politics. But Itachi never had this tinge of bitterness in his voice, and she couldn't understand why Jin would. This man surely never had contact with the ugly side of a war, has him?

After a moment of her silence, Jin wondered if perhaps he had made a mistake by saying something a civilian man wouldn't have said. It's just that he had been so mad about the current Hokage's position. And listening Sakura justify it, someone who lost as much as he did, if not more...

"You talk like a shinobi," she said shortly and Jin stiffened. If she figured him…

"But you're right," her words surprised him. Green eyes stare straight into his with certainty he wasn't often confronted with. "If people don't agree with their leaders, that is. But sometimes they just need time to heal the wounds, a chance to see the benefits of peace, a chance to let go of hatred and start over. The Hokage had faith in Konoha's people. And in my opinion it paid off."

Jin wasn't any more convinced by her convictions than when this conversation begun, but she made a good point – peace had been a better deal for a lot of people. Sakura was shinobi, but a pacifist at heart, a healer. He could never be like her, but he definitely liked this about her.

Suddenly Jin was reminded about what his father used to say about his late mother. 'She was a kind soul, never suited for shinobi life. But she would say she was better suited than others because she could use her skill to help others.'

Everything Jin knew of his mother came from his father's stories. The man was a tough shinobi, not prone to touchy-feely displays, but whenever he spoke of his late wife Jin could see warmth in his eyes. By the stories, he could tell his mother was a skilled kunoichi, but also a kind person. Years after she passed away people would approach him, recognizing him as Kimiko's little son. Obviously his mother was also very beloved.

Even though Jin had been too young to remember his mother before she died, he had put together an image of her in his mind through what people would tell him about her. And right now he realized Sakura fit perfectly this image – intelligent, skilled, kind and compassionate, yet strong.

Sakura felt his eyes on her and turned to him. He was contemplating something while staring at her. She wasn't sure what it was but it was troubling him somehow. She gave him her best reassuring smile. After a brief moment of surprise, Jin rewarded her with a smile of his own.

The rest of the trip was made in a comfortable silence.

- 0000 –

The two maids excused themselves and hastily left the guests for their meal. Itachi could presume most civilians felt intimidated by shinobi presence, but servants in a daimyo palace should be used to them. Although it was understandable considering they were shinobi from a foreign country.

He slid the door closed and gesture for Shizune to check the food. The medic moved to do as told. This precaution was standard procedure, but also, it was wise to never lower your guard, even under your host's roof, and especially not while on a mission.

He watched the other three shinobi fold scattered scrolls and maps from the table, opening space for their meal. They had gone over tomorrow's schedule for their return to Fire Country, putting together the strategy and logistic. It was a simple enough mission. The only reason it required an ANBU team and a whole team of jounin was the high profile of their client – the Fire daimyo.

Once he received this mission, Itachi was ordered to select shinobi to go along his own ANBU team. Going through his options, he requested Sakura's teammates – Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi – in addition to Shizune to fill in the position of medic in the team.

They were all well prime jounin, if not a little green when it came to Sasuke and Naruto. Hatake Kakashi was highly capable and experienced, not to mention renowned. The Fire daimyo was pleased to see him on his personal security team, in addition to one Uchiha Itachi – other prominent shinobi – and the Hokage's personal assistant as medic.

This whole mission was more about appearances than security itself. Their client wanted to arrive at the Wind daimyo's palace with an impressive entourage, and what better way to show off than bringing high profile ninja along.

Yes, Itachi had made a good selection for this mission, but he had his own agenda in mind. The people in the room not only were highly skilled shinobi, but also, they were all closely related to Sakura.

One might say Itachi was trying to suck up to her friends. Finding the notion too undignifying, Itachi rather think he was getting acquainted with the people closest to her.

Once he decided to take things seriously with Sakura, he figured he'd have to do this. The girl might have a mind of her own, but he knew things would be harder on her if Itachi didn't get along with her friends, or vice-versa.

He could imagine that the Uchiha was not team 7's favorite clan. After all the commotion caused when the elders tried to pull Sasuke from the team when they were still chuunin, one might think they had done enough to anger them.

But there were no limits to the elder's arrogance, and once Sasuke made jounin they recommended that his younger brother excused himself from missions with Naruto. They had used enough ugly words regarding his blond teammate to make Sasuke angry. No need to mention his younger brother refused promptly, appalling the elders. Up till today, Itachi was not sure how much of this episode Sasuke had shared with his team.

And there was Kakashi, too.

When Itachi was younger, he heard about Kakashi's story. From the clan's perspective, of course. 'The boy who stole the Sharingan'. They spread rumors about how Kakashi must've colluded with the medic of the team to set up Uchiha Obito and steal his Sharingan, of how he had stabbed a comrade in the back out of envy of the clan's power.

But Itachi was never one to draw hasty judgment, not even as a child. And when he learned the true facts from other shinobi, he also discovered that his clan had used all kinds of resources to get that Sharingan back. It was only the Third interference that had settled the matter.

Yes, he would have a hard time ingratiating himself with them. But he managed to win Sakura over. Her teammates couldn't be much harder, could they?

When Itachi sat at the table, he saw Naruto shooting him a strange look. The blond glanced at the trays of food, only then realizing the meal had been set for five people. He must've presume Itachi would eat with his own squad. He pretended not to see the blond grimacing as Shizune finish the check and brought the food over.

So much for ingratiating.

Itachi sat quietly while his teammates chatted amicably. He wasn't much of a talker, any behavior changes might raise suspicion. Better let it happen naturally. Intimacy was bound to happen when people spend time together.

Shizune was the first one to make an attempt at dragging him into the conversation. "Have your ANBU team eaten already, Itachi-san?"

"Aa," he nodded, "an hour ago. They'll keep on guard till tomorrow morning."

"Good to know," she replied.

Itachi noted Kakashi reading while eating, his book hiding his unclothed face. Regardless, he was participating on their conversation ever now and then. Both Naruto and Sasuke seemed to be used to their former sensei's antics. So was Shizune.

The duo of youngsters kept bantering each other during dinner. At some point Sasuke got tired of the other boy's idiocy. "Bites me how you ever got recruited to this mission," the younger Uchiha snapped.

"I'm here because I'm awesome, teme," the blond shot back through a food-filled mouth.

"Honestly aniki…" he shot an exasperate look at Itachi, as if condemning him for his choice of a team.

Kakashi's interest was picked behind the book. Sasuke intended on dragging his older brother into the discussion? Itachi wasn't famous for his nice comments and in that moment he knew this wouldn't end well to Naruto, with his saying-without-thinking nature. Usually Sakura would intervene to prevent this kind of situation, but without her here, Naruto would certainly take the bait.

And Kakashi was interested in watching the scene unfold.

For his part, Itachi remained unaffected. Sakura told him enough about her team's interactions for him to understand what Sasuke was trying to do. He looked around to notice four pairs of eyes on him, expecting some kind of reply. Well, he wanted to gain their favor for Sakura, why not butter them a little with flattery?

"Are you questioning me, Sasuke?" he replied. "I've assembled teams for this sort of missions countless times. I simply choose the best available individuals for this," he said matter-of-factly.

Naruto had a satisfied grin on his face. Sasuke was scowling, but had a conceited smirk there. Shizune seemed openly flattered. And Kakashi… well, he was watching him with suspicion, obviously picking on something. Well, Itachi hadn't really expect to such basic strategy to work on Kakashi. Nonetheless, three out of four was good enough. For now.

He watched Naruto say something like I told you so with his mouth still full while waving chopsticks towards Sasuke's face.

"Well, I'm really just filling in for Sakura here," Shizune said modestly before chewing on her fish.

"Sakura-san would be an appropriate option as well. She certainly is skilled and competent. But it seems she was unavailable," Itachi pretended to have recently been informed of this, "Besides, following the client's demand I had to select an all jounin team; and Sakura-san still holds a rank of tokubetsu jounin only."

"Oh, haven't you been informed? She just got promoted. She's a full fledge jounin now," Shizune revealed.

The four men looked surprised at her.

"Yes, Tsunade informed her just before she left for Suna. She had taken the tests and got the indication."

"No, she did not tell us!" Naruto exclaimed, sounding as surprise as Sasuke and Kakashi looked.

Apparently the girl wanted to surprise her teammates, Itachi mused. She had mentioned to him that she went through the trials. Had even asked for some tips, and he was more than happy to assist her in training. However she never mentioned having attained the rank.

"I thought she would have told you when you guys met in Suna last week," Shizune addressed Naruto.

Itachi watched the loud boy shut up immediately, blushing.

Odd.

"Yeah, dobe," Sasuke interjected, "how was she? You didn't say anything about it. You did sleep over at her place, right?"

Itachi's ears perked.

"Yeah," Naruto sounded vague, "she's fine. She keeps holed up in the lab, working. She said she'd be back soon," he managed to mumble.

Sasuke wondered where his conversional streak went to. "What you're sulking about?" Sasuke thought for a moment. "Wait… you didn't pick a fight with her there, did you?"

"No!" Naruto sounded offended, "why would I pick a fight with her?"

"Well, the usual, you were being an idiot," Sasuke said simply. Naruto glared.

"Or," Sasuke continued, "she's probably being harassed by some guy there; and you dealt with them as smoothly as you usually do," he smirked, "embarrassing her in the process and resulting in a very angry Sakura… who probably kicked your ass," the boy concluded with a smirk.

"You're the ass," Naruto murmured. Sasuke could only cock his head intrigued with such a small reaction.

Naruto sighed. "Well I did do something stupid, I think," Naruto looked like he meant to continue, but looked around self-consciously, throwing his friend a tell-you-later glance. Itachi caught on that, of course.

"The way you all keep scaring men away, Sakura-chan will die a spinster," Shizune reprehended.

"They're just looking out for their teammate, Shizune. It's quite endearing, come to think of it," Kakashi defended his former students, lowering his book. Apparently, at some point he had finish his meal and put on the mask again.

"That includes you too, Kakashi," she accused.

One could easily spot the surprised look on the sole visible eye. "Me?" he sounded indignant.

"Yes, Hatake. Don't think I didn't hear about your friendly chat with Akai and Oburi. It was all over the jounin's lounge last month."

Kakashi seemed unfazed. "Don't know what you're talking about. We were just chatting in the jounin meeting. I was just agreeing with them that Sakura had indeed become quite the alluring kunoichi," he said innocently. "Then I pointed out the fact that she is underage… and that they were a bit too old for her."

"Well, from what I heard that was not all you told them," Shizune narrowed her eyes.

He shrugged. Ok, a little bodily harm might have been mentioned, but he didn't really meant it. Not all of it, anyway. But his fellow jounin should know their limits. And lewd insinuations about his underage former student was definitely crossing the line.

"You too, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto laughed. "I swear to God, Sasuke and I have to threat a guy every other week."

"Speak for yourself, moron," Sasuke mumbled.

But it was kind of true. Lately Sakura had become some kind of pervert magnet. There were always idiots rounding her. Even though Sasuke wouldn't admit, he agreed with Naruto – they had to look out for her. Sakura might be fierce in the battlefield, but when it came to dealing with men, she was helpless.

For his part, Itachi wasn't sure he should be grateful for this overprotective behavior or concerned. He had of course noted the swarming of suitors around Sakura. Like himself, several males had taken noticed of how much little Sakura had grown, in every aspect. The only one that seemed unaware of this was Sakura herself. Somehow, this naïveté only served to add to her appeal.

Looking on the bright side, he was glad her teammates kept pushing away these suitors. Given his situation with Sakura, he could not do it himself openly. On the other hand, however, like an overbearing father, her teammates seemed intent on keeping Sakura as chaste as the day she was born. They really wouldn't appreciate him undermining all their hard work.

- 0000 -

Present day...

"I don't blame you for sleeping with him."

Sakura blinked at his statement. With her face turned down Itachi couldn't catch the confused expression on her face.

'…sleeping with him' his words echoed on her mind. Itachi… he thought she had…

Then it hit her. He really didn't know.

Her mind went to the paper lying on the table, the report of the events from 5 years ago. Could Itachi have misinterpreted what was written there? Come to think of it, she hadn't been thoroughly clear about the extent of her contact with the two Root agents when they were in Suna. It wasn't impossible for someone to assume…

But Itachi was intelligent, exceptionally so. He wouldn't draw such hasty conclusions, would he?

Suddenly Sakura was reminded of their altercation years ago. Of how easily she took advantage of his anger to mislead him. She wanted to push him away and had hurt him in order to do so. Sakura was one of the very few people who had managed to elude the ANBU captain. He must have been deeply hurt to not see through her deceit.

A pang of guilt squeezed her heart.

When he cornered her tonight, she felt fear and angst, but also a prickle of relief somewhere in her mind. It felt like she's been holding her breath for 5 years.

But now she realized he didn't really get it. She wondered if it was best to keep the charade or blurt everything out. It would be such a relief. But also, the truth might hurt him even more.

Itachi still held her shoulders when he felt her land her hands on his chest. At first he saw it as a gesture of surrender. But then she pushed lightly against him, forcing him to let go of her.

"You better go," her soft voice felt like gravel. He thought he had reached her, but something pushed her back; she was retreating into herself again. What happened?

"Sakura," he frowned.

"Who do you think you are to place blame? I don't blame myself. I never did. I have nothing to feel guilty about," she hissed.

He assessed her, the only sentiments he could read was loathe and resentment.

"What? You thought you would come here with this trinket," she pulled the ring from her finger, "a pathetic proposal and I'd throw myself at your feet in gratitude?" She growled throwing the ring at him.

He caught it with easy, a little shocked at her reaction. Sakura wasn't a naturally vicious person, but her words and her attitude would put even Ibiki to shame.

"You must think I'm really desperate to believe I'd take you," she spat, "a single mother with a bastard child, hn? I've been called a lot of things behind my back and at my face, and heard all kinds of dirty insinuations. But you know what I hate the most? The likes of you - people who pity me, who think they are better than me, who think they can throw scraps at me like I was begging for something."

"Sakura, I don't –"

She cut him. "Typical Uchiha… we all should be very grateful to breath the same air as you, right?"

Itachi didn't understand what came over her all of the sudden. She was been irrational. Had his words really offended her so much?

"Let me make something clear, Uchiha," she spat his surname, "I might have some attraction to you, but that's all. You are handsome, I'll give you that. But it's nowhere near enough to get me passed the aversion I have for your clan."

Sakura took a step back and looked at him with anger, "I don't need anything from you. My child doesn't need anything from you. Nothing other than your distance," her voice was low and dangerous. "Stay away from us, got it Uchiha?"

Something was twisting inside of him. He couldn't name it, but somewhere in the middle of this tormented feelings there was anger. He was trembling inwardly with the urge to touch her. He just wasn't sure whether he wanted to hold her or choke her.

He took a step forward.

She took a step back, "get out," she said in a menacing tone.

He wasn't the slightest intimidated. He took another step forward.

This time she held her ground, "get out, or else."

He took another step forward, standing barely a foot away, looking down on her, his blood boiling.

"GET OUT!" she yelled in rage.

Suddenly Itachi was reminded of the boy sleeping in the next room. That definitely had woke him up. Sakura had spoken in whispers the entire night, even when angry or disturbed, constantly concerned about her child's rest.

If she was now screaming her lungs out, she must have reached her limit; and Itachi didn't know what she would do if he pushed further.

His keen ears caught the sound of rustling fabric in the bedroom. She must've heard too. Itachi caught a glimpse of anxiety in her eyes as she threatened, "leave now or I'll make you." His senses picked on the felling of chakra gathering around her fisted hands.

She meant business.

Itachi weighted his options for a second. He could easily subdue her, but not without some commotion. And in her current state she didn't seem to care about the damage to her own apartment or the disturbance of her son, or her neighbors.

Besides, as it is, she had practically spat at his proposal. He had no further business here.

Taking a step back, he schooled his expression and bowed his head politely. He addressed the angry kunoichi with a blank stare. "Sorry to have bothered you."

Sakura ignored the stab she felt at his words, keeping her angry expression in place. "Good night, Haruno-san." With that Itachi turned around and left through the balcony door, disappearing into the night.

Show was over.

Long after he was gone she still held an angry frown, staring blindly at the spot where he stood. It was a while before she allowed herself to take a shaken deep breath in. She swayed and her knees threatened to give in. Taking a few unsteady steps back Sakura leaned against the wall.

Her heart was beating fast, and she fought a losing battle to keep an even breathing. Through the struggling she let out a sob.

It was all that took for her to fall apart.

Her knees suddenly buckled and she slid down the wall, coming down in a heap on the floor. Her body felt strangely numb and, looking down, she notice her hands trembling slightly.

Again she had been forced to push him away, to hurt him, to hurt herself. And damn, she was getting good at it.

She brought her hand to touch her lips with her fingertips, remembering the vicious words she spat, tasting them on her tongue like poison. She felt like wincing the second they came out, but kept the act, even when she glimpsed the hurt in Itachi's eyes.

He wouldn't come back now. Not ever. No one was that masochist. And part of her was glad. Glad because she didn't believe she could ever do this again.

Slumped on the floor, Sakura was so engrossed in her own mourning that she missed the soft click of a door opening. A moment later her eyes focused on a small boy staring at her with a confused look. "Mama? Why you are crying?"

'Kazuki?' She touched her cheeks only now noticing the tears. Surprised, she wiped them away, managing a weak smile. "Mama just had a bad dream," her voice sounded hoarse.

"Oh," the kid replied in a childish way.

"Sorry if I woke you up, Kazuki-chan," she stroked his blond hair fondly, "but it's ok now. It's late. You better go back to bed."

"Okay," the boy made to leave, but then turned around to face his mother. "Here," he offered the stuffed frog he carried around, "you can sleep with Gama-chan tonight."

Sakura looked down at the stuffed frog uncle Naruto had given him. Kazuki loved it - his 'comfort toy'. She pulled the child and held him tight for a moment.

Sakura pulled back and smiled at him through teary eyes. "Thank you, Kazuki-chan," she kissed his cheek. "Let's go to bed." His dark eyes smiled at her and the boy shot into his own room.

Sending a last glance at the balcony door, Sakura followed the little boy to tuck him in.

I told you guys: please don't hate me. Just be patient, ok?

All I can say is that I am a sucker for happy endings, but until then... well, you'll see.

Please! Don't forget to review! See ya!

dai86.

(Edited on May, 2012)