Sakura sat on the bench that was positioned next to Itachi's bedroom window. Through it, she could not see anything that would help her to determine where the hideout was located; all she could see through the window was part of the garden and some of the building. Her mind was racing. After Itachi had thanked her for listening to his story and left the room to attend to some business, Sakura could not will herself to stop thinking about him. She had to admit that she hadn't felt this way since she had been in love with Sasuke.

Sasuke… he had left the village and had plunged into the darkness to kill his older brother whom actually loved him. It really was a twisted world. The rosette haired ninja wanted to tell her lost comrade what Itachi was trying to do; she wanted to end the pain and suffering of both Sasuke and his older brother.

Sakura sat in thought, reaching into the depths of her heart for answers to her own questions. She could deny it no longer—she felt for her crimson eyed captor. She didn't want to lose him to death, whether it be by Sasuke's hand or his own ailments. She felt as though Itachi, despite all his misunderstood decisions, had an abundance of potential and could be a wonderful leader and a strong motivator to the ninjas of the world. Sakura had made up her mind; she was going to treat Itachi's eyes, and then she was going to do everything in her power to stop a deadly encounter between the Uchiha brothers from happening.

The soft sound of footsteps brought the kunoichi from her musings. Whoever was strolling by passed Itachi's room, halted, and then turned back around. She sat silently, unsure of how to feel. The tapping of footsteps stopped in front of the door. Who was it? Could it be Itachi? No, he hadn't left too long ago. Then who…

The door flew open, startling Sakura. She found herself staring at a man with some kind of scythe in his hand. He had grayish hair that was slicked back, and his Akatsuki cloak was only buttoned up about half way, revealing his very toned chest area. His eyes held a maniacal gleam in them, and although Sakura found herself terrified, she could not look away. It was as if his eyes had sent her into a trance. As he began to speak, his voice sent chills down Sakura's spine.

"Why, hello there, Pretty Lady. Jashin told me you'd be in here."

"Ja-Jashin..?" the frightened teenage girl stuttered.

"Yes, my God. You are Itachi's ward, right?"

"I am….Itachi's medical ninja. I have to heal his eyes, and—"

"Ah, of course," the man cut her off. "I'm Hidan. Itachi asked me to come and get you. He wanted you to meet him in our library, so that he can give you some scrolls and books and that kind of crap."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief at hearing Itachi's name. Though Hidan frightened her greatly, she would feel safe once they got to her protector.

"Alright, lead the way."

Sakura followed the gray haired Akatsuki member until they reached a large room. Hidan opened the door and stepped back, allowing her to make her way inside. Upon entering the room, the young kunoichi's stomach dropped. It wasn't a library; the area she was in had the appearance of a sacrificial temple or some insane slaughterhouse. She heard the door shut and click and a lunatic cackle release from Hidan. She knew in her heart that she was in some immense trouble.

Sakura felt the edge of a blade collide with her skin and the trickle of blood down her arm. She sluggishly turned around to meet the eyes of a monster. Hidan licked Sakura's blood off of his scythe and began to transform into something from a nightmare. His body took on a twisted black tint and his cackle began to sound like that of a demon.

"I'm sorry that I had to lie, girl, but Jashin really wants you, and so, I will offer you to him. Don't worry. For you, I'll make it quick. You better feel lucky about that, since I do love to cause people pain and suffering, and it pleases Lord Jashin to the max."

Hidan's words cut deep, and Sakura knew his blade would cut even deeper. She could attempt to fight him, but she knew it would do no good. Her chakra was still extremely low; she would prove to be no match at all for the deranged killer that stood in front of her. The rosette haired girl decided that the best result she could get out of the situation would be to not anger Hidan by fighting back, so he would at least make her death quick.

Out of both fear and rationality, the adolescent kunoichi got on her knees and bowed her head. She didn't want to see Hidan raise his sickle and bring it down upon her. She heard the insane worshiper lift the scythe above his head, and braced herself for the impact. In the back of her mind, Sakura felt like she deserved this for being so naïve.

Sakura felt the air break as her soon-to-be murderer swung his weapon, and she heard a collision. It took her a few seconds to realize that she had not been hit. The confused girl gradually lifted her head to see Itachi and Hidan fighting fiercely. He had come; her misunderstood captor had come for her. He seemed to have a knack for showing up at just the right time.

Green eyes watched disconnectedly as the two Akatsuki members battled. Hidan was able to inflict one good blow to Itachi's arm with the blunt end of his sickle, but Itachi came back with a foot to Hidan's head, which knocked the wicked man off of his balance. The Uchiha took advantage of his opponent's daze and pinned him down, ready to impose the finishing blow, but something seemed to stop him. Instead, he spoke.

"The leader has bid me not to chop off your filthy head. Feel blessed by his mercy; your miserable God had no power here. You were at my will, as well as our leader's. "

Itachi, obviously somewhat satisfied with his very brief speech, strolled over to Sakura and helped her up. He walked her back to his room, and, to her surprise, did not yell at her for letting her stupidity get the best of her.

"Are you hurt?" Itachi asked as he sat down on the bench on Sakura's side of the bed.

"I'm fine…" Sakura mumbled. "I just have a scratch. No big deal..."

"I see," Itachi started as he got up to get a band-aid. "Sakura, why were you wandering around? Did you not learn your lesson the day that you ran into Zetsu? I thought I was thorough in explaining that this is a dangerous place."

"I wasn't wandering around. Hidan came into the room, telling me that you had asked him to come and get me. I don't know why I believed him, but even if I had refused to go, he still could have taken advantage of me. I only have a small percentage of my chakra. I'm basically powerless, other than some knowledge…"

"You are right. I will perform a jutsu with Kisame tomorrow so that you may have your chakra back."

"You'd give me my chakra back?" Sakura seemed perplexed. "You don't worry about me trying to escape?"

At that moment, Itachi looked into Sakura's green orbs and plainly stated, "I believe you will do what your heart desires, and even if it isn't for me, I trust that you will stay for my brother."

"Oh… You have a point…"

"However," Itachi began as he walked back over to Sakura, "If you want the truth, I do not mind having you around."

Sakura stood up from her place on the bed and stared into the raven-haired man's eyes. She leaned in to give him a kiss but stopped.

"What is it?" Itachi questioned.

"Every time we begin this, we get interrupted, to be blunt," Sakura replied.

"Every time we begin what?"

A blush emerged on the kunoichi's face. This seemed to amuse Itachi. He allowed a slight grin to grace his lips. In a few swift motions, he took off his cloak and his shirt. His captive's blush grew more prominent.

"Itachi! What are you doing?!" she hollered.

"Calm yourself, Girl. The blunt end of Hidan's sickle hit me and I am merely scanning over the damage," Itachi explained. Sure enough, there was a very large, noticeable bruise that had turned dark purple and deep red. "I think that I will go wash off in the shower. My muscles are tense and I need to relax them."

"I'll come with you!" Sakura blurted out, clearly not thinking out her statement very well before she spoke. "I mean, not like that. I don't plan on showering with you or anything. It's just….I can help to release the tension in your muscles. I am a medical ninja, after all. I know a lot of tricks. I feel like I owe it to you for helping me…"

Itachi considered Sakura's offer for a moment and then motioned for her to follow him into the bathroom. Once inside, Itachi turned to her and asked what she wanted him to do.

"Start the bath, not the shower," the medical ninja told him. "Then strip down to your boxers, if you're comfortable with it. I'm going to have you sit in the bath and I'll have the shower running once it is full enough. From there, I will give you a massage. Okay?"

"Would it be adequate if I were to put on a towel instead of wearing my boxers?" Itachi questioned.

"Well, yeah. I guess that would be fine."

Sakura turned away from Itachi to allow him to change out of his boxers and into a towel. Once he was done, she turned back to him and instructed him to get into the bath. She then turned on the shower and began her massage.

Itachi relaxed into her touch almost instantly. It had been much too long since he had been able to just clear his mind and not worry about anything. Though he knew it wouldn't last long, he appreciated the time he was getting.

Once Sakura was done with the massage, she began to make her way out of the bathroom to give Itachi some privacy and let him dress himself. Before she could get out of the door, Itachi stopped her.

"You were not obligated to do this for me."

"I know. I did it because I wanted to," the young kunoichi responded. With a smile, she innocently but roughly patted Itachi's lower back, causing his towel to slip out of place. "Kami! I'm so, so sorry! I didn't mean to, I mean… uh, that was an accident!"

Sakura kept her eyes on the upper half of Itachi's body as she backed out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut. She sat, embarrassed, on the bed and waited for her company to make his way out of the bathroom so that she could apologize some more. Once Itachi came out of the restroom, Sakura was quick to hop up.

"I just want to say that—"

"Do not feel so bad about it," Itachi cut her off. "It was an accident. It's fine."

Sakura nodded her head and laid out on the bed. Itachi got in on his side and pulled out his art supplies to draw up a quick sketch before he went to sleep. After about thirty minutes, he addressed the girl lying next to him.

"Sakura, are you awake?"

"Yes," she answered. "Why? What is it?"

"Would you like to see my latest sketch?"

"Oh, yeah!" Sakura propped herself up and leaned towards Itachi. He tilted the paper that his drawing was on so that she could have a better view. As she scanned over the sketch, she realized that it was a lone wolf on the edge of a cliff, which was howling towards the moon almost eagerly. "It's beautiful, but what does it mean?"

"Well…" crimson eyes examined the drawing as he gathered his thoughts. "I guess you could say that the wolf represents me. It's alone, prideful, and mysterious. The moon represents my positive desires that guide me through the dark, which is represented by the night."

"Wow, that's pretty deep. Why does the wolf look so eager?"

"The wolf looks eager because it knows that although the moon can be seen so clearly, it will never be able to reach it. Not even the wolf's cries and howls towards it will be heard. Despite these facts, the moon still offers forth its light so that the wolf may make his way through the dark of the night. It relates to me because it has dawned on me that a lot of my intentions may not pan out as I wish for them to, but my goals are still there to guide me through all of the trials and tribulations."

After summing up his thoughts, Itachi put away his sketch and his art supplies and turned off his light. In the darkness, Sakura willed herself to speak from her heart.

"Itachi, I hope that you reach your goals, and I know that you have the potential to do just that. I believe in you just as much as I believed in your brother before he left and as much as I still believe in Naruto today."

The rosette-haired girl could not see Itachi's face to try and evaluate his feelings towards her words, but soon after speaking she felt his lips brush against hers. For what felt like eternity, the two of them lingered in their current position. In this time, Sakura realized exactly how safe she felt at the side of this miscalculated criminal.

Itachi finally broke the kiss, and whispered the words "thank you" to Sakura as he pulled away. Somewhat subconsciously, Sakura cuddled up to his side, and he seemed to welcome the gesture. She realized that her face had felt slightly wet after the man beside her had broken away from their kiss. Had he began to cry? Sakura thought to herself. Is the moisture on my cheeks due to his tears? It must be… And he welcomed me into his arms. Have I finally begun to unmask the real Itachi Uchiha? I feel so safe beside him… I wouldn't mind feeling this way forever…

Sakura dosed off, stuck in and confused by her musings, but there was one thing that was clear to her now: She wanted to bring out the true Itachi and she wanted to be with him.