Chapter 2

In spite of her nervousness about her first mission in her new ANBU team, Sakura was doing a really good job. It had been hard at first to keep up with their pace, but after a while she grew used to it and was running side by side with the rest of her comrades.
When the goal was successfully met and they were on their way back to Konoha, she started wondering if that was it. She was so used to missions going not as planned, that this felt unnatural.
Then again, she was working with elite ANBU shinobi who had years of experience and indoctrination.
They stopped in a small clearing to catch their breaths and hydrate.

The mission had been relatively easy, but it didn't go without a fight, so Sakura went to each member for a medical examination. When she reached Itachi, he was laying against a tree with his fingers massaging his temples.

Sakura frowned.

'The Sharingan?', she thought as she approached him. Sakura had seen him use it when fighting the group of Mist nins that had ambushed them, but she didn't think it would put much stress to his eyes.

"Itachi san, I need to do a small check-up", she stood straight, meeting his gaze without letting him intimidate her.

"I'm alright", he said stubbornly. Of course she already knew he would say that. She figured it was a family treat.

"I think I should decide that", she replied without a flinch.

Seconds passed as Itachi observed her in an indescribable way, making the air denser between them until he sighed minutely and loosened his stance.
Sakura took this as a 'yes', and came closer to place her hands on his temples. She looked intently into his midnight eyes, fleetingly thinking how beautiful they were, before shutting her eyelids to concentrate on her chakra probing. She felt a huge amount of chakra residual build up in the pathways behind his eyes, and she reckoned it must be causing him severe migraines.

'This is what the Sharingan is doing to you?', she wondered. It was too much of a work to handle in the field, but she could at least relieve some of it.

As she started pushing her healing chakra into his system, she was completely unaware of the way Itachi was looking at her features. After a while she opened her eyes, feeling the weight of his stare and was a bit taken aback by the intensity of it.

His eyes were slightly narrowed, giving his irises a darker shade. Sakura held her breath.

His face was very close to hers as she was still healing him, so close she could feel the heat radiating from his skin and his very pleasant scent filled her senses.

She felt warm all of a sudden.

His gaze was intense; it was impossible for her to look away. She knew she was blushing like mad, and probably the green hue of her chakra wasn't covering it at all, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She felt entranced.
Then, his stare moved to her lips, and she felt her heart skip a beat, or two. Sakura unconsciously bit her lower lip, unable to control her body motions anymore. He moved closer, inch by inch until their noses were almost touching. Her abdomen twisted with the huge rush of adrenaline. His eyes were still fixed on her lips.

"Itachi!", she heard Shisui in the distance, but it was enough to break the spell. Itachi moved away to look at his teammate. "The first traps were activated, we're being followed", Itachi's cousin finished.

Sakura felt like she woke from a dream. She heard him command everyone to start moving back to Konoha, and in a dazed state she did.
Several minutes later, while leaping through the trees she started wondering.

What had just happened?

They returned a few hours later and went immediately to the Hokage office to report. As they made their way out of the building, Shisui turned around and looked at them.

"Hey guys, what about a few drinks to celebrate our new teammate?", he said grinning expectantly.

Genma immediately liked the idea and joined Shisui in the staring contest at the two remaining members of the team. Sakura smiled a little awkward, but was also into the idea.

"Sure, I'm in", she said after a while.

They all waited for their captain to reply and a little reluctantly he accepted with a short 'Hn'. The group ended up in a small pub in nice, comforting seats and some light music playing in the background.

"One, two three!", Shisui eagerly counted before they all drowned their glasses of Tequila to the bottom. Sakura couldn't help the contort of her face as the strong liquor ran down her throat, making Shisui and Genma laugh hysterically.

She looked at Itachi, who was sitting across from her and noticed his amused smirk.

"I'm sorry, I'm not used to drinking like an animal, as clearly you all are", she said with mocking offense and rolled her eyes.

After a few more drinks she was feeling light headed and started moving to the rhythm of the music. All the while looking at the Uchiha in front.

"Feel like dancing Sakura?", he said playfully, noticing her soft movements. For some reason she couldn't get her eyes off those lips of his. A warm rush filled her suddenly when a flashback of their interaction in the clearing popped into her mind.

She nodded lazily.

"Mmm, I would like that", she replied. "Though I wouldn't take you for the dancing type, Itachi san"

He raised one eyebrow while his smirk grew wider.

"Indeed, you're right…", he said slowly, his tone dropping a few notes. "…but I enjoy music nonetheless".

Yes, his voice and three shots of Tequila were definitely a bad combination. She felt warm all over and a sudden need to know more about this man overtook her.
Sakura realized that even though she had known him forever, she didn't really know much about him.

"What about you Sakura?", Shisui abruptly cut her train of thought and left her lost on the topic. He looked at her expectantly. She realized that she had been solely focused on Itachi and blushed furiously.

"Me?", she asked a bit unsure.

"Yeah, you have someone you like?", Shisui had a mischievous glint in his eye. She glanced nervously at Itachi before mentally slapping herself for blatantly giving away her answer.

She looked at Genma and then at Shisui again in a last attempt to cover her slip.

"N-no, not really…", she fought the urge to fidget.

"Really...?", the older Uchiha gave her a knowing smile and she knew she was screwed.

The rest of the night went by rather comfortably, except for the few looks Shisui was giving her and Itachi. When they left the pub Sakura was concentrating hard on giving some semblance of sobriety. She didn't realize the amused look Shisui gave her before walking with Genma in the other direction, leaving her alone with Itachi.

They walked quietly for a few blocks and it was Sakura who broke the silence.

"Tonight was fun", she said tentatively.

"Hn", Itachi replied in his all-too-known monosyllable. She rolled her eyes.

"Shisui often likes to go for drinks after short missions, so this probably won't be you last time", he said glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. "I suggest that you work on your liquor resistance".

She laughed softly and looked at him from behind long eyelashes.

"I guess I failed at trying to look sober then…", Sakura felt a warmth in her belly that had nothing to do with all the alcohol she had consumed.

Only when they reached her apartment did she notice that he had walked her home. She turned around to face him with a questioning look.

"I figured it would be dangerous for a drunken girl to walk home by herself", he said as if reading her mind.

Sakura blushed as a smile formed on her lips.

"You know, I'm more than capable of taking care of myself…", she teased and he smiled back.

"I know…", he stepped closer and ever so slightly lifted his right hand to brush a small thread of hair off her face, securing it behind her ear. The faint touch made Sakura blush furiously as adrenaline ran free into her system. She parted her lips slightly when Itachi approached her even more, causing her pulse to suddenly rush and her breathing quicken.

"…But I don't like taking unnecessary risks", he whispered close, giving her goose bumps.

She could feel his soft breath on her face and his body warmth reaching her through the fabric of her clothes

Then, all too soon he stepped away from her.

"Good night, Sakura", he said in his velvety voice before turning around to take his leave.

Sakura looked at his handsome figure walking away from her in a complete state of bewilderment. She stood there for a long time, until her pulse went back to normal and she could manage to work the keys into her door. She just walked to her bed and collapsed on top, turning around so she faced the ceiling.

With this brother there was no mistaking it.

Itachi had definitely flirted with her.

A few days later, both had been summed before the Hokage. She was in charge of investigating over a new battle drug that was leaking into the Fire Country. Her analysis would help Itachi get a lead on who was behind it, and who was getting profit out of it. She sat in the the chair, waiting for the mixer as she contemplated the preliminary results of her tests. It was late in the night and the hospital was mostly silent. Only the ER area was active and that was opposite to the laboratory, where she was stationed. Sakura walked across the room in a slow pace, trying to connect the pieces of information she had. The machine finally stopped and she went to collect the samples. After placing a drop under a microscope, she watched with some fascination the behaviour of the cells into the fluid.

'What is this…?', she thought.

The next day she ran into Itachi on her way to the library. She was going there to do some research regarding her findings the night before, when the Uchiha had appeared at her side and joined her pace. She informed him of the raw results she had had so far and told him how she couldn't understand the behaviour of the cells in the sample when exposed to a minimum amount of Chakra.

"I'm going to investigate about it now, so I will probably have some information for you in the afternoon", she said looking at the dark haired man next to her.

"Thank you", he said politely. "Tomorrow morning, Shisui and I are leaving to investigate further into this, so I will be waiting your findings".

She nodded and after that he deviated his direction towards the Hokage tower.

Many hours and books later, Sakura was tiredly leaning on the chair in a far table at the corner of the library. She was the only one left, with only a table lamp to illuminate the dark room.

As promised, Itachi appeared in the library and approached her slowly, almost startling her. She looked at his dark figure coming closer to finally stand next to her.

"Did you find anything?", he asked with an odd expression. He had a frown and his eyes were slightly narrowed.

Did she really look that messy?

She pushed aside the uncomfortable sensation of looking like trash in front of Itachi and told him about her findings.

"The cells get into an excitement state once in contact with chakra, enhancing their regeneration abilities to the point where they're almost indestructible and basically making the user immortal for a period of time", Sakura said while looking for a book that would explain her point. "But after some time, the drug generates a chemical reaction using the iron contained naturally in the body as its main source, which ends up killing them".

"So the drug gives the user a boost of power but after some time it ends up killing them?", he asked.

"Exactly, there is a condition though, which is very rare in itself", she said, following his moves as he sat in the chair across from her. "The drug can only be stimulated into working only with iron nature chakra", she finished.

They both fell silent as Itachi contemplated the new information.

"Iron nature is very rare among chakra users", Itachi stated with a thoughtful look.

"That would narrow down the search", she said with a small curve to her lips. "Since the person who came up with this drug must be of that kind of chakra nature".

His eyes lifted to meet hers in a locked gaze.

"This is very advanced experimentation, so only a highly capable person with thorough knowledge of chakra and poisons could have made it", she added some seconds later.

"Medic nin of iron natured chakra…", he said to himself and Sakura nodded.

He was silent again but after a while his gaze lost its coldness as he looked at her. She was feeling increasingly uncomfortable under his stare.

"Thank you Sakura, this has been very helpful", he said without taking his eyes off her.

She smiled weary, feeling the fatigue finally taking over her body. "You should go rest now", he said and it made Sakura chuckle lightly.

"Do I really look that bad?", she teased.

Itachi smiled and closed his eyes minutely. When he reopened them his gaze was warm and intense, making her feel like he was looking into her very soul.

"Not in the least", he replied softly. Her cheeks tainted with red, but she resisted the awkwardness.

"You're right, I should head home now…", she said as she stood up and started collecting the towers of books that she had looked into when researching.

Without a word, Itachi stood up as well and helped her carry the books to the shelves.

"It's ok Itachi san, I can take care of this, you should go rest for the mission tomorrow… it will be a long journey", she was suddenly feeling shy. But he didn't respond and just kept arranging books.

Seeing herself ignored, she sighed in defeat and continued her task until the table was empty.

They walked out of the library in silence, calmly pacing through the dark corridors.

"Thank you for helping me out back there", she commented in a quiet voice. She sounded weaker than she intended, but she supposed it was because the older Uchiha was very intimidating.

"Aa", he muttered simply. She noticed he was looking at her from the corner of his eyes and suppressed the need to flinch under his gaze.

"I'm glad you were assigned to this, Sakura", he started. "You're the most capable medic nin I know after Tsunade", he continued and Sakura turned her shocked face to him. "I know I can rely on you and that's very…", he trailed off. "…refreshing".

She was blushing like mad. His compliments, she knew, were not handed off easily, so she knew he really meant each word, which only made the whole situation more embarrassing and awkward for her. She muttered a shy 'thanks' before her mind started wondering about his words.
He was under a constant stress with all his responsibilities. She figured he was the kind to carry everything on his shoulders and ended up tense and worn out. That realization made her feel a strange excitement to be able to really help him lift some of that weight off him.
A gentle smile formed on her lips then as she turned to look at him.

"I'm happy to know I can help carrying some of the weight off your shoulders", she said. "I'm gonna do my best so I can continue doing so".

He was speechless for a few seconds, only being able to return her look. A smile of his own appeared after that, the kind of smile that turned Sakura's insides in a mix of warm hormones and adrenaline.
They had stepped outside the library building and were standing in front of each other in complete silence. His eyes intensified their gaze on her on the verge of both young shinobi's departure. Sakura felt a peculiar need to reach him, almost like a magnetic pull.
Under the soft street lights of Konoha, his eyes were smouldering and deep, and she noticed how his long eyelashes casted shadows on his cheeks. He was just standing, but it felt like he was getting her closer to him and for some reason, she didn't mind.

She was getting closer to him in a whole different level.

In the end she just offered him a warm smile and bowed at him.

"Good night Itachi san… and thanks for everything", she didn't exactly know the full meaning of that 'everything', but she was sure it was much more than a little help carrying books.

Her smile was returned by the Uchiha, in a way that made her want to grab his arms and force him closer.

"Good night Sakura", he said after a while. Neither of them moved away as there was a lingering intensity in the air, floating around between them.

She finally broke the spell and looked downwards.

"Bye", she said and slowly turned around.

The pink haired girl walked down the street, leaving the Uchiha behind to stare at her back.
She didn't know why that simple situation had become so awkward, though not in an unpleasant way, but she had felt like she needed to get away from it before…
Before what?

She felt her stomach turn in sweet adrenaline and she smiled to herself.
She knew what was going to happen if she continued this and couldn't help the warm pressure on her chest at that thought.

Her smile only grew wider.

A loud knocking on her door woke her up.

Sakura yawned without a care in the world and lazily got up from her bed.

"Who is it?", she asked out loud while reaching the door.

"It's me", a voice she recognized too well said from the other side.

Sakura opened the door and moved to the side to let him in.

"What are you doing here Sasuke? Is too early", she pouted and closed the door behind him.

"It's eleven am", he deadpanned. She rolled her eyes and dragged herself to the kitchen.

"If you're here for training with Naruto you've completely lost your time", she said as she prepared herself some coffee. "Coffee?", she offered and he refused with his head. "There is no way I will do any kind of physical activity today. I'm drained".

"No, it's not about training", he said. "I'm here for something else".

Sakura took her mug and walked back to the living room where Sasuke was standing.

"What is it then?", she said before sipping her coffee and immediately regretting it. It was way too hot.

"Shit…", she muttered while taking the tip of her slightly burned tongue out of her mouth.

Sasuke was looking at her with amusement clear on his features. He waited for a second before indulging in the real reason behind his visit.

"I want to take you on a date"

She froze.

Sakura stared at him for the longest time, before she started laughing.

"What?!", she put the cup of coffee in the auxiliary table and sat on her couch. "You came all the way to my house to make fun of me?", she thought the whole idea was hilarious.

"I'm not joking Sakura. Let's go on a date", he repeated, his face absolutely serious.

The pinkette eyed him suspiciously.

"Why would you want to do such a thing?", she asked, still with humour in her voice.

"For the same reason other people go on dates", he replied.

What? Did that mean that he… liked her? She started to consider his words. He looked very serious.

"Did Naruto put you up to this? This sounds very much like one of his pranks", she said, although she doubted the blond would pull something like this on her. He still thought Sasuke was a sore topic for her. "Why now? All of a sudden, after all this time?", she asked.

"No, Naruto doesn't even know I'm here, no, it's not one of his pranks", he sounded exasperated. "As to why now, I guess I recently realized all the time I lost…", he gulped. "…with you", his eyes went straight to the floor as he avoided her incredulous look.

Shock, absolute and utter shock. It was all she could feel right now. She was gaping.

"Are you serious?", she insisted and Sasuke rolled his eyes at her.

"Look, is just a yes or a no", he was clearly losing his patience.

"Ok…", she blinked and released a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I'll go on a date with you", she never thought she would say such a thing to Uchiha Sasuke.

"Good, then get ready. I'll wait here", he said, taking a seat on her sofa.

"What, now?", she almost jumped from her seat.

"Yes"

Shit. She would have to pull some miracle to look decent enough for a date with her date currently waiting in her living room.

Her date…

She still couldn't grasp any sense of reality into this situation. It was surreal.

Sasuke and her in a date.

Suddenly, in a tiny, deeply hidden part of her chest something pulsated at that thought. Could she allow herself to feel it again? Could she allow herself to hope?
She rushed to her bathroom to take a quick shower, brush her teeth and fix her hair. Then went to her wardrobe to pick something nice to wear.

One hour later, she walked into the living room feeling fresh and looking radiant. She felt proud of herself for managing such a feat in one single hour.

To Sasuke, of course, the wait was almost unbearable, that was until he saw her in that little yellow strapped dress, her beautiful legs showing, her glossy hair pinned on one side with what seemed to be a blossom clip and her cheeks mimicking the color of her hair.

She was a sight.

He smiled. A real, full blown smile.

Between the exotic flavoured dango stand and the roasted eel sticks stand she realized how screwed she really was.
Sakura looked at the young Uchiha walking next to her with a content smile on his face and felt the heat rush to her cheeks and belly.

She was in deep, deep trouble.

"Are you ok?", the boy asked. She could only put a smile on her lips and nod.

As they reached the end of the fair, she felt his hand gently grab her by the forearm.

"Come, I wanna show you something", he said cryptically before walking in a different direction.

Sakura realized that he wasn't letting go of her arm, and something warm bloomed in her chest.

Soon they left the streets and buildings and entered an isolated area in the woods. There was a big wooden arc with Uchiha signs all over it, signalling the entrance to something like a temple.

Finally, they reached some sort of traditional garden with a beautiful Sakura tree in the back, next to a small pond with Koi fish. They sat on a stone bench.

Sakura looked around and marvelled by the quiet beauty of the place.

"Wow…", she said as she took in the details of the garden.

"This is a Uchiha temple. In spring the Sakura tree is full blossomed, and they have various activities to celebrate the start of the new season", Sasuke explained calmly.
He turned to his side to regard her silently. His eyes were deep, she noticed, intently looking at her own irises.
She felt naked under his stare.

"This is my favourite place…", his voice was much softer that what she was used to and she understood that this was a side of him she had never seen before.

It felt intimate.

"Sasuke…", she heard herself say. His scent danced in the air, and it only made her heart beat faster.

She realized he was sharing this very personal place with her, and if she had had any doubts that she was being pranked, now they were all cleared. She knew, for sure, that Sasuke had feelings for her.
The thought was hard to process, especially when he was seating just inches away from her and looked like he was moving even closer.

Sasuke liked her.

When did this happen?

"Sasuke…", she said slowly. "What is this about?", she asked, and by the confused look he gave her she decided to elaborate.

"What is going on? I chased you for years and you never seemed to care and now… all of this…", she trailed off, knowing that he understood her now.

His sudden smile took her by surprise. He moved his hand to caress her cheek with a gentleness she didn't think him capable of.

"I know, it took me a lot to figure…", he was almost whispering now, his face getting closer. "How important you are to me".

Sakura held her breath and in a second his warm, soft lips were on hers. He pressed lightly and she was in such shock that felt at a loss of what to do. Her lower abdomen filled with warmth and a chill run up and down her spine. Her body was clearly reciprocating.

Her eyelids fell shut and she felt him move against her lips, massaging them, probing.

She had to stop.

This was wrong on so many levels.

The image of a certain older Uchiha brother flashed before her eyes and she backed away from Sasuke's kiss.
He was surprised, she could tell, and before he could say anything she hastily stood up.

"I can't do this", she said. "I'm sorry", and with that she ran away from the place, from him. She ran so hard her legs started to ache, but she didn't care.

She stopped in a small clearing leading to a cliff. This was far enough.
The wind blew hard and as much as she wished, it didn't shake off all these wrong feelings.

'What do I do now?'

The Uchiha household was comfortably quiet. Itachi was seating to the dining table across from his father, who was reading some seemingly interesting scroll. His mother was finishing with dinner in the kitchen, humming to herself in a happy fashion.

It was all so very relaxing.

A loud sound came from the main door as Sasuke burst in in a very discernable sour mood.

"Sasuke kun, dinner is almost ready, go seat by the table", Mikoto said when she felt him enter.

"I'm not hungry", he spat and went straight to the back of the house.

"What is wrong with that kid?", his mother appeared from the kitchen, a puzzled expression on her face as she followed Sasuke's movements with her eyes.

Later that night, after a nice family dinner, Itachi went to find out about his little brother's mood. He found him seating by the backyard, his gaze lost in the horizon. He silently sat by his side and remained quiet for a long time.

"Where were you today?", Itachi asked softly without looking at the young Uchiha.

There was a long pause before Sasuke replied.

"I was on a date with Sakura", he finally said.

Itachi felt as if someone had just punched him.

He didn't know Sakura and his little brother were dating, and that realization felt like a bucket of iced water.

"You're dating her?", Itachi asked tentatively.

"No, I just asked her on a date today"

It was strange the effect Sasuke's confession had in Itachi. Somehow he felt relieved that Sakura was single, but the fact that his brother liked her anyways was painful.

"She…", Sasuke continued after a while. "She rejected me".

Itachi looked at his brother from the corner of his eyes and closed them. He didn't even know what to feel. So he decided that right now Sasuke needed his older brother to comfort him, and that's what he did.

"Give her some time Sasuke…", he started. "you were always complaining about her when you were younger and if she decided to move on, this must be difficult for her", he caught his little brother's attention. "Perhaps, now is your turn to demonstrate your feelings for her", he offered him a small smile and saw Sasuke's shoulders relax a bit.

"Hn", the young boy fell silent once again, contemplating over Itachi's words.

A few hours later, the house was dark and silent. Itachi laid on his bed with his gaze stuck to the ceiling.

He didn't know how to process this.

He had recently realized that little Sakura was not so little anymore, and that had awakened something inside of him that he thought was lost. He felt the need to spend time with her, and of course, there was this revolution of hormones he felt whenever the kunoichi was around. He often found himself thinking about her lips and that suggesting way she bit them without realizing, and how he would like to bite them himself.

Yes, he was infatuated with the pink haired kunoichi.

It had come as a surprise to him, but where before he only had to worry about his own inexperience in the field, he was now facing a remarkably bigger dilemma.

He was infatuated with the pink haired kunoichi, and so was his little brother.

Sasuke was so foolish. The girl had been following him around like a puppy for at least seven years and he had only complained about it. He had had plenty of time to make a move, yet he never did.

Then what should he do? In the dawn of this new information, what should be his next steps?

Sakura was part of his team now, which meant they would spend a large amount of time together. Should he ignore his own feelings to clear the path for his little brother?

Itachi had noticed the way he affected her as well, how her cheeks grew redder when in his presence, or the way her pulse quickened whenever he got close.
He had flirted with her and her body had boldly reciprocated. He didn't need the Sharingan to see that. Even thinking about that now gave him goose bumps…
Itachi released a long sigh.

He was absolutely lost when it came to girls.

A/N: This story was more of a personal project. I never intended to publish it until today, when I finished it and re read it many times and wondered if it was any good. So basically, I'm publishing this to know if it's good or it just sucks. It hasn't gone under the meticulous inspection of a beta reader, so expect many mistakes.