Itachi was a fool and he knew it. He should be well on his way back to Rain right now and instead he was hiding in an inn-turned-sanctuary with one child on his knee and another leaning against his side.

He tried to listen to Sakura and her partner downstairs, but he couldn't hear without the aid of chakra. He was nervous, of course, because getting caught wasn't just a matter of life and death anymore. Sakura's suspicion was troubling enough – he couldn't bank on two people keeping their heads down about him. If the truth came out…

Well, what if it did? He pushed the thought away as quickly as it had come. He couldn't think about that now.

"Itachi-san," Yamato said, "When will I get to start my ninja training? I'm not getting any younger, you know."

Itachi shushed the boy and tried to listen for any movement downstairs. To his knowledge, there were no other people in the inn with them.

Yamato huffed noisily next to him. Sachi breathed too loudly, hiccupping occasionally.

Itachi had been four when the Third Great Shinobi War ended. Sachi couldn't have been much younger than that, but he would never have thought a girl so young would be capable of handling such trauma. Had he ever been like her? So innocent and endearing in a way that only little kids can be?

No, he was a born killer, a natural shinobi. Being a child was never an option. He had only been eleven when he joined ANBU – close to Yamato's age. He had been thirteen when he left the village after the single worst mission of his entire life.

He had the urge to tell Yamato to give up that dream, to find a new one. Itachi would give anything to have lived a different life. He was a pacifist at heart – yet forever branded as a cold-hearted murderer. He couldn't change that now, nor would he have if he could go back in time. His sacrifices were necessary for the peace of Konoha.

But Yamato… He had a chance to live whatever life he wanted. He could be anything, do anything. He could go anywhere. He was free to be friends with whomever he chose. His life was a blank canvas.

Itachi didn't want to admit that he was jealous. He'd been jealous before, but it had never felt so intense before. He wished he could say that it had nothing to do with the pink-haired woman downstairs, but he knew better. She was a taste of what his life could have been like, and instead of staying here with him, she was going back to Konoha and taking Yamato and Sachi with her.

It was painful to think about her now. He had hugged her, which was an unforgivable mistake, but he couldn't say that he regretted it. Really, when would he ever get the chance to hug someone like that again? Probably never. He'd hug Sachi and maybe Yamato when they parted. But would he ever hug a grown woman again? Would he hug Sasuke?

He didn't know why the thought of physical affection was somehow so important to him now. He certainly hadn't thought much about it in the past. Maybe because he'd grown accustomed to it in the last week and he knew that soon it would all be over. He didn't realize how much he had missed it. He would probably crave it again once he was back in Rain.

He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. I'm doing this for Sasuke.

He heard Sakura's footsteps as she walked down the hall. She was alone. Itachi shifted Sachi out of his lap onto the bed and stood up, ready to help Sakura in any way that he could.

"Itachi-san," she said as she opened the door. Her face was red and she looked worried, almost panicked. "We've got trouble."

He furrowed his brow and watched as she scooped up Sachi and grabbed Yamato's hand and headed straight for her office. Itachi followed her, matching her pace. She began stuffing Sachi and Yamato's things into her pack.

"What's going on?" Itachi asked.

"Ino – my partner – she found patient zero," Sakura said, "She traced him back to Kabuto."

Kabuto. Orochimaru's lackey. Was he responsible for the infection?

"Where is he?" Itachi asked.

"He's on his way here!" Sakura shrieked, still flying around her office, grabbing her belongings and stuffing them into her pack. "Ino found him in an underground bunker several days north west, in Fire Country. She confronted him, that idiot, and he admitted to creating the infection himself – an experiment."

"An experiment…" Itachi repeated, "And he's on his way here? Why?"

"He had to have known I was here working on a cure," she said, "It was in all the papers. Everyone knew. Ino said he wanted me to figure out a cure. Me!"

"I still don't understand," Itachi said.

"I don't either, Itachi-san," she said, "But I know he's on his way here specifically to find me and I really don't want to be here when he arrives. I don't think I could take him – especially not while Yamato and Sachi are here."

"Do you think he wants to fight you?" Itachi asked. That didn't make sense. Kabuto, from what he remembered of the man, was more interested in learning new tricks than winning needless battles.

"I don't know," Sakura answered, "But I don't want to find out. I'm heading back to Konoha now. Ino went ahead of me, and she sent for backup."

"So you're going to try to outrun him while traveling with two children?" Itachi asked. He couldn't keep the irritation out of his voice. How stupid could she be? If she couldn't fight him then she couldn't outrun him either. Not like this.

"What other choice do I have?"

"Sakura," Itachi snapped.

She paused in her movements and raised a brow at him.

"You're panicking," he said, "You need to take a step back and think about your next move. You can't outrun him with two kids with you. Your partner has called for backup already. You don't know what he wants with you."

She took a deep breath in and held it for a second before releasing it. "You're right," she said, "What should I do?"

Itachi didn't know. He really shouldn't be getting involved in her affairs anyway. But while Yamato and Sachi were still around, it was technically his affair too. Their safety was his first priority.

He was confident that he could handle Kabuto – especially with the way he felt now after Sakura had healed him. But Kabuto was Orochimaru's minion and Sasuke was very closely tied in with all of this, if his most recent information regarding his whereabouts were correct.

If Sasuke had indeed killed Orochimaru then what was Kabuto doing now? And where had Sasuke gone?

The uncertainties were mounted against them.

"I think you should stay here and see what Kabuto wants," Itachi advised. They needed more information. Kabuto would have answers about Sasuke, too, which was a bonus for Itachi.

"If he's looking for a fight…" Sakura said, trailing off uncertainly.

Itachi hadn't seen what Sakura was capable of on the battlefield, but he doubted that her battle skills were up to par if she felt so determined not to fight Kabuto, who, by Itachi's standards, wasn't an exceptionally skilled shinobi. He had talent, definitely. But he wasn't anywhere near the top.

"I'll stay with you," Itachi offered, "I'll stay hidden until you need me."

"What?" she snapped, "No, absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"I thought you had somewhere to be."

"Yamato and Sachi take precedent over that."

She paused, considering that. Her eyes darted over to Yamato and Sachi, who were still standing by the door watching them with frightened eyes.

"You can't be here when my backup arrives."

"I'll stay out of the way," he answered, "I'll leave quietly when they arrive."

"What if you have to fight Kabuto?" she asked, "How will I explain that to them?"

"Should it come to that," he began, "You may take credit for my handiwork."

"I don't think this is a good idea."

Itachi wanted to shake her. It may not be prudent to stay here with her, but he sure as hell wasn't going to leave her and the children unprotected. Besides, Kabuto would have answers for him and he couldn't pass that opportunity up.

"What if I intercept him?" he asked.

"Why would you do that?"

"It will give you more time to get away," he said, "Your backup will be able to catch up with you before he finds you." And I can get the information I need from him.

"What's in it for you?"

"Yamato and Sachi will be safe."

Sakura looked at the children again, skepticism painting her features. Itachi didn't know why she didn't believe him. If there was one thing she had learned about him during their time together it was that he cared about those kids. She didn't need to know the other reason he wanted to find Kabuto. It was irrelevant.

"I thought you wanted me to find out what he wanted from me."

"It's your choice, Sakura," he said, "This is your mission."

"My opinion," she started, and her voice was full of sass, "Is that you should leave now and let me handle this on my own. I'm sorry I couldn't heal you fully, but I'm already in hot water for taking so long on this mission. It won't do me any good if someone discovers I enlisted help from Konoha's most wanted list."

"I'm not leaving until I know they're going to be safe."

"You have my word, Itachi-san," she said, gritting her teeth, "I will make sure they are safe."

"I don't trust you."

"And I don't trust you."

He didn't answer right away because he was annoyed and he didn't want to snap at her. If she was determined to do this on her own, he could let her think that. He could pretend to leave and then stay to make sure she and the kids were fine. If she chose to stay and wait for Kabuto, he could wait with her and find him after they spoke – or protect her if it came to that.

And if she chose to leave and go back to Konoha, he could intercept Kabuto anyway and she would be none the wiser.

"Fine," Itachi said, "I'll leave. But at least tell me what you plan to do."

She refocused her attention on the various journals and scrolls on her desk and began shuffling them together neatly.

"I'll stay," she said, sweeping the pile off her desk and into her pack, "And hope that he doesn't want to hurt me."

"And what if he does?"

"I'll figure something out," she said, "But I want to know why he did this. I want to know why he would to do something so vile. Hundreds of people are dead because of him. Civilians – not even shinobi!"

Itachi didn't think there was a point in finding out that particular truth, but he kept his mouth shut. This was Sakura's mission.

"Sakura," he said. She paused and looked up at him. Immediately she looked back down at the floor, an angry scowl marring her features. He realized that he had inadvertently activated his Sharingan. "Are you sure you want me to leave? Do you really want to be alone when he gets here?"

"You being here is worse than being alone, isn't it?" she demanded, "Because then I'll have two enemies instead of one."

"We are temporary allies."

"We were temporary allies," she countered, "But our agreement has been fulfilled to the best of my abilities. We have no reason to continue this arrangement."

"The safety of Yamato and Sachi was a condition of our agreement," he said tersely, "A condition that has not yet been met."

"If you stay, you will be staying as an enemy," she warned, "not as an ally."

He crossed his arms and resisted the urge to huff. It had been a very long time since he had felt this annoyed. She was being needlessly stubborn and she knew it.

But he was in no position to argue with her. They were not in this together. She had every reason to distrust him – in fact, it was probably wise that she did.

"Fine, I will leave now."

She nodded curtly and continued to pack. Itachi crouched down near Yamato and Sachi and pulled them both into a hug – the last one he'd give for a long time.

"You will be safe with Sakura," he said, running his fingers over Sachi's nose. She scrunched her face up like she was going to cry and buried her face in his shoulder.

"You're leaving us?" Yamato asked. Even he was holding onto Itachi, his chin resting on the man's other shoulder.

"I have to," Itachi answered, "But everything will be fine. You'll be on your way to Konoha soon, and you'll start your ninja training. Isn't that what you want?"

Yamato didn't answer, and Itachi swore that he heard to boy sniffle, but when he pulled back his eyes were dry. Sachi, on the other hand, was in full-blown tears. She sobbed pitifully into Itachi's chest. Itachi wrapped his arms around her and swallowed hard.

He attempted to stand up, but Sachi held onto him. He picked her up and held her against him, turning to face Sakura.

Sakura was watching him with tears in her own eyes, which amused Itachi in spite of the heavy weight of the moment.

"Are you crying?"

"No," she said, no trace of emotion in her voice, "Now get out of here."

He set Sachi down and was gone by the time she had started crying again.

.

Annoyed wasn't an emotion that Itachi often felt. Feeling it now was distracting, like a fly that buzzed around his face just when he thought it had flown away. He wasn't used to being dismissed. Sure, he had orders from Akatsuki's leader, and at times he found his situation frustrating. He didn't want to carry out his orders. It was a necessity.

But Sakura was an entirely different case. She was not as a good a shinobi as he was. She didn't have all of the knowledge he had. She didn't know what was best for her. She was still practically a child. And she had the nerve to reject his help.

It may have been his own fault. He had grown to trust her (at least a little bit) and even like her somewhat. He had grown comfortable around her and found her company to be pleasant. It was no mystery why she wouldn't feel the same way. She was a good, loyal shinobi who was dedicated to her village and bound by duty to protect it.

And he was a monster who had abandoned his village and destroyed his own family.

It still didn't ease the pain of her rejection. If she wanted to handle things on her own, he wouldn't stop her from trying.

Against his better judgment, Itachi found himself perched in a tall tree just outside town. His chakra was masked and his Sharingan was activated. Now he would just have to wait.

He should be on his way back to Rain. He should have been on his way back days ago. Now, though, he wasn't so sure that he even wanted to go back. He never really wanted to join Akatsuki in the first place. It had been the easiest choice – a simple way to keep tabs on Sasuke.

But he still didn't know where Sasuke was. Going back to Rain would likely only take him further away from him.

Sasuke was hell-bent on killing Itachi. So why had he not come yet? What was he waiting for? He had killed Orochimaru already. Did he not feel that he had enough power yet?

Truthfully, Itachi didn't think Sasuke could kill him at his full strength. He had planned to let Sasuke win anyway – after testing his limits, of course – but now that Sakura had fixed him up so nicely, he wasn't craving death like he used to.

That thought was too morbid for Itachi to linger on, so he focused on his surroundings instead. In the distance he could hear a flock of birds. Nothing else. Kabuto wasn't close, as far as he could tell.

On his right he could just barely make out the outline of the town. He wondered if Sachi was still crying.

.

It seemed that Kabuto had given Sakura a generous head start because it wasn't until well into the evening that he finally meandered into Toyeiki. Itachi watched from his perch in the tree as Kabuto sauntered into town with a disturbing confidence and a pep in his step.

Itachi assumed this meant that he did not intend to harm Sakura (and by extension, the children), but he lingered around anyway, just in case. He followed Kabuto to the inn where Sakura greeted him outside.

She was dressed in her full gear and Itachi knew that she likely had all of her weapons readily available. He hadn't seen her like that since the day he'd first met her. She still didn't look much like a kunoichi – not with that pink hair.

Itachi found himself hiding on the roof of the inn. Sakura and Kabuto would be unable to see him unless they stepped far back away from the inn, which suited him perfectly. He could still peer over the edge to see them if he chose, but instead he shrunk away from the edge of the roof and listened to their exchange.

"Kabuto, it's so good to see you," Sakura said. Her sarcasm was subtle in tone, but obvious enough that Itachi wanted to roll his eyes. "I haven't seen you since the chuunin exams."

"Glad to see you're in good spirits, Sakura," he said, "I'm sure your friend told you about my experiment by now."

"She did."

"You created a vaccine for it," Kabuto said with a hint of admiration, "Not only that, but you found a way to cure the infection by using chakra to burn off the bacteria. That's quite impressive."

"Why don't you just cut to the chase?" Sakura demanded.

"I'm sure you're aware that Sasuke has killed Orochimaru."

"It's a shame he didn't kill you, too."

Itachi winced. She had seemed so determined to avoid a fight, yet she was egging him on with fervor. It didn't seem practical from a shinobi standpoint and it irritated Itachi that she didn't understand that.

But Kabuto ignored the remark. "I've taken it upon myself to continue Orochimaru's line of work."

"His experiments, you mean," Sakura said.

"Exactly," he answered, "The infection was my own personal experiment. I'd been working on it independently, long before Orochimaru was killed. My purpose was to create something that could be used as a sort of biological warfare."

Sakura was silent. Itachi wondered if she had made a face at the bespectacled man.

"You're aware that I failed in that my infection did not affect shinobi," Kabuto said, "In fact, chakra was supposed to be the means by which it spread. I'm curious to know what was in your vaccine."

"How did you know about the vaccine?" she asked, "And how I used chakra to burn off the bacteria?"

Itachi heard a rustle of movement. "The vaccine I heard about from the paper this morning. The innkeeper here was all too eager to share that information. Understandably so."

"And the alternative fix?"

"I had a plant," he explained, "One of your nurses."

Itachi swallowed hard. He had met one of the nurses. Would she be able to identify him? He couldn't leave any more loose ends than he already had. It was too risky.

"I sent Kira here when I knew that you had accepted the mission," Kabuto said, "I was curious to see how you would do with the little information that you had."

"That's why Kira left," Sakura said, "To report back to you."

"Yes."

"So was Amika a plant, too?"

"Just Kira."

"Why go through all this effort?" Sakura asked.

"The effort to create the infection was obvious," Kabuto explained, "It's a powerful weapon to have at my disposal. My failure, though, was unexpected. I still don't quite understand why the infection wasn't able to affect shinobi."

Sakura made an irritated noise with the back of her throat.

"The effort I spent on you, though," Kabuto continued, "Was a way to mitigate my failure – turn it into a different kind of success. You, Sakura, have incredible skill."

Itachi didn't like where this was going.

"What do you want, Kabuto?" she asked.

"I want you to join me," he implored, "and be my apprentice."

There it was. Itachi held his breath for a moment. He was sure Sakura would reject the offer. He had no doubts about her loyalty to Konoha. But inwardly, Itachi wondered if such an arrangement would be good for Sakura. There would be many things she could learn from Kabuto.

"I can teach you more than Tsunade ever could," Kabuto said, "Offensive medical justu you've never dreamed of, all of the things you can do to a person with a single touch. I assure you, I have plenty of things to share with you if you're willing to help me out as well."

"I'd rather infect myself with your disease and let it kill me."

Kabuto chuckled. "You have a sharp tongue, Sakura."

"You don't know anything about me if you think that I'd willingly help you with anything," she said, venom dripping from her voice, "You're a piece of human garbage."

"Now, now, Sakura," Kabuto chided, "No need for name-calling."

Itachi didn't like the way Sakura's name rolled off Kabuto tongue. He was condescending and teasing and made Itachi feel uneasy.

"I do know things about you," he continued, "You know that. I know that you have an unwavering loyalty to Sasuke. Don't you?"

Sakura did not reply.

"Sasuke never really gave you any attention, did he? He never appreciated you or your talents."

Itachi peered over the edge of the roof and saw Sakura clenching her fists at her side. She was unusually pale and her face was contorted into a deep scowl.

"I heard that Sasuke was forming a team to go kill his brother," Kabuto said.

Itachi's heart jumped in his chest. He slid back away from the edge of the roof and out of sight again.

"He wanted a medic, and he didn't choose you."

"I wouldn't have been on his team even if he had asked me," Sakura snapped. Itachi was eerily comforted by that. If it were true that Sasuke had formed a team in order to kill him, he wouldn't have wanted Sakura to be on that team.

"You want me to believe that you don't have feelings for him anymore?" Kabuto asked.

"That has nothing to do with this."

"If you join me I can help you grow. I can make you stronger. I can make you a better ninja. Sasuke will have to see what a true shinobi you've become. He'll respect you. He'll acknowledge you. Isn't that what you want?"

"Like I said, Kabuto," Sakura replied, spitting the man's name like a curse, "You don't know me. The only thing I want is for Sasuke to come back home."

"That's not the only thing you want, Sakura," he replied, spitting her name back at her, "You do want to be stronger. You wouldn't have asked Tsunade if you could be her apprentice otherwise."

Sakura said nothing.

"I can teach you more than she ever could."

"I highly doubt that."

"Just think it over," Kabuto said, "I'd hate to see all your talent go to waste."

Itachi heard another rustle of movement and then silence. He peered over the edge of the roof again and saw Sakura standing in front of the inn alone. Her fists were still clenched tight at her sides but the scowl on her face had melted into something much sadder and vulnerable.

She put her face into her hands and began to cry.