Itachi was in a bad mood. It didn't happen very often, but he felt irritable and bitter and just plain annoyed. Itachi was the kind of man who could roll with the punches. He could go with the flow. Things didn't always have to be his way. How else could he have managed being a missing-nin, being in Akatsuki?

But today, he let those negative feelings seep through him. He didn't even attempt to control them. For the better part of the morning, Itachi sulked around the Uchiha compound, avoiding Sasuke as much as possible.

The younger Uchiha had picked up on Itachi's bad mood and steered clear of him on his own, which Itachi was grateful for. He wasn't really angry with Sasuke and he didn't want to inadvertently snap at him.

He should be at least a little bit irritated with Sasuke because he'd provoked Sakura with no real reason, and he'd implied that she was interested in him for his resemblance to Sasuke. The fact that he had noticed that she was interested in him all was surprising since Itachi himself hadn't really noticed until she had pretty much told him.

Nonetheless, Itachi was not concerned with Sasuke at the moment. He hated to admit it, even just to himself, but Sakura was the one who had gotten under his skin. She had brushed off a tender gesture of his (a kind of gesture which he rarely gave and should be savored – not rebuffed) and acted more coldly than she had even back in Toyeiki when he was still an 'enemy' to her.

Not only that, but she had almost told the Hokage about Shisui, which was something he had told her in confidence. It had not been her secret to tell. And then she had the audacity again to brush him off when he touched her.

Itachi did not like to be brushed off.

Given that he did not have much else to do, Itachi was glad to have some time to cool down before his spar with her today. He had thought about canceling, but truth be told, he still wanted to see her. And if he canceled the spar, he'd have to cancel his healing appointment, too, which would prolong his getting back into active duty. That was not something he wanted to do.

So instead, he found himself gravitating toward Ichiraku's again. Cheap ramen wasn't his favorite, but he'd developed a fondness for the place after the few times he'd been.

He was surprised to find Kakashi there when he arrived.

"Itachi-san," he greeted with a crinkle of his visible eye. Itachi took the seat next to him. "I see you escaped Tsunade-sama's wrath relatively unscathed."

Itachi acknowledged him with a nod of his head. "She still has not punished any of us. I'd heard that she had quite a temper, but I'm beginning to believe that I was misled."

"Oh, she's got a temper all right," Kakashi replied, "From the look of it, though, I'd say she's taking it all out on her apprentice. I saw them sparring a couple of days ago and she beat the shit out of Sakura."

Itachi cocked his head with curiosity, "She did?"

"It was a total beat down," Kakashi continued, "Sakura didn't stand a chance."

Itachi ordered a bowl of ramen but said nothing else to Kakashi. He wasn't quite sure what to say to that.

They sat in companionable silence for a while before Kakashi spoke again.

"I hear you'll have a mission soon," he said, "How does it feel to be back in active duty again?"

"To be quite honest, it doesn't feel like I ever stopped," Itachi answered. It felt strange to be sitting next to Kakashi in such a friendly manner. Before the reunion of Team Ro, the last time he had seen the copy-nin he had used Tsukuyomi to put him into a coma. He liked to think it was for his own good – so he could see what his Mangekyou was capable of.

And also so Itachi could see how well he could handle an opponent with Sharingan. If he was any good at it, he could pass on some of that knowledge to Sasuke. Itachi had been pleased to learn that Kakashi was going to be Sasuke's team leader. If only things hadn't turned out the way they did…

"I see," Kakashi said, "Well, I'm glad to have you back on our side. It was nerve-wracking to be your opponent."

"It was nerve-wracking to be your opponent," Itachi responded.

Kakashi's expression grew somber, "I can't imagine," he said, "We thought you were a criminal, a traitor. We hated you."

"I still am those thing," Itachi said, "It may have been for a mission, for the safety of Konoha, but I committed those crimes all the same. I am not without blame."

"What shinobi isn't?" Kakashi asked with a smile.

Itachi had no response for that, so he ate his food and that comfortable silence settled around them again. Kakashi had a darkness in him, too. They could relate to one another. He hoped that with time, they could be friends.

"May I ask you something, Kakashi-san?" Itachi asked.

Kakashi nodded.

"The Hokage's apprentice," he began apprehensively, "She's looked at your Sharingan before?"

"Sakura?" Kakashi asked, his eye crinkled in mirth again in some joke that Itachi was not aware of, "Yeah, she's worked on it in the past. Obviously it's a transplant. I assume it requires a bit more upkeep than yours do. I'm lucky to have someone so competent working on it consistently. She's greatly reduced the deterioration. She's been working on a way for me to be able to switch it on and off. As of yet, we've had no luck, but I'm confident she can do it."

Itachi chewed a bit of his food thoughtfully.

"Are you going to have her work on your eyes as well?" Kakashi asked.

"The Hokage strongly suggested that I do."

"Well, you're in good hands," Kakashi answered, "Sakura knows what she is doing."

Itachi didn't doubt that.

.

Several hours later, Itachi came to the training grounds. Sakura was there already, sitting underneath a tree with a thick book in her lap. She looked peaceful and undisturbed, but Itachi knew that she knew he was there.

He briefly considered going easy on her. She was no match for him and they both knew it. But it couldn't have felt good being destroyed by Tsunade. Even her own teammates doubted her skills. He couldn't relate to that, but he knew that letting her win would only bruise her ego even more.

And he was still a little peeved at her, so this would be a good opportunity to take out some of his own frustrations like Tsunade had done.

When she still didn't acknowledge him, Itachi approached her and slipped the book out of her lap. She glared up at him beneath those damned lashes and got to her feet.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Something flashed across her face – an emotion Itachi couldn't identify. She looked as if she were about to say something, but then thought better of it. She merely nodded in response.

He didn't give her much of a chance to get her bearings before he was attacking her, raining down blow after blow. It was only taijutsu, no chakra, no tricks. But he was much faster than she was and she only just managed to block each of his attacks.

He honestly had no clue what her offensive strengths were. He had heard that she had excellent chakra control, but that remained to be seen.

Having the good sense to get away from his onslaught, Sakura leapt up high into the trees, hiding herself within the branches and the leaves. It wouldn't be a permanent solution, and she had to have known that. He activated his Sharingan and quickly located her.

As soon as he launched himself after her, she jumped down to the base of the tree she had been standing in and kicked it over. The massive tree began to fall toward him, but he easily dodged it. She launched a barrage of shuriken at him, which he easily dodged and jumped on top of the fallen tree.

She picked up the tree's trunk, forcing him to either ride it as she swung it around or jump off. He jumped off and moved behind her so quickly that in her surprise she dropped the tree.

He paused, hovering over her shoulder. He could attack again. He could sweep her legs out from under her or press a kunai to her throat. But for one split second he found himself staring at the different shades of pink in her hair and he could smell the vanilla scent that always lingered around her.

She didn't waste the opportunity. She spun around with a high kick, aiming for his head. He caught her ankle with one hand and held it up in the air. From her upside down position, Sakura punched the ground beneath her causing a deep crater to form.

Itachi leapt backwards and then up into the trees. He had known about her monstrous strength. He had seen it in action the day he met her. It was a useful defensive strategy, but she would never be able to hit him unless she improved her speed.

He spotted her below him and she had her hip cocked out and a sassy smirk on her face. A wide grin spread across his face. He leapt down behind her again and threw his arm around her neck. It was a chokehold, but he applied no pressure to her throat. Her hands flew up to his arm, but he quickly caught both her wrists with his free hand and pinned them to her back.

"You look awfully confident," he teased.

Her breathing was slow and unlabored, but he could feel the quickness of her pulse in her neck and the layer of sweat that had formed on her skin in the heat of the afternoon.

She hummed low and deep in the back of her throat and leaned her head back against his shoulder. The back of her skull connected with his collarbone and she pressed her back into his chest in a way that was far too intimate to be doing to an opponent.

He felt his breath hitch, but he didn't loosen his grip on her. In fact, he tightened his arm around her neck in response. She turned her face toward him, the skin of her forehead brushing against his jaw. He couldn't choke her that way unless he moved his hand to her throat.

She stomped her foot on the ground, aiming for his foot. He anticipated the move and pushed her away from him. She spun around to face him, standing several feet away, and in spite of the sun beating down on him, he wished she was pressed against him again.

She was smiling, and it seemed to be a genuine smile – not cocky or sarcastic, but completely born from happiness. His heart ached to think of what might have made her smile like that at a time like this.

He didn't stop to think about it before launching another round of physical blows against her. This time, she found it harder to dodge him. She took several hits to her abdomen and face, but Itachi didn't pull his punches. She was a medic – there was no injury she wouldn't be able to fix. None that he would be willing to inflict on her.

After a minute of this, Sakura began to throw punches back at him instead of merely dodging them. He was careful not to let any of her punches strike him, but she didn't seem to be using her chakra-enhanced strength. With his Sharingan he could see that she did not have any chakra built up in her hands, so when she aimed for his face, he caught her fist in his hand.

They paused like that for a moment, staring at one another with a weird tension between them. He wanted to let go, but he also wanted to keep touching her. She didn't pull away from him. She took a step closer to him, fluttering her lashes in a way he knew was meant to be a distraction.

And then he felt a stab of pain in his hand. He yanked it away from her and took a step back. He inspected his palm and found four puncture marks just below his largest knuckles that went all the way through his hand.

"How did you do that?" he asked, unable to hide his curiosity.

"Chakra scalpels."

He should have known that. He had seen her use them before. Annoyed with himself, Itachi leapt high up into the air and launched a large fireball at her. Through the flames he saw her dodge backwards, but instead of launching another attack at him, she waited.

He cradled his injured hand with the other one, unable to contain the blood dripping down at his feet. They were severe wounds and he would eventually bleed out if he didn't wrap them up soon.

"Would you like me to heal your hand before we continue?" she asked, her tone mocking, but not cruel.

His eyes narrowed. He'd seen enough already. With blinding speed, he knocked her to the ground and straddled her, pinning her arms high above her head. She wriggled beneath him, and he saw chakra forming beneath the skin of her arms, ready to break out of his grip.

He squeezed her wrists hard and let the tomoe of his Sharingan begin to spin. Instantly, he felt her body go rigid beneath him and she screwed her eyes shut.

"No, please," she said, and the pleading fear in her tone alarmed him.

He deactivated his Sharingan and let go of her wrists, but stayed on top of her, pressing his palms into the ground on either side of her head.

"You agreed to spar with me," he said gently, "Did you not think I would use my Sharingan against you?"

"You said you wouldn't," she said, her eyes still shut and arms lax above her head.

"Okay," he said, "You can open your eyes."

She did, and he noticed a faint blush dust her cheeks. She was very still underneath him as if she were afraid to move. He watched her swallow hard, following the movement in her throat.

"I won," he said, but there was no smugness in his tone He didn't feel smug, nor did he feel good about beating her.

"I figured you would," she said. He watched as the blood from his palm began to pool around his hand down toward her neck. Feeling it tickle the skin there, she reached her hand toward his, dipping her fingertips into the blood on the ground. "Let me take a look at your hand."

He didn't want to move.

"Come on, Itachi," she said when he showed no intention of moving, "You're losing a lot of blood."

"I'm fine," he said even though he knew she was right.

Impatiently, she bucked her hips up into his, wriggling beneath him to force him to move. He pressed his lips together in a thin line and tightened his hold on her.

"Don't," he warned.

Her eyes widened a bit, but she remained still underneath him. After a beat of silence, she reached her hand up to his chest and he felt her chakra flow through his chest. It channeled through his torso and down his arm into his injured hand. He watched in fascination as the wounds in his hand began to close.

When the aura of her chakra had faded, he brought his hand up to inspect it. The wound was completely healed, no trace of a scar.

"I didn't know you could do it that way," he said, flipping his hand over to inspect the other side.

"It would have been quicker and easier if you'd just let me take a proper look at it," she admonished.

Her hand was still pressed warmly against his chest, and this time it felt far more intimate than any of the previous times she'd touched him there. Instinctively, he brought his palm to her hand and covered it with his.

He could feel how wildly his heart was beating, and he knew Sakura must be able to feel it, too. He moved her hand up higher on his chest, closer to where his heart was thumping.

"Do you want to kiss me now?" she asked. He looked down at her, covered in bruises he'd inflicted on her with his blood matting down her hair on one side.

"Yes," answered, trying very hard to focus on anything other than how warm and soft she felt beneath him.

"Is your heart exploding?" he asked.

"Yes."

He moved their hands from his chest to hers so that he could feel her heartbeat. Sure enough, it was beating just as wildly as his.

She fluttered her lashes and god he had no idea how such a simple gesture could be so alluring. He'd march straight down into a mouth of a volcano if she asked him to with a pretty flutter of those lashes. Unable to resist anymore, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

If Itachi thought that his heart had 'exploded' before, he was wrong. This feeling was indescribable. It was like being struck by lightning. His whole body felt electric, tingling and on fire. He let out a breath against her lips and pressed his body more fully against hers.

Her hands came to his face, holding him there as if she were afraid he might pull away. She didn't need to worry about that. Her mouth was soft and pliant, and though he had intended to kiss her chastely, just to test the waters, she was eagerly kissing him back with enthusiasm he hadn't expected.

She bucked her hips again, this time for an entirely different reason. A new, but familiar sensation ignited him – like the moment the prostitute had sat in his lap, but far, far more enticing.

Sakura mewled softly into his mouth and he could feel her fingers trembling against his face. He reached up and cupped her chin with one hand before pulling away from her.

"Don't stop," she whispered.

She wrapped her hands around the back of his neck in an attempt to pull him back down to her lips, but he resisted.

"Sakura, wait," he said. She let go of him.

"What's wrong?"

"We should slow down."

He wasn't prepared for the look of sheer pain on her face. Surely she knew that he didn't want to stop because he didn't want her. His arousal was distracting enough to him – he knew she had to feel it against her leg. It was too far. It was too much. They shouldn't be doing this out in the open, on the training fields. And maybe they shouldn't be doing it at all.

He'd never shared an intimacy like this with anyone, and even though it wasn't much so far, he never anticipated that it would feel so… exhilarating.

But he imagined he would have taken it much slower. He'd have given her a chaste kiss first, one that they could tell their kids about when they were older. One that was a sweet and romantic gesture and not a manic make-out session after a sweaty spar.

It hadn't really occurred to Itachi that Sakura might not be as much of a romantic. He naturally assumed that most women would have preferred a slow and steady romance to whatever this was.

But here she was, practically dry humping him on the naked earth like they were both a couple of wild animals.

She sighed and he felt her breath on his face. There was a look of disappointment on her face, but it was quickly whisked away and replaced with a half smile.

"Yeah, I suppose this is a little intense for a first kiss, huh?" she said.

He smiled back and pressed his lips to her forehead in a way he hoped she would find tender and comforting. He certainly hadn't wanted to offend her. He got off of her and reached out his hand to help her off the ground.

He was amused to see her blushing deeply like the ordeal had embarrassed her. Maybe it had. Maybe it should. She pulled her hair over her shoulder to hide her face from him, but when her fingers skimmed through the matted blood there she grimaced.

"Sorry," he said, but he was smirking and he probably didn't look very sorry.

"I'll have to go home and clean up before we start your appointment," she said, still blushing.

"Can I ask you something first?" he asked, grabbing her wrist. "Why are you so afraid of my Sharingan?"

She looked uncomfortable and attempted to take a step back, but he held onto her.

"I wouldn't hurt you, you know," he said.

"It's not that. It's just that with a genjutsu," she paused and slid her hand into his, grasping his fingers with hers, "Well, I don't like feeling like I'm not in control of my own thoughts. And I know what you're capable of."

He looked down to where their fingers were clasped together and he shifted them so that their fingers were intertwined. In some ways it felt more intimate than the kiss they had shared. "I see," he said, brushing his thumb along the edge of her pointer finger.

"I don't want you to think I'm afraid of you," she said. He watched a shiver run through her.

"I know you aren't," he answered.

"I just feel very vulnerable," she said, "When you're in control of me like that."

"I understand," he said, because he did. He certainly wouldn't want to open up his mind to Sasuke like that, and he trusted Sasuke completely. "But maybe one day you'll trust me enough to let me show you what I can do."

"Maybe," she echoed.

They fell silent and he took the opportunity to study her. Her lips were slightly swollen from their kiss and her cheeks were flushed with color. There was something in her eyes, hesitancy, or maybe regret. She didn't look unhappy per se, but there was something about her facial expression that made Itachi worry.

He followed her line of sight down to their linked hands. She was staring at where their fingers were tangled together, but she made no move to pull her hand away. Sensing that she didn't want to be holding his hand anymore, he let go.

Her brow furrowed for one second before smoothing out again. She looked up at him and he suddenly realized how close they were still standing. She was a head shorter than him, her forehead coming up to his collarbone. It would be so easy to lean down and kiss her again, but maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

Instead, he reached up and caught a lock of her blood soaked hair and rolled it between his fingertips. The contrast of colors was striking – the red and the pink. It suited her really well, he thought, which was probably why she chose to wear red clothing. His eyes dipped down to her torso, roaming over the well fitting red vest she wore before he brought his gaze back up to her eyes and then again to her hair still held in his fingers.

"You have a thing for my hair, don't you?" she asked teasingly.

Her affectionate and coquettish tone made warmth spread throughout his chest, and he smiled.

"Your lashes, actually," he said.

"My lashes?"

"Mmm," he murmured, "They're so long."

He brought his other hand up to her face. Her eyes fell shut and he brushed the pad of his thumb along the tips of her lashes where they rested against her cheeks.

"And so pink," he continued.

He moved his hand away from her face and settled it on the side of her neck. Her skin felt unbearably hot under his palm and he could feel her pulse, quick and erratic.

"I thought you knew," he said, "Because there were times when it seemed like you were fluttering them on purpose."

She fluttered them then, batting them in a way more provocative than he'd seen her do before and he realized that he'd been mistaken. If that was what it looked like when she did it on purpose, he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against her.

"I had no idea," she said coyly.

Without warning, she latched her arms around his torso and pulled him into a warm embrace. She rested her cheek against his chest, pressing her body into his like she wanted to melt them together.

Caught by surprise, Itachi grunted. After a second, he wrapped his arms back around her and rested his chin on the top of her pink head.

They stayed that way for a moment and Itachi relished the moment. The sun was now hanging lower in the sky, casting oranges and pink around them. The air had cooled somewhat, though it was still quite warm. And he could feel her heartbeat against his chest.

When she finally pulled away from him he saw that she was smiling. The rays of the sun gilded her hair and made her eyes look brighter and greener. If he had thought that it wouldn't scare her, he would have activated his Sharingan so that he could memorize the way she looked then.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"I just wanted to hug you," she said, "I wasn't exactly into it the first time."

He cocked his head to the side.

"In Toyeiki?" she reminded him, "After I healed you."

Ah, right. He had forgotten about that. That seemed like so long ago now. He hadn't thought he'd ever see her again after they left Toyeiki. That hug had been wrought from poor judgment and desperation, but also from a very real gratitude for what she had done for him.

It was so bizarre to think that he had hugged her because she had healed him, and now he was here in Konoha with her and she had chosen to hug him.

"Speaking of," she said, "We should get to the hospital for your appointment. I'll meet you there in an hour?"

They would be doing things in reverse order this time.

He nodded.