Chapter Five:

Essance of Water

The morning was dark and gloomy from the spring showers that fell from the sky. Sakura left her apartment with her umbrella unsure of how to spend her week off work, but knew she had to get groceries because she was home more often and tired of eating out.

Kakashi had been sent out on a mission the previous day, he didn't explain many details other than he'd be back in a week.

She walked to the market slowly seeing the villagers scurrying out of the rain with newspapers over their heads. She walked through the door of the market and folded the umbrella back down and clung the strap around her wrist.

She wandered through the store and heard a familiar voice down the aisle, and it was usually less hyper than she remembered. She peered over the shelf and noticed Naruto and Hinata. 'Since when did they shop together?' Sakura thought to herself.

Then a mischievous smirk appeared on her lips as an idea popped in her head. Sakura casually grabbed a shopping basket and waved with a grin on her face. "Hinata! Naruto! What are you guys doing here?" She called out loudly with an innocent expression.

The pair looked at one another startled and blushed, then their eyes darted back to Sakura. Naruto rubbed the back of his head and Hinata pressed her index fingers together shyly. "S-Sakura. Good to see you." Hinata stuttered looking at the ground. "Yeah, what she said." Naruto played it cool with his usual cheerful self. Sakura raised a brow and snickered, "I'll leave you guys alone to shop. Sorry to bother you." She told Hinata elbowing her playfully in the side as she passed by making the Hyuuga's blush deepen.

Sakura wouldn't have figured them to couple up, they were total opposites. 'Maybe that's what made it work.' She thought humming her way down the grocery aisle. She picked up her ingredients, drinks, and food and went to the register to pay.

On her way-out Sakura spotted Shizune past the registers by the double doored entrance. "Sakura, I hope you're feeling better." She said in a soft voice clutching her bags. Sakura nodded and smiled, "I'm trying." Was the best she could conjure up with, considering she didn't want to lie about her mental health being in the medical profession. "I understand. Take all the time you need to recover. Lady Tsuande has been worried sick. The hospital has managed just fine. Luckily no major incidents have occurred." She told the pink haired woman. "How is Lady Tsunade holding up since the akatsuki?" Sakura asked worriedly.

Shizune shifted her bag to her other hand nervously, "Drinking, a lot. After work at the bar, at her desk even. She feels a lot of responsibility and pressure and I think a bit of guilt too." Shizune finished explaining with a slight cough. "Well, I better get going back to the hospital. I came to pick up some supplies the kitchen was short on. It was good seeing you! I can't wait to have you back at work!" She waved her off running back to the hospital with her pet pig, Tonton, on her shoulder snorting.

With a bag in hand, Sakura sat outside under the shop unfolding her umbrella above her head watching the raindrops fall heavily from the cloudy sky still.

She noticed Itachi walking by without a care like a wet dog in the downpour. She wordlessly from behind him began to walk to his side and held the umbrella above their head. Itachi looked down at her casually, "Thank you. You didn't have to." He told her. She shook her head, "You looked like you needed it. I'll walk you home."

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Sakura was itching to break the invisible tension she felt was there. She was unsure if it was just one sided. "Where you coming from?" She asked him chipperly. "The elders office." He answered without glancing at her. Sakura bit her lip feeling nervous. "I see." she said curtly, not knowing what else to say.

They remained that way until they reached the front of his house walking through the Uchiha compound, "Thank you Sakura. Make sure to get home safe." He bowed slightly and made his leave for his house before she could reply. She stood there watching him walk away feeling heavy on her feet for a moment, turning around and leaving in the opposite direction.

Once inside Itachi stared outside of the front window watching her leave. Sasuke appeared next to him unnoticed and glared out the window to see what his brother was looking at. "What's your deal?" Sasuke asked him cautiously with his arms folded. Itachi shot him a death stare, "Nothing." He countered back walking off.

Sakura made it back to her apartment unlocking the door in a hurry and unloading her groceries on the counter. She noticed Kakashi left his famous Icha Icha Tactics book on her coffee table. She was surprised he left on his mission without it. 'He's going to get bored.' She thought to herself, depending on the mission that is. The books bind was broken, and it was worn out from him reading it so many times.

Sakura finished putting her groceries away and plopped down on the couch with a magazine instead of a medical journal for once. This was a vacation after all. She curled under a fuzzy knitted blanket and began browsing.

Sakura didn't remember drifting off to sleep, when she awoke the magazine was on her face and she rolled over groggily letting the magazine hit the floor to look at the time on the stove. She rubbed her eyes and squinted, it read '3 AM'. But she felt wide awake. She peered out her living room window running her hands against the cool glass and saw the rain had stopped and decided to head outside.

There was this spot that was higher than Hokage mountain that had a good view of the stars. She had sat up there a few times during a couple of restless nights after the hospital.

She found her way to the top of the mountain with trees surrounding the area of the clearing, feeling the dampness in the air. She kept walking to find a figure already standing up there. It was dark and far away; she couldn't make out the black silhouette from a distance. She contemplated heading back since she went up there to be alone but decided to see who's be up there so late at night.

As she got closer, she noticed Itachi Uchiha gazing at the sky. He never moved from his spot to see who was approaching. She stood next to him a good distance away quietly. It was him who spoke first this time, "What are you doing here?" he asked tonelessly. Sakura sat down on the wet grass holding her knees against her chest gazing down at the lights from the village. "Same as you I suppose. I didn't know anybody would be here." She explained. Her hair was thrown up into a messy bun with strands coming out of it along the side of her face.

"Sacrifices never end and losses never get any easier." She heard him say while he still stood. "The one thing that never leaves is the beauty of the sky at night." The aurora borealis gleamed brightly in the sky just then. The green and turquoise colors danced together contrasting the stars. Sakura looked up at it in awe, "I didn't know this would happen." She whispered captivated. Itachi was just as enthralled as she was. "Neither did I." The waves of light shimmered beautifully adding a purple tint into the mix.

After a few moments he looked down at her face that was filled with joy and childlike wonder. The most beautiful things happened when she was around, he noticed. He was wondering if it was a coincidence or contagious. 'It's almost as beautiful as she is.' He decided to keep that thought to himself.

Sakura never noticed when she passed out on the wet grass watching the sky last night. She didn't want to make falling asleep everywhere a bad habit. She awoke and saw the sun blaring down above her and scrunched her face up at the brightness of the daylight feeling the spring heat against her skin. She lifted herself up on her elbows and yawned with a palm pressed against the ground. She looked around to see Itachi twenty feet away sitting against a tree awake.

When he noticed she fell asleep, he felt the urge to take her back to his place like he did before. But considering his nosy little brother and her unknown relationship with Kakashi, he decided against that idea. He didn't want to take her anywhere she didn't want to be and to add any more complications than they both needed. However, he wasn't going to just leave her there either, so he stayed close and kept an eye on her making sure she'd be safe while she slept. He watched the rhythm of her breathing and her chest rise and fall with her mouth hung slightly apart. "Ino…pig." Sakura growled in a low voice furrowing her brows in her sleep. She shifted a bit and relaxed shortly after.

The new awakening of her prowess must have taken a toll on her this past week, he concluded. It drains a lot of chakra and takes on a new set of challenges learning how to manage it.

"I…fell asleep." Sakura said to him not even as a question. "You did." He replied the obvious. She lifted herself up and dusted her sweatpants off that were sure to have grass stains now. "You didn't have to stay." Itachi stood up and started to walk closer before responding, "You didn't have to share your umbrella yesterday and walk me home. But you did." He countered. 'Why does he always make good points?' Sakura thought pursing her lips together. "You're right. Instead, thank you for staying with me. That's a bit better to say, right?" She smiled genuinely.

That smile caught him off guard. The sun was shining just right, and the beams were lighting up her face as she did. "Are you okay from here?" Itachi asked her, looking to make his exit. Sakura nodded.

Itachi had to escape. She was stirring up too many emotions within him.

On Sakura's trip back to her apartment in the same clothes she was wearing yesterday she decided to stop by Tsuande's office by surprised. She walked through the door and found the blonde with a bottle of sake on her desk and her face flushed first thing in the morning with her head resting on the desk asleep. She passed out drunk in her office last night Sakura assumed. Which wasn't a normal thing. Yes, Tsuanade was a drinker, but this was a little heavier than usual.

Sakura made a bed on the floor with spare blankets and pillows she picked up from the hospital on her way down here and placed her teacher on them without waking her. Tsuande was snoring and a little drool came out of the side of her mouth. Sakura shut the curtains to the big window in the office and told everybody not to disturb her unless there was an emergency to make sure she got her rest and slept it off.

Sakura walked through the village on her way back home wondering if she would get there unbothered so she could shower and change her clothes. She looked up and saw a double rainbow in the sky and smiled. "I wonder if that's you Ino." She whispered clutching her chest and shuffling her feet.

Sakura made it home and hopped in the shower. She felt the hot water burn her skin in such a good way and the steam filled the bathroom. She used her lavender shampoo and lathered her hair and body, letting the water hit her in the face.

After, she wrapped a towel in her hair and one around her body securing it and leaving the bathroom. She opened the door and saw somebody standing in her living room. "EEEEHH!' Sakura squeaked. She grabbed a flowerpot that was on an end table in her hallway closest to her and chucked it hitting the intruder in the face.

She heard a loud thump, and the flowerpot broke into pieces. The person dropped to the ground while she was holding her towel in place, making sure it covered her. "What the hell?!" Sasuke groaned holding his bloody nose. "Sasuke? What the hell you doing here? You scared the shit out of me." Sakura growled. Sasuke stood up still grasping his face, "I wanted to see if you were up to spar today. I saw you coming back to your place a while ago." Sakura walked up to him and placed her hands on his face. Sakura chuckled, "Well did I win?" she asked with a cheeky grin and the Uchiha snorted.

Sasuke let his eyes roam down to her breasts that exposed the top of her cleavage that still had water droplets on them from her shower as her hands glowed healing his broken nose and cuts on his face. Sakura stared at the spot where she was healing, and a slight blush appeared on Sasuke's face from the close proximity and lack of clothes. He could smell her shampoo on her and gulped loudly and redirected his attention, looking away from her completely.

When she was finished, she walked back down the hall to her bedroom door, "Wait for me out here, we'll spar today." She informed him then closed the door to begin changing. Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck feeling like it was a mistake barging in her apartment unannounced. He's done it quite a few times, but not too often. Usually, Naruto would have been with him but lately he's seen less of his blonde headed friend.

Moments later Sakura opened the door in black shorts and an army green shirt with black combat boots and fingerless gloves. Her hair was up in a ponytail that came down her back still pulled up. "You ready?" Sakura asked walking past him out the front door. Sasuke followed suit.

They made it to the training grounds to find it empty. Sasuke and Sakura prepped and readied themselves. "No holding back." Sasuke told her and she nodded with a smirk.

They began and Sasuke disappeared and ended up behind her clutching his arm hearing the screech. Blue electricity emitted from his hand, "Chidori!" Sakura held her palm up and absorbed it. Sasuke's red eyes widened. "Normal jutsu's don't work on this eye." She told him.

She countered back with a punch, sending him flying through two trees, breaking them in half. Sasuke landed against a rock with a thud gasping. Sakura appeared in front of him, and her hand lit up pink with sparkles shooting out of it that burned to the touch, he had never seen her do that before.

He rolled out of the way and her hand smashed into the rock and her head turned in his direction. He kicked her in the side causing her to drop to one knee and went to punch to have his fist grabbed and he was thrown away from her like a rag doll. He slid on his hands and feet panting. His ti-jutsu wasn't enough to keep up with her.

Sakura ran up to him and slid her feet under his knocking him onto his back and pointing a kunai at his throat. "I win." Sakura declared with a grin. Sasuke's eyes were wide staring back into her green ones. "You got stronger." He whispered in disbelief. Sakura offered him a hand and he grasped hers and she helped him up to his feet.

They both sat on the ground after their battle. "I didn't want this power." Sakura stated. "Why not? Your like invincible." Sasuke questioned. Sakura shook her head, "Everything has a weakness. Remember that, Sasuke. Your eyes, even mine. I absorb jutsu, but let's say if I were outnumbered and had someone distract me and hit me with a jutsu… I wouldn't be able to. Everything has limits." She explained. Sasuke nodded, "Ah."

Sasuke returned home to find his brother lugging boxes out of the house. "What are you doing?" He asked Itachi while leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. "I got a house in the compound to gain a more independence little brother." Sasuke followed Itachi down the steps. "So, you're not living here anymore?" He pouted. "I'm right down the street." Itachi countered adjusting his grip on the box. "Does mom know?" The younger Uchiha asked another question. Itachi resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "Of course. Now come bring some boxes and help." When he said that Sasuke's eyes lit up and he nodded. He hurriedly grabbed another box on the porch and scurried after his brother.

Sakura finally found herself home at sunset. She wasn't sure what to do with her time now that she wasn't working in the hospital at the moment. She even found herself missing Naruto's annoying presence. She decided to make herself dinner. She chose the ingredients to make Katsu Curry and was unsure of how the dish would turn out. She never considered herself a huge cook, considering Kakashi always cooked for them, and she spent her time studying her medical journal.

When she finished, she realized she wasn't a great cook at all after taking the first bite. Her face soured up. She just hoped it was at least edible. She sighed wondering where she went wrong in the preparation.

A few days later wouldn't go as smoothly as the previous ones. Sakura was walking through the village taking a walk and heard an explosion from the gates. She ran as fast as her feet could take her to see Hinata on the ground unmoving and Naruto standing above her shaking with anger. Sakura lifted her head to see two men in the sky in black cloaks. One had an orange mask with a swirl and one eye hole. The other held a giant sword and his skin was blue, he looked like a shark. "Naruto!" Sakura called out.

"We will be taking him little girl. Stay back and nobody gets hurt." The blue skinned man said. Naruto's eyes turned red, and markings formed on his face. Red chakra started to form around him. She gasped and went to reach for her friend. He swiped his hand that were now claws at her and cut her forearm. She could feel the sting and blood pool to the ground and jumped back away from him. "Stay away from me! I'll kill them!" He growled, unlike his usual self. The nine tails were taking over.

"No Naruto, please grab Hinata and run!" Sakura pleaded with him while healing her wound at the same time. The one in the mask stayed out of battle while Naruto wildly battled the shark man. Sakura kept an eye on them and began to check Hinata. She was injured and unconscious but nothing serious. Her hands began to glow green, and she worked fast to heal her.

A moment later Sasuke showed up and landed next to Sakura. "What's happening?" He asked her. Sakura handed him Hinata, "Please take her away from here, she will be fine." He nodded and did as she told him. Before leaving he spoke, "You be careful."

Sakura shifted focus to Naruto who was growing more tails and transforming into a tailed best. Sakura held her index fingers up and shut her eyes focusing, "Chibaku Tensei." She whispered. A giant rock barrier formed around Naruto confining him and also shielding him at the same time. The shark man looked back down at her astonishingly. "That eye –"

"Come down here and fight. Or are you scared of a little girl?" She taunted. He smirked at the invitation and felt overly cocky. He landed on the ground in front of her, "Water style, water bullet jutsu!" He yelled out swinging his sword. She saw shards of water shooting at her and dodged each one with ease, but he wasn't letting up. "Water colliding wave!" A giant wave appeared in front of her as if she were in the ocean. Her eyes widened, if the village were hit by that it would be underwater.

She held up a palm and started absorbing it. But absorbing large jutsus was no easy task and draining especially since she hadn't fully grasped her new abilities. She held her arm that was sucking in the water steadily with the other one trying to dig her feet in the ground to hold her place while grunting in pain with one eye shut and her face scrunched.

When he saw she was vulnerable absorbing the water, he decided it was his chance to strike. He dove in with his sword ready to swing and Sakura could do nothing but watch him as he closed in on her. Then she saw fire shoot past them in the middle causing him to jump back. Sakura glanced behind her and saw Itachi.

"How cowardly, Kisame." Itachi scowled and stepped in front Sakura who had finished sucking in all the water. "I don't need you to – "Before Sakura finished Itachi interrupted, "He's strong. We will both need to take him out." He declared. Kisame smiled at the compliment. "Ah the famous Itachi Uchiha. The prodigy of the Uchiha clan. Let's see what you're made of. Hopefully you put up more of a fight than this girl." He pointed at her with his sword. Sakura growled at the insult and formed her fist into a ball. "I'm gonna knock your head off." She hissed.

Itachi and Sakura attacked simultaneously seeming perfectly in sync somehow to each other's movements. Kisame dodged and struck every chance he got. He wanted to wear them out before releasing anymore jutsu. He jumped back and formed hand signs, "Water prison jutsu!"

A water barrier formed around Itachi and Sakura. It filled with water right away causing it to be a struggle to breathe. They took a moment and looked at each other while their hair flowed seamlessly in the water. Kisame's clones held the water prison steady. Sakura absorbed hers falling to the ground coughing up water. She dove at the other clone holding Itachi's to be met with the real shark man.

He swung his sword, and she jumped above it and filled chakra in her feet flipped around and kicked him in the face sending him flying. She was wondering why the other masked man wasn't attacking or helping his partner. She didn't know if it was luck or stupidity that kept him still, but she kept an eye on him.

Sakura filled her fist with pink sparkling chakra and attacked the clone releasing the prison justu on Itachi. The water splashed and Itachi landed on the ground as gracefully as ever with wet hair and an emotionless expression. He rushed Kisame with Sakura by his side, and they trapped him while he was on the ground trying to recover from Sakura's previous kick, taking him prisoner.

The man in the orange mask took it as his sign to leave and started to back off creating a greater distance between them. "Hey! Where do you think your going?!" Sakura yelled out at him getting ready to chase and Itachi stopped her and put a hand on her shoulder. "We need to transport him to Anbu to get intel. Let him go for now." He told her. Sakura jerked her head back and wanted to argue with him, but decided he was right.

The village was safe, for now. And they needed all the intel on this organization they could get seeing as they had very little to go on other than they were after the tailed beasts for some reason.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to drop this new chapter! I've been trying to transition everything smoothly into the ideas I have in my head. And this one is kind of short yet again. I hope I didn't make Sakura too overpowered in this story but I kinda wanted her to match Itachi.

Hope you guys enjoy! xoxo