…

The pink-haired woman was going through the market, heading back to her apartment. She had shopped for groceries and had to hurry, since she had to go to the hospital for her shift.

Sakura arrived punctual and went to look for Tsunade. In front of her office, she knocked. After receiving no answer, she entered.

The blonde woman was asleep on her desk. Sakura snorted. Typical. She gently shook her mentor awake.

"Mmm? Is it more sake?" the doctor mumbled.

Sakura sighed. "No, Shishou, it's Sakura."

Tsunade finally awoke fully. She stretched and yawned. Then she looked at her student. "What's the matter, Sakura?"

"Yesterday you sent me to visit the Granny, remember?" Sakura began, but was interrupted.

"Yes, I know everything. The Uchiha have called me and explained every detail. How are you, Sakura?" the woman asked, with genuine concern.

Sakura smiled. "Fine, Shishou. I wasn't harmed at all."

Tsunade inhaled deeply. "That's good."

"And here's the Granny's file, Shishou," Sakura added, with a small smile.

The blonde woman took it slowly, regarding Sakura intently. The she said, "Something else happened, Sakura, I can tell."

The pink-haired young medic, much to her dismay, blushed a little. "No, Shishou, what are you talking about…"

"I know Uchiha Itachi was present as well," her mentor added slyly.

Much to Tsunade's amusement, Sakura blushed crimson. And didn't speak a word.

Not a word that was coherent or intelligible, at least.

The blonde doctor observed her closely. And then bluntly said, "You two kissed, didn't you?"

Sakura's red blush was reaching worrying levels.

And then Tsunade smiled at her. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, Sakura. I'd say, it was about time this happened."

The emerald-eyed girl was confused. So confused that she forgot her embarrassment. "What do you mean, Shishou?"

Her teacher's face had a mischievous smile. "You see, Sakura, last time I went to the Police Headquarters I had to use some of your poisons to… well, do a few things. Uchiha Itachi was present and he complimented me on the efficiency of them. But I couldn't take the credit for something I didn't do, so I told him that my talented apprentice had created those poisons. And I remember that he seemed quite interested. So I told him some other little facts about you… don't worry," she added quickly, noticing that Sakura was narrowing her eyes, "nothing that could be embarrassing. In fact, I think I was very kind in describing your abilities."

Sakura stayed silent for a while. So that was how Itachi had known that she had created the poison herself. Well, it certainly made sense. But she had a question for her master.

"Tsunade-Shishou," she said seriously, "you didn't know about the police operation of yesterday, did you? You didn't, let's say, try to play matchmaker or something…"

Tsunade stood up immediately. Her eyes were blazing. "As much as I'd love seeing you settled, Sakura, I would never expose you to yesterday's danger," she said.

The young medic sighed. "Sorry, Shishou."

Tsunade sat down again. "It's okay." Then she grinned. "So, how far have you two gotten?"

Sakura's embarrassed shriek could be heard through the whole hospital.

…

After going through her morning duties, Sakura found out it was almost lunch time.

She decided to pay a quick visit to Mikoto and give her the scarf back. She didn't like feeling indebted more than she already felt.

So she walked to the Uchiha house. She knocked on the main door and was received by Uchiha Mikoto herself. Sakura apologized for intruding and gave the woman her scarf back, thanking her profusely.

Mikoto tried to convince her to stay longer, but Sakura claimed she had work to do and left for the hospital again. But she had the time to discreetly ask about Itachi. Mikoto told her he was going to take part in the interrogations of the bandits they had captured the day before.

Sakura then walked back to the hospital. She didn't exactly know how to behave with Itachi the next time she met him. They had kissed the evening before, but, well, they were still strangers, weren't they?

But those were thoughts for another time. Right now, she had work to do. And there seemed to be a lot. When she entered the hospital, many nurses were hurrying through the corridors.

Bewildered, Sakura approached the front desk and asked the head-nurse what was happening. But before she could answer, Tsunade appeared next to her. She was serious.

"Sakura, I think you want to treat this patient yourself," she said quietly. "He was shot at the Police Headquarters."

A sense of dread came over Sakura. "Who is it?" she asked, voice a bit hoarse.

"Uchiha Itachi."

…

…

Sakura's heart seemed to stop. But she sprung to action quickly. "Where is he?" she asked sharply.

"Calm down, Sakura, he's in the first room to the right," Tsunade said.

The pink-haired medic turned on her heels and reached the room quickly. She opened the door.

Itachi was laying on a bed, and his shoulder was slightly bleeding. His face seemed to brighten when he saw her.

An immediate sense of deep relief overcame her. "Where have you been shot?" she proceeded to ask.

Itachi, without a word, showed her his shoulder. Sakura scanned it rapidly and then sighed in relief. "It's a minor wound. The bullet merely scratched the skin. Oh, I see you still have yesterday's bandage," she added. "Well, let's see to both wounds."

Itachi stayed still while she worked, and simply watched her.

When she finished, she asked him what had happened. He explained that many agents had suffered minor wounds because a bandit had tried to shoot at them.

"It was the Granny," Itachi said, "She had retrieved the gun of one of her accomplices and shot me the moment she saw me."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "But… how come she had a gun? Yesterday it fell on the bed from the bandit's grasp…" A look of pure horror crossed her features as she understood. "Oh, no…"

Itachi reluctantly said, "The Granny probably took the gun while you were visiting her later, and waited for the right moment to strike."

Sakura couldn't hold his gaze anymore. How stupid was she? She had allowed a criminal to take possession of a gun, with which she had later shot police agents!

She stood up quickly and tried to turn around to leave. She was incredibly ashamed of herself.

But a hand around her wrist stopped her. "Don't think, not even for an instant," Itachi said firmly, "that this was your fault. We should have checked the prisoners for guns and made sure that the one that was dropped by the bandit was retrieved. We have acted foolishly."

The pink-haired woman replied, "It is my fault for not noticing that the Granny had taken the weapon."

"Oh, for heaven's sake! It's no-one's fault but the Granny's!" a voice interrupted, and they both turned around to see an exasperated Tsunade. "The police officers had checked the Granny for weapons before Sakura's visit, and the old hag probably saw the gun only by accident. So none of you is at fault, you two love-birds! Go back kissing already!" And she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Both Itachi and Sakura couldn't help blushing a little.

A bit awkwardly, the emerald-eyed girl said, "Well then… um… your wounds are fine, we determined that no one was at fault… so what are we going to do now?"

Itachi smirked a little. "Kissing doesn't seem like a bad idea."

…

Some months passed. More bandits had been apprehended, and all of them had been convicted in court. Konoha's forests were on the way of being completely free of them.

Itachi and Sakura had begun to spend more time with each other. Even though their relationship had started with a kiss, they had agreed to stop doing that for a while – however pleasant it was – and get to know each other better.

A lot of their free time had been spent together. They shared meals, went shopping, rented a movie, and many other things. And they talked. About everything.

Sometimes they met at their respective houses to spend an evening in each other's company. Sakura's apartment was a bit little, but Itachi owned quite a large house not far from the Police Headquarters. Every evening they learnt more about each other and themselves as well.

There were times when Itachi had to work late, or Sakura had an emergency at the hospital, and they would have to reschedule everything. But that didn't stop them to begin to immerse themselves into each other's lives.

So time went by, and things between them were going well.

But Sakura had some doubts. She liked Itachi, and he seemed to really like her. They had even told each other. She tried to be as open as possible when it came to their relationship, but she had to admit that she was afraid.

Sometimes Itachi would greet her with a special gift, which was exactly what she desired. The depth to which they were heading to frightened her. She almost panicked when thinking about it.

She knew it was irrational. But weren't things rushing a little too much?

…

Sakura was walking through a hospital corridor, headed to the exit. Her shift had finished and everything was fine with her patients.

She didn't have plans that evening, because Itachi had told her he would probably have to work late.

But as she was walking, she saw him coming towards her. He smiled at her. "Hello, Sakura."

She smiled as well. "Hi, Itachi. Didn't you have to work this evening?"

Itachi shrugged. "I managed to finish early. Would you like to do something special tonight?"

Sakura hesitated and bit her lip. Her fears came back to her. But before she could say anything, Itachi grabbed her chin gently and made her look at him. "There is something wrong with you lately, Sakura. You seem different. What is going on?"

Sakura was now even more afraid. He seemed to understand her too well. "This is exactly the problem. I'm scared. You sometimes seem to read my mind, but I can't read yours. Maybe I'm letting you too much into my life. And this… frightens me. I've always been alone, since my parents died. I'm not… used to someone who appears to know a lot about me."

Itachi looked at her intently. "There is nothing to be scared of, but I think it's natural to feel this way."

Sakura continued, "I don't know if I'll ever understand what you think unless I can ask you. There is one particular moment of our relationship that I'd like you to explain for me… if you agree, of course."

Itachi smiled warmly. "You can ask me whatever you want, Sakura."

Sakura gathered her courage. "The first time you kissed me. Do you remember?"

His gaze was burning. "How could I forget one of the most intense moments of my life?"

She shifted, uncomfortably. "That's what you say, how would I know. Why did you kiss me anyway?"

His gaze was firmly locked with hers. "I wanted to. Badly. And I had told myself that I would only touch your lips, nothing more. But when I actually did…" he hesitated briefly, lost in his thoughts, "…I had to do it again. And again. And I wasn't satisfied with just that. I know it was selfish from me, Sakura, but I wanted you to respond to me. I wanted you to kiss me back. So I kissed you longer. And you gasped. I know I took advantage of that to deepen our kiss without permission, but…"

He wasn't able to say anything more, because Sakura pressed herself against him and kissed him passionately on the lips. It wasn't a timid or chaste kiss, but a feverish one. Itachi enveloped her in a hug and returned the kiss, deepening it more. The passion in it was growing quickly, but they both stopped when they needed air. They remained in each other's arms, panting.

Sakura said, still with laboured breath, "Well, I'm more selfish than you are. And don't even think about not doing this agai-"

She was silenced by Itachi's hard kiss on her lips. She gasped, and once again he gained access. If before they were in the corridor, Sakura was now pressed against a wall between his passionate kisses. Their hands began to explore each other, and both were getting bold. When Itachi's fingers began to play with the top of her blouse, they both stilled.

Sakura, now practically gasping for air, choked out, "Not here and not now."

Itachi smirked a little. "Oh, but you won't be able to escape me forever."

Sakura blushed, a bit irritated. "Don't make this a game, Itachi! I believe-"

He silenced her with a finger on the lips. His expression was now serious. "I'm not making this a game, Sakura. I'm not toying with you or your feelings. I'm serious about you. I want… no, I would like to make our relationship progress further. This doesn't mean I want to sleep with you. Or, better," he corrected with a tiny smile, "I do want to sleep with you, my beautiful Sakura, because I love you and want to be as close to you as humanly possible. But I don't want to do it if you don't agree."

Sakura lowered her gaze. She was a little embarrassed about what she was about to say, so she put her hands on Itachi's chest to steady herself, not noticing how his eyes darkened a little. "Itachi," she said slowly, and with her tone she had his complete attention, "I like very much the idea of sleeping with you. But listen to me first," she added quickly. "I want to make my feelings clear. I think it is natural for a man and a woman who are in love to sleep together, it is the perfect next step to take. And I do love you. I love you so much. But," and her voice trembled, and she didn't dare raise her eyes, "We still don't know each other completely. We have been dating for a while, and I like being with you, but it's too early. What if you get tired of me? What if you find a better woman than me? What if we find out we are too different? I know," she added, since he seemed about to say something, "this seems nonsensical now. But believe me, Itachi," and her voice quivered, "and regardless of how selfish this sounds, I would already suffer too much if we were to break apart as it is. How do you think I would feel," and her voice cracked, "if we were together in a more intimate way and later found out we aren't good for each other?"

Itachi pressed Sakura to his chest, where she sobbed quietly, and he whispered, "Don't you dare think this way, Sakura. I am certain about my feelings for you. I will not spend my life with anyone else but you. This is, if you will have me. However," he continued, not letting her speak, "if what you are asking is to take things slow, I am ready to agree. I don't want to force you into anything, Sakura. And I think it's best to let things progress naturally, as they are."

Sakura sighed in relief. He seemed to understand. She smiled at him.

He added, "And besides, Sakura, I'm not about to rush things anyway. This experience is entirely new for me, I don't know what's the right thing to do, or when."

Sakura arched an eyebrow. "Are you telling me," she asked in disbelief, "that you haven't had other women before me?"

"Not even one, Sakura. I never even dated before."

"But that's impossible!" she exclaimed. "You're Uchiha Itachi! The handsome Uchiha prodigy! The Police Genius! It can't be that…"

"And you are Haruno Sakura," he interrupted her, "Medical genius. Incredibly skilled vice-head doctor of Konoha. Beautiful and lovely young woman."

Sakura looked puzzled. "What-"

Itachi observed her intently. "You probably had, and still have, a long list of people wanting to go out with you, Sakura."

Sakura was confused. "But I don't think that's true, Itachi. I've always had so much work, and never felt like going out…"

Itachi was staring at her. "Neither did I, Sakura. I never felt interested in any woman. Until I met you." His eyes were almost burning with fire when he looked at her. "You're the only woman that ever caught my attention, Sakura. And you've no idea of how much you caught it. My whole life was turned upside down because of you. I don't feel okay until you are with me, until you are in my arms. I'm always anxious when I don't know where you are. Every instant I wish I could be with you, I always want you by my side. I need you as much as I need the air I breathe. I fell in love with you fully and completely, and there's no way this is going to change. Did you really think," and his eyes where so serious that Sakura found it difficult to hold his gaze, "that now that I found the most beautiful and precious thing in my life, I would ever let it go?"

…

…

…

…

A/N: And this is the actual end of Red Riding Hood Of Konoha.

My original idea was actually to make the fire of Konoha (eight years before, when Sakura's parents died) an arson, and make Itachi and the Uchiha dig into that mystery. But then I changed my mind, because I would have had to add more villains, etc. And since the starting point was a fairytale, expanding it too much was… strained. But I had considered an arson when I wrote about the death of Sakura's parents.

About the mentioning of Itachi's red eyes… I decided to let it be only a reference to the original manga.

Some people asked me about Sasuke's future job. Well, I have honestly no idea. Sorry.

…

A few last things before I close this universe.

Itachi gets promoted the next day. He becomes the new Police Chief. But he arranges his working hours so he will have time for his (future) wife.

Sakura and Itachi will marry four years later, when Sakura is twenty-seven and Itachi thirty-two. Itachi will be a respected and fair Police Chief, keeping (among other things) the forests of the city-state of Konoha safe. Sakura is going to take over the direction of the hospital after Tsunade retires, and her ability with poisons will become famous. Itachi and Sakura will be a happy couple, and they will have two children, a boy and a girl, Shinrin and Yoake.

And Mikoto will be a loving grandmother :-).

…

Thank you so much for reading!

KitsuneMiyuKendraHyuga