Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine, okay? It hurts to keep saying it every chapter ^_^

Note: Yay for the last chapter (and it's nice and long)! Forgive me for the long wait once again, I know it's been greatly anticipated, so I hope it lives up to expectations. I just want to say a huge, giant thanks for everyone who took the time to read this little story. It made me so incredibly happy to see everyone's enthusiasm and read such encouraging words…I hope to see you all again on future fics!

Konoha in the evening. Surely there was nothing as picturesque, nor as wordlessly beautiful. The weather was cool and breezy, which was odd, but not certainly unwelcome, for late September. A quaint flock of birds lazily soaring through the color-filled heavens, and families embracing after a day of separation due to work and school and settling down to a peaceful dinner. Children were called in from their vigorous playing and laughter outside, while a tabby cat stretched happily on the bakery roof from where it was basking in the warmth of the sunshine beaming down in twinkling rays of gold. The streets were swallowed with the bodies of Konoha citizens enthusiastically greeting and conversing, and a pink-haired kunoichi let out a wild scream of frustration as she contemplated employing a fireball jutsu on her unsatisfying collection of clothes. Let it be officially stated that Sakura had a strange fixation of physically destroying anything that stood in her way.

For while the rest of Konoha was genuinely enjoying the beautiful time of sundown, Sakura was frantically attempting to throw together a passable outfit for the date which was occurring in less than twenty minutes. And avoid throwing up. And keep reminding herself of her resolve to see this through, for she was on the verge of running away and becoming a missing-nin. For once she actually mourned the fact that not many people shared Kakashi-sensei's chronic lateness. In this instance, it would certainly be a welcome thing.

She glared at her room, now smothered in random clothing pieces that were completely unsuited to her current needs. Why the heck is it so hard to get ready for one, measly date? Sakura grumbled to herself. I've never had such a problem with it before. Sakura briefly considered going to Ino for emergency fashion help, but discarded that idea quickly. After all, she wanted to keep as many people from knowing about what was going on tonight, and if the gossiping Ino found out she might as well have posted it in the newspaper.

Sighing, she picked up a black dress lying in a crumpled mess on the floor from where she had tossed it. She held it up against her body, eyeing her form speculatively in the mirror. Ino had given it to her for her 16th birthday, telling her with a wicked grin that she hoped it would be "put to good use". Che. Whatever that meant. The stupid dress was also extremely skimpy, probably more useful as a shirt than anything else. She shook her head, tossing it aside yet again. After all, it wasn't like she wanted to seduce the Uchiha. No, definitely not. Then again, she wasn't even sure if Itachi could be seduced, what with being a human ice cube and all.

Sakura grabbed another dress that was draped over the back of a chair, blanching in horror when she held it up and looked at her reflection. Why the hell did she even have this dress still? She'd thought she'd donated it to charity long ago. The article of clothing in question was a horribly lime green sundress with a yellow flower pattern printed in rows across it. It had been a gift from Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi a year ago, when she had made chunin. They had declared (with looks on their faces that were far too innocent) that they had thought she would look 'cute' in it. But with the mid-calf length skirt, and the high neck with long, puffy sleeves, it seemed more like they were just trying to drive off men and prevent her from showing any skin. Idiots.

That monstrosity joined the black abomination on the floor in the rejection pile. Sakura glanced around for her clock in desperation, noting that she only had fifteen minutes left. Damn, damn, damn. She was still standing around in her underwear, and she had no doubt that Itachi would be promptly here at seven! Even though Inner Sakura was currently entertaining the thought of answering the door as she was just to see the look on Itachi's face, Sakura ignored her and continued on in her search for an outfit. She swore she didn't know why her inner self could be such a pervert at times. She was worse than the lecherous old patients in the hospital that tried to flirt with the nurses.

She went through another dress, then a skirt and shirt, and a leather ensemble (why did she have that in her closet, of all things?), rediscovering the contents of her wardrobe.

"Makes me look fat."

"Too slinky, must've borrowed that one from Ino at some point."

"What the—? No way in hell!"

"Why do I have a green jumpsuit in here? Oh. Lee's birthday present for me."

"No…not that one…nope…er, maybe…ah!"

And with a triumphant cry, Sakura pounced like a vicious lioness on the hunt. Snatching up the clothes that were emitting a soft, holy glow of success to her eyes, she raced into her bathroom, slamming the door shut. She laid the outfit down on her bathroom counter gingerly, and then proceeded to get ready.

The first to go on were the pants. They were loose and flowing around her legs, reaching to her ankles and colored a pure white. Sakura tugged on them a little to get them all the way up her body to her waist, and poked at her stomach with a frown. She observed it with a critical eye, wondering if it had always stuck out that much. Hmm. Maybe she'd been eating too many brownies lately.

She then picked up the top, sliding it over her head and relishing the feel of the cool silk against her skin. She looked in the mirror, satisfied with what she saw there. The top was a sleeveless Chinese-style one, and aqua in color, which highlighted her skin tones quite flatteringly. It was attractively form-fitting, even though, as Sakura resentfully added in her head, she didn't have much to show off as far as shapes went. Hell, she wasn't asking for a Tsunade-like body, just to look like her sixteen years for once! Inner Sakura chipped in her two cents cheerfully, wondering if she'd grown at all since the age of twelve, but hastily closed her mouth upon sensing Sakura's deadly aura directed her way.

Sakura was by no means plain or stunted in growth, but being surrounded by women like her Shishou and Ino tended to make one have inferiority complexes at times, unfortunately. Oh well. She'd trade beauty for the ability to smash boulders to pieces single handedly any day.

Ignoring her grumpy thoughts, she moved onto her hair, twisting it up into a messy bun and securing it with an elegant clip decorated with white and azure intertwined flowers, something she had purchased at a summer festival long ago. Sakura reluctantly allowed her bangs to fall down around the sides of her face, as she was lacking the forehead protector that usually kept them from getting in her way. She hoped they wouldn't be a nuisance during the evening. She wasn't too optimistic, though, because with the way things had started out already, she was likely to trip and break her neck when her bangs got in her eyes. Once again, am I going to live through this with my sanity and body parts intact?

She forewent the makeup and perfume out of habit, as she rarely ever indulged in wearing them. This was mostly due to the shinobi training ingrained in her from when she was young, as allowing things such as identifiable scents or using makeup to make one's face stand out was a potentially fatal mistake in a world where it was best to blend in to one's surroundings.

Sakura started in surprise when her doorbell suddenly went off, sending an echo bouncing through her apartment. She froze, breathing in deeply, trying to prepare herself. She could do this. She'd go out and answer the door with a pleasant and impenetrable face, maturely acting like she could care less about being blackmailed into doing this. Cool, calm, collected. Cool, calm, collected. She repeated this mantra to herself over and over. She turned the knob on her bathroom door, pushing it open and striding out.

Right, she'd be entirely grown up about this entire ordeal when she came face to face with the bastard who had deprived her of her sleep and brownies and reason! Cool, calm, and collected, dammit! She reminded herself. Sakura was already scowling with the intensity of a thousand suns as she marched out of her bedroom and through her living room, her course set towards her front door. She wrenched up a look onto her face that was supposed to resemble a smile, but ended up more with her baring her teeth in a feral sort of way.

When she reached the door, she grabbed hold of it, and yanked it open, snarling out, "Hello, Uchi—"

She stopped, her menacing face morphing into one of surprise and confusion. For in front of her stood not the impossible, dark-eyed man that had been recently haunting her thoughts, but instead…

"Izumo-san."

The Hokage's helper nervously smiled, a look of terror still in his eyes from the frightening way Sakura had opened the door. After all, it was well known that the Hokage's apprentice had inherited more than just her medical skills. If she was angry for some reason, it was best not to be within reach of her fists. "A-ah, Haruno-san. Um, forgive me for disturbing you, but I carry a message from Tsunade-sama."

Sakura blinked, getting over her confusion, and now feeling mortified over how she had opened the door. "Oh, well, please tell me then, Izumo-san."

"Y-yes. Ah, you are to report to her office tomorrow at seven thirty in the morning. There you and your assigned teammates will be thoroughly debriefed about your upcoming mission to Suna. I believe you were briefly informed about it a few weeks ago. "

She nodded, saying to the chunin, "Yes, I was. Thank you so much, and have a good night."

Izumo only gave a stuttered out goodnight, then took off running in the opposite direction. Sakura guiltily watched him go—she really needed to learn how to control her anger. She stepped back into her apartment, closing the door slowly. She felt something strangely akin to disappointment flood through her. Her eyes widened. No, I'm not disappointed that it wasn't Ita—the Uchiha! I'm ticked off that I accidentally used the angry greeting I was saving for the Uchiha on a perfectly innocent man. Yes, that's it.

Sakura was only a few steps from the door when the doorbell rang again. She frowned at it in a puzzled manner. Had Izumo maybe forgotten to tell her part of the message? After all, he'd left in such a hurry only a minute ago. As she made her way towards the front door again, she allowed a gentle, welcoming smile to slip onto her face, determined to make up for the rude greeting she had presented to him last time.

She pulled it open, looking out and cheerfully saying, "Good evening, Izumo-san, I'm really sorry about—"

Wait. Sakura froze in the middle of what she had been saying. Because Izumo sure as hell didn't have obsidian eyes that could look at her in such amusement, wearing a slight smirk on his face. Izumo didn't tower over her by at least a foot, and wasn't garbed in black pants and a black, long-sleeved button-down shirt that opened slightly in the front to reveal a white shirt underneath. And Izumo didn't have dark, silken locks loosely tied back from his face, a few strands framing his patrician features perfectly.

Damn it, she had used the wrong sort of greeting for the wrong man, again!

Sakura's mouth had by this point dropped open, her startled orbs rising slowly to meet his shadowy ones.

"Sakura."

"Er, Itachi. Good evening. Um, sorry about the whole name mistake, I was expecting you to be a different person, actually."

Itachi's lips raised to one side, obviously finding humor in being addressed as someone else (alas, it was far too easy to be amused at Sakura's antics), and his low voice told her, "Why, Sakura, I had no idea you were so popular. I would have reserved my date far in advance, had I known—"

Sakura's face felt like it was on fire, her cheeks turning a vibrant pink as she blushed. "Oh, shut up, Uchiha. Shishou just had a message that needed to be delivered to me."

Itachi surveyed her, still, to her displeasure, appearing to be amused. "I see. Are you ready to leave?"

Sakura took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure and get back on equal footing with the smooth bastard in front of her. "In a minute. First, I have some mandatory rules to lay out for you."

"Oh?"

"Yes."

"Pray tell."

Sakura held up a finger. "One: No touching. That includes hugging, handholding, or anything of the like. Any of the above will result in the loss of any and all reproductive abilities. If I'm being forced to do this, there will be no sexual harassment, got it?"

Itachi inclined his head, accepting her terms, before questioning her intently, "And if you ask me?"

That caught Sakura off guard. "Huh?" She ever so eloquently replied.

Itachi's mouth tilted slightly, repeating, "And if you ask me to…touch you?"

Where the hell were all of these taxing comments coming from? Sakura glared at him, retorting, "That won't be happening anytime soon, Uchiha."

"Hn." He only sent a knowing look at her that infuriated Sakura even more. "Any other…rules, I should be made aware of, Sakura?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Number two: I still claim the right to punch you through a tree if you waste my time tonight. And possibly a wall as well, if I feel up to it."

"As I stated before, it will not be necessary."

"Hmph. We'll see." Sakura fidgeted, feeling the need to get out of Itachi's presence for a moment. It was starting to get oppressive and suffocating. At least in her opinion. "Excuse me, I have to get my shoes, and I'll be ready to go. Wait here, please."

Sakura spun around, practically preparing to sprint to the safety of her room. She was actually thinking about locking herself in there and refusing to come out. She was stopped when a pale, long-fingered hand loosely caught her wrist, effectively preventing her from leaving. She looked over her shoulder irritably at the man who currently breaking the no-touching rule. Already. She sent a pointed look towards his grip on her wrist. "Uchiha, I didn't think your attention span was that short. Did you not hear the rules you agreed to?"

He raised an eyebrow at the girl who had all the appearance of a kitten, but was ready to strike out in a moment's notice if displeased. "Ah, but Sakura, our date has not officially started yet. I was under the impression that such things would begin after I had picked you up, and not while still in your apartment."

Sakura looked disgruntled at that, failing to find a valid point to argue with him over what he had just said. He was pretty much right. That damn sneaky genius. Okay, new plan: get the hell out of here as soon as possible in order to avoid anymore touch-involved situations like this one. "Okay, what is it?"

She didn't like that anticipatory gleam in his eye. It looked like he was preparing to bait her with something. She was unpleasantly reminded of the imagery of a cat toying with a helpless mouse before it ate it. Well, there was no way she was going to react to whatever he said next!

Itachi's hand momentarily tightened on her wrist. "Forgive me, Sakura. I did not mention it right away, but…you look rather lovely tonight."

What. The. Hell. What? Just what the hell was his game? Who was this person, and what had he done with the sadistic bastard she had grown up knowing both from experience and Sasuke's many horror stories about him? She was sure her face was heating up again. Stupid involuntary reactions! Stupid Itachi! Sakura jerked her hand from his grasp, biting out a terse "Thank you" and stomped off in the direction of her room in order to retrieve her shoes. Dammit, he was laughing again, she could hear it! She could just tell he was enjoying making her mad, the bastard!

She slammed her closet door in her bedroom open, quickly grabbing a pair of white sandals and her purse, and headed back out, albeit extremely reluctantly. Itachi had never shown so much interest in her before, so why now, of all times? Why was he suddenly provoking her emotions, acting almost teasing and affectionate? Needless to say, Sakura's confusion had reached an all time high.

She met Itachi in the hallway outside her apartment, where he was calmly and patiently leaning against a wall, carefully making sure to avoid eye contact with him. She turned around apprehensively, locking her door, before she faced Itachi. His eyes swept the full length of her body, from head to toe, only once, an unreadable look on his face. Sakura squirmed, the only thing preventing her from punching him was that his gaze didn't linger on any part of her body longer than others. They both began to walk at the same time, and no words were passed between them as they made their way out of the apartment complex.

Unbeknownst at the time to Itachi and Sakura while they were up in her apartment, an obnoxious Hokage-wannabe and a dark-haired grump were lying in wait outside the complex, cleverly (at least in their eyes) concealed in a large group of clustered bushes. They had been there ever since six-thirty in the evening, preparing for Mission: Rescue Sakura from the Evil Clutches of Sasuke's Bastard Older Brother. Naruto had been the one to come up with the not-so-subtle name, much to Sasuke's dismay. Unfortunately, not much was known about the upcoming date, which prevented the two from actually forming a solid attack plan. In the end, both had decided it was best to make a plan up as they went along.

Sasuke looked over at the teen kneeling in the dirt beside him. "Did you remember to mask your chakra?"

Naruto appeared to be mildly insulted, as he glowered at the Uchiha. "Of course I did. I'm not that stupid, teme. Sakura would detect us in an instant if we didn't. And beat the crap out of us in the next second after finding us. Just make sure you don't slip up."

"Hn. No worries there."

They sat for another moment in silence, warily watching the entrance to the apartments. Naruto shifted impatiently, flinching in pain when a particularly prickly leaf poked him in his hand. He rubbed at it absentmindedly, the skin growing red with irritation when he did so. His eyes flicked from Sasuke, to the apartments, then to Sasuke again. "Ne, teme?"

Sasuke ignored him.

"Teme."

No answer.

"Dammit, Sasuke!"

"What, idiot?"

"Your brother went up five minutes ago. What the hell's taking them so long, do you think?"

Sasuke shrugged, not bothering to reply to Naruto's inquiry. This seemed to worry Naruto even more, thinking Sasuke didn't want to tell him his worst suspicions. Now Naruto wondered if he should run up to Sakura's apartment just to make sure nothing…fishy was going on. His clear blue eyes widened in horror as he imagined his poor, innocent Sakura-chan trapped in her apartment with the demon. That was enough to make him shoot up from crouching in the dirt, causing Sasuke to look up at him in irritation.

Sasuke reached out his arm and roughly pulled his friend back down, then snapped, "What do you think you're doing, Naruto?"

Naruto swatted Sasuke's hand off of him, trying to get back onto his feet. "Asshole! Let me go! Sakura-chan might need help!" He struggled against Sasuke's new grip on his arm, pulling against it in an attempt to get free.

Sasuke grunted from the effort of trying to hold Naruto down. He growled out, "Dobe, Itachi's not going to do anything to her! Besides, she can take care of herself!"

Naruto sent a fist flying towards Sasuke's face, forcing him to block it. The other boy retaliated with a punch of his own, causing Naruto to immediately kick out at him. Sasuke leapt forward, trying to grab Naruto and pin him down so he'd stop flailing around. In an instant, the two had gotten into a full-blown scuffle in the bushes outside of Sakura's apartment. And that was how two mighty shinobi, one from a prestigious clan and the other a student of a sannin, descended to the level of bickering teenage boys. Several passersby's attentions were caught, as dirt, rocks, and leaves were flying out of a cloud of dust produced by the squabbling boys. Various expletives came from behind the bushes, as well as yells of pain and anger.

Naruto and Sasuke's fight to the death was fortunately interrupted by Sakura and Itachi's exit from the nearby building. Naruto paused in his chokehold on Sasuke, while Sasuke stopped in his attempt to twist Naruto's arm behind his back. They quickly scrambled away from each other simultaneously, resuming their positions in the bushes as though nothing had happened.

Naruto's mouth dropped open in extreme shock. Sasuke's eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"What the hell does Sakura think she's wearing? Doesn't she know any red-blooded male would be tempted by her if she went out looking like that?" Naruto exclaimed, glaring at his heart's sister for her foolishness.

Sasuke nodded in agreement with Naruto's words, looking daggers at his older brother and his friend. Just what was she thinking, getting all dressed up for his brother, of all people? And the two were walking exceptionally close as well. Damn.

Naruto stood up, dragging Sasuke with him. "C'mon, Sasuke. Let's follow 'em." Sasuke didn't need telling twice, and after waiting for Itachi and Sakura to travel a safe distance ahead, he and Naruto took off after them.

Sakura walked beside Itachi, feeling somewhat uncomfortable and nervous. She rubbed her stomach idly, wondering if it was hurting from hunger or uneasiness. She hadn't eaten anything except a quick cup of instant ramen at lunch, but this situation was enough to make her want to throw up anyways. Probably both, she mumbled inside her head, and cast her gaze up at the Uchiha leisurely strolling beside her with perfect ease. She grumpily noticed he was purposefully shortening his strides so she could keep up with him. Ugh, tall people. Sometimes Sakura really cursed her mere five foot three, especially when it put her in uncomfortable positions. Such as walking next to her date, who must have been at least six feet tall. She could only pray for the growth spurt that usually accompanied one's teenage years.

The pink-haired girl rubbed her arm absentmindedly, experiencing annoyance at the curious looks and surprise written on the faces of some of the people around them in the streets. She sighed, knowing it was inevitable that people would find out she was on a date with Itachi. After all, he was the renowned heir of the well-known Uchiha clan, so the gossip mills would probably jump on the fact they had been seen together. Sakura grimaced, wincing internally at the backlash she would probably be getting after this from various fangirls, both at work and otherwise. Heaven knows she got enough jealous looks from girls for being best friends with Sasuke. She supposed she had better watch her back a little more carefully for a while, just to be safe.

Sakura looked around in curiosity when Itachi led her down a street she wasn't overly familiar with. It seemed to contain various little shops and restaurants, and appeared to be fairly popular from the way it was bustling with civilians. Breaking the silence between them, she asked, "I don't suppose you'd tell me where you're taking me?" He hadn't exactly been forthcoming about the details of what they were going to be doing on this outing together.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her. "Of course I will, Sakura. All that was needed was to ask me."

She twitched. Itachi, sensing another outburst from her, cut her off. "I knew you would be hungry, and there is a small restaurant here that serves excellent tempura." A corner of his mouth raised slightly when she abruptly shot her head up in surprise, her ivy-green eyes questioning. Did this man know everything about her?

"How did you know that tempura—?"

"Was your particular favorite?" Itachi injected in smoothly.

Sakura bobbed her head, suspiciously looking at him. "Did Sasuke tell you?"

Itachi gave a minuscule shake of his head, and with one of his faint smirks, said to her, "Sakura, it is a simple matter of observing. I seem to recall you consuming the entirety of the tempura my mother prepared when you and Naruto-kun dined with us a few months ago, as well as begging her for the recipe afterwards. It is reasonable to think you enjoyed it, is it not?"

She flushed (did Itachi have some sort of weird demon control over her blush reaction?). Sakura had forgotten that incident, and mentally cursed herself for allowing her moment of piggishness come back to bite her in the butt. "Do you always have to be so observant? It's kind of irritating." She petulantly bit out, turning her head away childishly.

Itachi's dark orbs flashed, and all he replied with was, "It is one of my duties to be so."

Sakura fell silent at that, guessing she had ventured into unappreciated waters in the conversation. She caught herself feeling guilty—after all, Itachi was going out of his way (though why he was certainly was a mystery to her) to take her out tonight, though she knew as an ANBU captain and clan member he probably had thousands of other tasks that needed his attention. Things that were much more important than a sixteen-year old chunin girl. Sure he had blackmailed her into this, but why would he have done so if not because he wanted her company? Somehow, Naruto and Sasuke's far-fetched ideas didn't seem too plausible at this moment. She sighed a little within, resolving to try and be a bit more pleasant during the course of the evening, just to make it a bit more enjoyable for both of them. Since she was going to do so, she might as well start apologizing for some of the more grumpy things she did or said.

They went on in silence for a few more moments, before Sakura said to him, "I'm sorry, again, for the whole name mix-up when you came to the door. I had just gotten a summons for a mission briefing so I wasn't really expecting you right that second."

"You are leaving for the mission soon, then?"

"Mm," Sakura hesitated, then decided it wouldn't hurt to talk with Itachi about the mission. He was an ANBU captain, so he had the highest security clearance and, in a way, was her superior. "It's a…diplomatic trip to Suna, I guess, more than a mission."

For some reason, an incredibly odd look appeared in Itachi's eyes for a brief moment, something akin to humor or pleasure possibly, but it disappeared just as quick as it had come, so Sakura wasn't sure she had even seen it. "Indeed? What is the purpose for the assignment, Sakura?"

Sakura nodded, a little shy about having someone's complete attention on her for so long. Itachi's intentness on listening to her was a different, though not unwelcome, experience. Usually when she was with Naruto and Sasuke, they were so busy bickering or beating each other up, they only caught half of what she said, if she was lucky. "I'm going to help teach advanced medical techniques to the medic-nins there. Suna's really lacking in the medicinal department, so I'll be there for a while helping out through lectures and demonstrations. I'll be traveling with a special team to Suna, and they'll stay with me for the duration of my stay there." Her eyes glowed with the passion only medical topics could bring about, drawing Itachi's dark gaze.

Itachi's voice held soft undertones of praise when he told her, "Tsunade must have great faith in your skills to trust you with such a mission."

"She places too much in me sometimes, I think," Sakura confessed, embarrassed.

His tone was vaguely reproving. "I do not believe so, Sakura. You are reputed to be one of the top medics in the country. Doubting your abilities is foolish."

Sakura smiled, as though finding something humorous. "Do you give Sasuke this much encouraging praise as well, Itachi? He probably deserves it more than I do."

If Itachi had been any less dignified, Sakura swore he would have rolled his eyes or snorted. As it was, he smirked and said to her, "Do not compare yourself with my foolish little brother, Sakura. Unfortunately, his ego does not necessarily match the amount of strength and talent he contains presently, so praise is not required. He still has much to learn."

Sakura actually laughed at that, though she tried to muffle it by slapping a hand to her mouth to stop it from coming out. Poor Sasuke-kun, he certainly did have a giant stick-up-the-butt ego, even though he did have considerable talents . Itachi merely walked along with Sakura, listening to the soft laughter surrounding her, feeling…oddly satisfied at eliciting such a reaction from her.

Suddenly Itachi placed a hand on her arm, gently steering her towards one of the small restaurants along the street. Sakura, forgetting her resolve for a moment, shot Itachi a furious glare, pointedly looking at his hand. "Remember the agreement, Uchiha?"

Itachi conveniently ignored her words and her gaze, which would have been emitting sparks had it been possible, and guided her to the front entrance of the restaurant. He let her arm go just as she was strenuously trying to pull it away, causing her catapult backwards, which resulted in Itachi capturing her arm again in a gentle hold in order to prevent her from falling.

"Uchiha!"

The man didn't even look repentant. In fact, he looked far too amused again at Sakura's expense. Itachi raised both eyebrows at the fuming kunoichi. "You did not wish to fall, correct?"

Sakura looked like she was about to suffer from a massive heart attack brought on from the disease known as Uchiha-itis. "Let's just go in the damn restaurant!" And with that, she pulled her arm away from his touch, trying to ignore how warm it was. Stalking past him and into the restaurant, she mentally recited all of the reasons why putting a nice fist-shaped hole through her companion would not be a good idea. It seemed that ninety percent of the time that she was around this man, she was reminding herself not murder him.

In the alley behind the restaurant Itachi and Sakura had just entered into, Sasuke was attempting to restrain his blonde friend from leaping after them and putting a Rasengan through his brother. They had trailed the two all the way from the apartment, growing more and more annoyed at Sakura's seemingly intent conversation with Itachi. They hadn't been able to hear any of the words spoken between the two, but the facial expressions were enough for them. Sasuke had seen Itachi with more expression on his normally apathetic face than ever before, giving him an extremely bad feeling in his gut about where this was going. They really had to get Sakura away from his brother, and soon. She was too entrancing for her own damn good.

Plus, he was getting tired of continually holding Naruto back. Naruto had been mostly calm until they had come upon the restaurant, and Itachi had saved Sakura from falling. Sasuke had been forced to hear outraged complaints of how "The bastard's groping her!" and "Let's go beat the crap outta him, teme! Get your Chidori ready!"

Which now led to the situation of where Sasuke was attempting to save his brother's miserable life from an enraged fox boy. He sighed, snapping out, "Dobe, shut up for a second."

Naruto ceased his attempts of creating a Rasengan, turning around to look at his rival and friend. His expression turned devious as he let out a toothy grin, and started walking towards the back entrance of the restaurant. "Teme, c'mon, we're gonna start the sabotage now."

Sasuke reluctantly followed the blonde to the back door of the restaurant, semi-curious as to what the dobe was planning. Naruto cautiously pushed open the door, peeking around it. He was greeted with the sight of what appeared to be a kitchen, busy with the movement of cooks, waiters, and waitresses preoccupied with their jobs. Naruto slipped through the open door unnoticed in the crowded din, and after a moment's hesitation was followed by Sasuke. He figured it was best to just follow the lead of the master of pranksters in situations like these.

"Psst, teme! Over here!"

Sasuke looked to his right, where the hushed voice was coming from. Naruto's vibrant hair was peeking out from a closet, and he was frantically beckoning to the other boy. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke made his navigated his way through the crowded kitchen and over to the closet, where he was unceremoniously grabbed and pulled into the small area. The closet was entirely too cramped, hardly enough space for two teenage boys, and was filled with extra uniforms, cleaning supplies, some odd pieces of kitchenware. On the whole, it was extremely uncomfortable.

Sasuke scowled. "Now what, dobe?"

Something hit him in the face. "Put that on, Sasuke-bastard!"

Sasuke looked at what he held in his hands. A uniform? Ah, now he was starting to see what Naruto was plotting to do. Pretty good, except…

"Idiot, it's a little too obvious. Itachi and Sakura will recognize me instantly, even if I'm wearing this."

Naruto let out an evil laugh, his blue eyes glowing with a maniacal light. It was enough to cause Sasuke to nervously inch away from him, looking around for the door knob of the closet door should he need a quick escape. "Ne, teme, I always thought you'd make a better girl than a guy, y'know? You already sorta look girlish and everything, and you act like one too sometimes."

Sasuke glared at him, uncomprehending what he was saying.

"I don't think Sakura-chan or Itachi would recognize the girl version of you, eh, Sasuke-chan?" Naruto said with a conniving grin.

Sasuke's pupils dilated in horror as he understood Naruto's plan. "No way, dobe. No way in hell."

Naruto whined, "C'mon Sasuke, it's for Sakura-chan's sake! It's no big deal!"

"Why the hell can't you do it then?"

"Sakura's seen my Oiroke no Jutsu too many times! She'll definitely know it's me right away!"

Sasuke mentally groaned, cursing Sakura for getting him into this situation. Going out in front of his brother in the form of a girl? Sasuke had liked to think he'd outgrown his hero worship of his brother, but he'd still never live it down if Itachi found out it was him. However, it was for Sakura's well-being, and if she could sacrifice herself to the company of the demon bastard for a little while, he supposed he could afford a few minutes disguised as a…girl.

Naruto watched the resignation cross Sasuke's face, gleefully noting he'd won. Sasuke sent his best patented Uchiha Glare of Death and Pain at Naruto, grumbling out, "Fine. But if anyone ever knows about it I'll know who the source of information was."

Naruto waved away Sasuke's words airily with a hand, telling him, "Now, I'm gonna show you the hand signs of my new and improved Oiroke no Jutsu, so pay attention teme." Naruto ran through the hand signs once, which was all Sasuke needed to memorize them. He practiced the hand signs flawlessly until Naruto felt he was ready to use it.

After Naruto had given him his approval and stepped out of the closet to "allow Sasuke-chan to keep her modesty" (he had earned a smack from Sasuke for that one), Sasuke stood there for a moment, brooding about what he was about to do. Exhaling loudly, he slowly proceeded to go through the signs, performing each one carefully. After all, he didn't want to mess it up and end up disfigured. Since it was a jutsu created by Naruto, he was extra wary in using it.

When Sasuke was done, a puff of smoke appeared in the closet, covering his body. When it lifted after a few moments, Sasuke didn't move, his eyes closed for fear of what he'd see. He felt, for lack of a better word, weird. And there was definitely some additional weight on his chest. He shuddered, quickly pulling on the waitress uniform, still keeping his eyes tightly shut. What Naruto saw in this he'd never know. He shoved open the door after he was done, exiting from the godforsaken closet that he now loathed more than anything else.

He opened his eyes to find Naruto in front of him, already garbed in a cook's uniform. Naruto was staring at him, his face red from the effort of holding in laughter. Sasuke glared, though it must have lacked its usual effect due to his girlish features, because Naruto burst out in hysterics, leaning against the wall as he laughed.

"Shut up, dobe." Crap, was that his voice? It had suddenly gotten all high pitched and…cute! Sasuke went pale. This just made Naruto laugh harder and gasp for air.

"N-nice voice, t-teme! Mahahahaha!"

Sasuke stood there stonily until Naruto's chuckles subsided. He seemed to be avoiding saying anything, out of terror of hearing his new dulcet tones. Naruto quickly regained his plotting face, carefully keeping his eyes away from Sasuke lest he begin laughing again.

" 'Kay, teme, here's what we're gonna do." Naruto produced a small box from his pocket, redirecting Sasuke's gaze to it. "You're gonna go out and get your brother and Sakura-chan's orders. When you serve their drinks, you're going to put a few of these little pills into your brother's. Sasuke warily hand his hand out for the box, wondering if Naruto meant to poison Itachi. He wasn't feeling entirely opposed to the plan, either. However, written on the box, in large, bold print, was: "Fast-acting, industrial strength Laxatives! Relieve your body and your bowels today!"

Sasuke smirked at that, his eyes looking at Naruto with a questioning look. Naruto grinned, and said, "I bought 'em before we went to Sakura-chan's house, just in case they went to dinner. It's always best to be prepared, ne?"

Sasuke nodded, looking impressed at Naruto's rare foresight in the matter.

"Anyways, teme, I figured a couple of these will be enough to land your brother into the bathroom for a good amount of time. And Sakura-chan'll get tired of waiting for him and so grossed out, she'll leave! Genius, right?" Naruto exclaimed happily, rubbing his hands together. "Now, get out there and do your part."

Sasuke slipped the box into his apron pocket, turning around and starting to head towards the doors that led to the dining area. He was feeling confident until Naruto called to him, "And make sure you don't get molested, teme!"

Sasuke entered into the main dining room, catching sight of Sakura's bright pink hair almost immediately. He saw, to his chagrin, that she and Itachi were deeply involved in conversation, their heads tilted towards each other as they spoke. He scowled, and began stomping over towards their table. He almost made it there without incident, except one customer he walked by sent a wink and a grin at him. Sasuke nearly tripped on his own feet, his mind reeling with horror. He determinedly ignored the man, and made it a few more feet when a low wolf-whistle met his ears, and he saw yet another man eyeing him. Sasuke's already pale face grew even more white, and he shuddered in disgust. Sasuke, wondering what the big deal about him was, made his way over to a window to examine his reflection. Which turned out to be a bad idea, when he saw a tall, curvy girl with long, silky black pigtails and big eyes staring back at him. Only years of being emotionless and stoic saved him from screaming like the girl he now was.

He turned from the window quickly, and practically sprinted towards Itachi and Sakura's table, desiring to just get the job done and then spend his time inventing a Memory Jutsu that would wipe the day's events from his mind forever. He patiently waited until he had caught the two's attention, shifting on his feet nervously when Itachi's eyes raised to look at him.

He cleared his throat, dreading hearing his voice again. "U-uhm, may I help you tonight? I'm Sa-er, Saya, and I'll be your waitress."

Sakura sent a smile towards the clearly anxious waitress, figuring that she must have been new to her job. "Thank you, I'll have an iced tea, and the tempura soba dish, please."

Sasuke nodded, then turned towards his brother. "A-and for you, sir?"

Itachi's cool eyes observed Sasuke for a moment, who swallowed as a small smirk appeared on his brother's face. Sasuke reassured himself that it was nothing, that there was no way his brother could have known it was him. The knowing smirk didn't mean anything at all, Itachi just liked that particular expression. All in all, Sasuke did a pretty good job in convincing himself.

"I will take water, with the tempura udon," Itachi merely said, and turned his attention away from Sasuke.

Sasuke collected the menus, and then walked quickly back into the kitchen. He communicated his order to the cook, and waited for a few minutes while the food was prepared. Naruto was nowhere to be seen in the kitchen. Sasuke retrieved two glasses, heading to where the pitchers of drinks were kept. He filled one with Sakura's tea, and the other with water. Looking around him to see if he was being watched, and finding no one nearby, he pulled out the box Naruto had given him and dropped two into Itachi's drink, watching them dissolve.

So far, Sakura was having a surprisingly entertaining evening with Itachi, though she did have her moments of when he pissed her off. The restaurant he had brought her to was exceedingly nice and cozy—she had been afraid that as an Uchiha, he would take her somewhere grossly expensive. She was pleased to find herself proven wrong however, and enjoyed the peaceful ambiance of the tempura restaurant and the anticipation of her meal.

Sakura looked at Itachi oddly, as he was staring off in the direction the waitress had left in amusement, a small smirk on his face. Sakura had felt sorry for the poor girl, she had seemed so young and scared that she was sure she hadn't worked there for long. And Itachi could be a little daunting at times, so she had tried to reassure the girl with a grin. That was until Itachi had looked so interested in her, and Sakura had felt a twinge of annoyance before she had nipped it in the bud. She chastised herself for getting too used to Itachi's attention being only on her, maybe he liked tall, dark-haired women more than pink-haired, boyish girls.

She grimaced softly, playing with her hands. "Something wrong?"

Itachi turned his attention towards her, noting her rather perturbed expression. "No, just something...interesting."

"Oh," she said quietly.

Itachi gave a half-smile, his dark eyes laughing at her. "There is no need for jealousy, Sa-ku-ra."

As he knew it would, his words caused Sakura to puff up in indignation. "Jealousy? There's no jealousy, Uchiha!" Her eye twitched at the very idea of it. Ridiculous, there had to be feelings for there to be jealousy. And there definitely weren't any feelings between her and Itachi. Maybe strong dislike on her part, but nothing else.

"Hn."

"Don't give me your monosyllabic, typical-Uchiha answer!"

"…Uchiha answer?"

Sakura blushed, not about to tell Itachi that she had labeled all of the common expressions of the Uchiha. Uchiha Glare, Uchiha Answer, the list went on and on. She came up with them after years of being exposed to Sasuke's never-changing expressions. Quickly getting off the subject, she asked, "Are you going to tell me what was so interesting?"

"I will, later."

"Promise?"

Itachi only looked at her, making Sakura roll her eyes. Of course, Uchiha honor and all that. Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their food, which made Sakura forget all about her ire with Itachi as her face lit up at the thought of eating her tempura.

The same jumpy waitress hurriedly set down their plates, causing Sakura's mouth to water at the sight. She picked up her chopsticks eagerly as the waitress put the drinks near the edge of the table, hardly containing her enthusiasm for the food. Sakura had many inhibitions, but eating to her heart's content was not one of them.

The black-haired girl stood back, respectively asking, "Can I get you anything else for the evening?"

Sakura shook her head, cheerfully waving her hand in a dismissive gesture and telling her, "No, thanks so much, I think we have everything—oops!" For as Sakura had waved her hand, the chopsticks she was loosely holding in it flew from her grasp and onto the floor. She started to get up, but the waitress beat her to it kneeling down to the ground to pick up the utensils. Sakura blushed again, apologizing to the girl. The waitress looked up at Sakura, holding out the chopsticks to her.

She said softly, "Here you are, miss."

Alas, to Sakura's horror, when she reached out to take the eating utensils from the waitress, her hand bumped into Itachi's water glass that was precariously seated at the edge of the table. The water glass fell off the table—

And onto Saya the waitress, with the water landing on her face, some going into her still open mouth, and drenching her clothes. A strange look came onto the girl's face, and she shot up from the ground, turned around, and raced towards the back of the restaurant where the bathrooms were. Sakura stood up to follow, but Itachi, who had observed the whole thing with great interest, stopped her, shaking his head. "Sakura, sit down and eat. Having water spilled on you is hardly life-threatening. You can apologize later."

Sakura reluctantly sat down, seeing the sense in Itachi's words. After all, the waitress was probably mad and didn't want to see her now. If someone had done that to Sakura they most likely would have been lying unconscious by now. Sakura dug into her tempura and soba, savoring the taste of it and letting out a low moan. This had to be her favorite food in the entire universe, without a doubt. She happily chewed it and swallowed, eagerly putting more into her mouth in the next instant.

Itachi, ignoring his own food in favor of watching Sakura eat, regarded her with a steady gaze. Dining with Sakura was a welcome and refreshing change from any other woman he had every consented to spend an evening with, mostly at the urge of his parents and they had usually been clan members. Other women had always daintily eaten and never finished, focusing more on him than they had their food. Sakura was exactly the opposite, and was endearing in the intent and enthusiastic way she enjoyed her food.

Sakura, sensing someone's eyes on her, looked up and saw him observing her. She tilted her head in confusion. "Is there something on my face?"

And that right there was Itachi's undoing. The damn way she tilted her head and looked at him with wide green eyes. Her teammates were right to guard her so closely—Sakura was a dangerously attractive girl. And he didn't have any intention of ever letting her go.

Itachi shook his head, and picked up his chopsticks.

When Sakura and Itachi had finished their meal, Itachi had paid the waiter that had replaced their former waitress after she had mysteriously disappeared on them (Sakura hadn't been able to find her so she could apologize). Sakura had been a little hesitant about letting Itachi pay for her dinner, but figured since this was technically a date and he probably would refuse to let her pay, it was okay. They left the restaurant afterwards, and outside darkness had already begun descending on Konoha, causing the streetlights to turn on and illuminate the street in a gentle glow. A light drizzle of rain had begun to fall on the city, with brief flashes of lightning being seen in the distance.

Sakura walked alongside Itachi peacefully after assuring him she didn't mind a bit of rain, supposing that they would be heading to her apartment now. Sakura shivered a little, moving closer to the nearest source of warmth, which just happened to be Itachi at the moment. She liked the rain, but didn't exactly fancy the cold that came with it. And it was either freeze or get closer to Itachi. Now that was being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Itachi looked down when he felt something brush up against his side, only to see a small and disgruntled female who was obviously trying to be subtle about getting warm. "And here I thought you didn't mind the rain, Sakura."

She lifted her head to glare up at him. "I don't, Uchiha, I just get cold easily. But we're not too far from my apartment, so I don't care about getting a little wet."

"Ah."

A soft silence reigned over them a little longer, and then Sakura asked quietly, "Itachi?"

"Hm?"

She paused, trying to find the right way to ask him this. She sighed, and decided to throw caution to the wind. "Why did you ask me to come with you today? I mean, you could have told us to do anything, but this is what you came up with? A date with me?"

"Carpe diem." Was Itachi's vague reply.

Sakura blinked. Just what was he talking about? She had no idea. "Huh?"

Itachi elaborated further. "I decided to seize the moment. Or the day, whichever you prefer."

That still didn't clear up Sakura's confusion. "To do what?" She questioned him suspiciously. Just why did the man have to be so damn mystifying about everything he said?

Itachi didn't answer for a moment, vexing Sakura greatly. When she opened his mouth to ask again, he interrupted her, his voice taking on a teasing quality. "So, Sakura, did you still have the need to, what was it, 'punch me through a tree'?

Sakura neatly skirted a puddle lying in the road, grumpily realizing he was avoiding her question. And he had asked her an even more annoying question in return. "No," she muttered.

Itachi smirked, his obsidian eyes focusing on her again. "Oh?"

She grew infuriated at the pure satisfaction and smugness she could just hear in his tone. "No, alright? Don't get cocky about it." She may have to change her mind about punching him through a tree if he kept this up.

In a tree not far from where Sakura and Itachi were currently walking, two boys were perched, both thoroughly determined not to fail in their chosen duty. Naruto looked over at Sasuke, who was crouched on a branch next to him, and couldn't help but feel guilty about the miserable look on his face. After Sakura had accidentally spilled Itachi's Laxative-added water onto Sasuke, some had gone into his mouth and down his throat. Admittedly, he had only swallowed a small amount, but it had still been enough to send him racing into the bathroom. What was worse, he had still been in girl mode, and had gone running into the men's bathroom while still appearing to be a girl, which had startled most of the guys in there. Sasuke had been forced to take time to release the jutsu, and then had spent an hour on the toilet in complete misery.

Naruto had been furious that his clever plan had completely backfired on him, though he had reluctantly admitted that there had been a twist none of them had foreseen.

Now Naruto was apprehensively watching his friend grin murderously, his eyes focused on his brother who was walking down the street towards the tree they were hidden in. Sasuke was mumbling something about how his "chance had finally come".

Naruto asked him nervously, "Er…Sasuke? Just what are you gonna do to Itachi?"

Sasuke let out a low laugh, and eerily smiled. "It's perfect, after six years of waiting! And it's raining with lightning too. He'll never see it coming."

Naruto sighed, maybe the Laxative incident had finally sent Sasuke over the edge. That and being forced to become a girl. "Teme?"

Sasuke rubbed his hands together, telling Naruto, "I'm gonna Kirin the hell out of him!"

"Kirin?"

"A new jutsu I've been working on. I use lightning from the sky to direct it wherever I want it to go."

"As much as I'd like to see Itachi hit by lightning teme, isn't that going a little far? After all, you might hit Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke processed Naruto's words, his maniacal air deflating as he returned to his senses. Damn, there went his chance to get rid of his bastard brother so he couldn't bother Sakura anymore. Besides, Kaa-chan would be terribly upset if something happened to 'Itachi-chan'. Deep down, he didn't really want to off Itachi. Deep, deep, deep down.

"Fine. I'll just direct it to land somewhere near them after they walk by. Maybe it'll singe his girly hair."

Naruto nodded his agreement. "And Sakura-chan'll be so frightened that she won't ever want to see the bastard again!"

The two crouched further behind the leaves to wait for their chance, and didn't have to wait for long. Both pairs of dark eyes and sky blue eyes narrowed as they watched the pair below walk past the tree. Naruto turned his head towards Sasuke, mouthing, 'go'. Sasuke closed his eyes, concentrating, and began to form the necessary hand signs. Naruto looked up at the rainy sky, as the clouds began swirling and the lightning seemed to be coming faster and more often.

Sakura jumped as a loud crack of thunder sounded, followed by a brilliant flash of lightning. She frowned, looking around before she saw a tree back in the distance burning brilliantly (though unknown to Itachi or Sakura, it seemed that Sasuke had yet to perfect his new jutsu). She gasped, frantically looking around at Itachi. Dammit, she didn't know any water jutsu off the top of her head! "Itachi, if that fire spreads to the buildings around it—!" But, luckily, Itachi was already ahead of her, calmly forming hand signs with rapid perfection.

"Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!"

Sakura watched from next to Itachi as the raindrops falling from the sky quickly meshed together in a large body of water to form an unbelievably gigantic dragon, which then wrapped around the tree and quickly extinguished the blazing fire. Afterwards, it collapsed into individual droplets once again, showering the already wet ground with a mass of liquid. She stood quietly in awe of Itachi's ease of using such a complicated jutsu in such a limited amount of time. She knew how many hand signs it took to succeed in performing the jutsu. Furthermore, that was a jutsu that could only be used next to great amounts of water, but she had no idea that the rain could be manipulated by the jutsu as well. Her fingers curled into her fist tightly as such a raw display of power reminded her just how far she still had to go

"Sakura, come." Itachi's voice woke her from her reverie, and she slowly walked over to his side again, his unfathomable eyes looking at her. They resumed walking through Konoha in silence, until she heard Itachi speak again. "You will grow in time, Sakura. Do not worry over your current abilities."

Sakura smiled slightly at Itachi's attempt to comfort her, thankful for his apparent talent for reading her mind for once. "Itachi," she said tilting her head up to look at him, while blinking away the rain that got in her eyes. Itachi merely waited for what she was going to say.

"Thank you."

Itachi didn't say anything, and Sakura was glad for it, as she was feeling a little bit weird. Huh, maybe she was coming down with a cold. That must be why her insides were feeling kind of topsy-turvy and her head felt light. Must be a stomachache and headache.

Far too soon for her liking, they made it back to her apartment complex, though Sakura tried to convince herself that she wasn't disappointed that the date was ending. She inwardly scowled as she heard Inner Sakura singing something about being in denial. Sometimes she really hated her innermost self.

Itachi stopped in front of the entrance to the complex, his tall form completely dwarfing her small one. Sakura tried not to look at him too much, and especially tried not to note just how much the raindrops glistening on his skin and dampening his long hair highlighted his beauty. Dammit, she wasn't noticing!

"I'll say goodnight here, Sakura. You have an early day tomorrow for the mission briefing," Itachi told her.

She sighed, muttering something that sounded like "don't remind me". Sakura, trying to live up to her resolve of being pleasant, even though it didn't require much effort at this point, said, "Thanks for the date…I guess. I mean, it was enjoyable, even though I was being blackmailed into it. Which I still haven't forgiven you for, you know."

"Hn. I'll have to make it up to you sometime soon, then."

She gawked at the man in front of her. "Make it up to me? Just what do you mean by—"

"Sakura, our date is over, correct?"

Sakura wasn't exactly sure why he was asking that, but he had that same anticipatory look in his eye as he did earlier that evening, when he had said she looked lovely. Yes, caution was definitely best in situations like this. She said, slowly, "I…suppose? I'm about to go into my apartment, after all."

His dark eyes shone with amusement. "Good. Then the earlier rules no longer apply."

And before Sakura could ask just what he meant by that, he reached out, lightly grasping her hand and pulling her gently towards him.

"U-Uchiha! What're you—"

Sakura abruptly closed her mouth when she felt his hand softly tilt her chin up, giving her time to pull away if she so wished. However, Sakura's normally lightning-fast brain had decided to leave her in her time of need, leaving only a shell-shocked little female left in the place of her usual self.

Oh…guess he meant the no touching rules no longer apply, huh? Damn sneaky geniuses. Sakura distantly heard that thought travel through her frozen mind. Was he going to do what she think he was? Wait! Why would Itachi kiss her? He didn't…like her, did he? Now that Sakura was faced with the situation, she had to admit that his behavior lately did sort of point towards that conclusion.

Well damn. And here she thought she'd always been smart, and attuned to feelings. And she was just figuring this out now?

Sakura panicked as she saw Itachi's face come towards hers closer and closer, undecided and trying to analyze just what was happening. She shut her alarmed green orbs tightly, not sure what was going to happen.

She felt something soft feather across her cheek in a small caress, before she felt Itachi move away from her slightly. Her eyes shot open in surprise, her fingers reaching up to where Itachi had just kissed her on the cheek.

Her eyes met the sight of a smirking male standing before her, obviously aware of what she had thought he was going to do. Her face turned a bright red and she balled up her fist, ready to beat the crap out of him. For what? She wasn't sure. But she was frustrated, and needed to take it out on someone.

The next thing she knew, she heard a loud scream of "Nooo!" and found herself being dragged away from Itachi. To her befuddlement, the ones dragging her away from his vicinity were none other than Naruto and Sasuke. But for some reason, they both smelled like a burnt piece of toast and Sasuke was holding his stomach like he had to go to the bathroom.

She winced as Naruto started shouting. "How could you let him do that to you, Sakura-chan! And you, bastard, don't even think about coming near her!"

Sakura, getting annoyed, pulled Naruto off of her. "Naruto, Sasuke, just what do you guys think you're doing here?"

Sasuke scowled. "Looking out for you, of course."

Sakura eyes grew bright, and she leveled the two with a dangerous glare. She felt Itachi come up beside her, and heard him say, "And that, Sakura, is what I was so interested in at the restaurant."

She didn't understand what Itachi was talking about for a split second, before she noticed Sasuke flinch. On second thought, Sasuke really bore a strange resemblance to—she gasped as the obvious truth came falling down on her like a ton of bricks. Naruto and Sasuke shaped bricks, at that. "You bastards! You followed us!"

Naruto and Sasuke, ironically, were momentarily saved by Itachi. The elder Uchiha looked at his younger brother, and told him in an icy voice, "Sasuke, we're going home. I'll properly talk to you about your…interference there." Sasuke just glared resentfully at his brother.

Itachi then turned to Sakura, his tone softening somewhat. "Sakura, go in and get some sleep. I will see you tomorrow for the mission briefing."

Sakura looked at him, more confused than ever. "What are you talking about, Itachi? Why would you be at the briefing?"

Itachi was wearing an odd smile on his face, as if he found humor in her words. "Who do you think is the leader of the team accompanying you on your mission?" He laughed softly at the incredulous look on her face. "I look forward to working with you, Sa-ku-ra." With that, Itachi walked past the three stricken teens, heading in the direction of the Uchiha compound.

Sakura's mind was nearly blank. The only thing currently running through it was: Me…Itachi…stuck on a mission with him for weeks?

Naruto and Sasuke would later swear that their eardrums had shattered with the force of Sakura's agonized scream.

Okay, so I left room for if I ever wanted to continue this fic later in a sequel ^_^. I appreciate constructive criticism, helpful hints, or just happy comments, so please leave a review!