AN: This is going to be either two or three chapters long, and it is a prequel to my one-shot Join Me. Thank you for reading!

Itachi sighed tiredly, inspecting his painted fingernails with disinterest. It was the end of everything, and as it was slowly closing in on him from all sides, he realized he had so much to regret. He shifted slightly on the stone throne hidden deep within the bowels of the Uchiha hideout, allowing himself to remember all of his relations with Sakura for one, last time.

She was practically shaking in her boots, nearly loud enough for him to hear it from across the clearing. Her antics were amusing, to say the least; to think he could terrify the chunin kunoichi to such an extent. Then again, he had reached ANBU at the same age that she had graduated the academy, a formidable fact she was sure to know.

He observed as she nervously ran a feeble hand through strew, pink locks, giving her blond counterpart an anxious glance. The kyuubi, however, did not notice this action, and was much too busy glaring at himself. Itachi sighed quietly to himself, then pointed a single finger at the tensed group.

"It is time for you to come with me, Naruto-kun." He said stonily, releasing his genjutsu onto the unsuspecting group. While Hatake, the Kyuubi, and the Suna elder did not sense a change around them, the pink-haired kunoichi realized it instantly. Much to his surprise, she closed her eyes in concentration, dispelling a large enough amount of chakra to free herself from the genjutsu he had seconds previously cast.

She glanced again at her oblivious friend, then turned back to stare at his chin. Frowning, Itachi tried to expand the genjutsu to cover her again, but immediately after doing so, the kunoichi countered it with her own dose of chakra. His stare hardened into a full-out glower. Ah, a genjutsu type. It seemed pointless for him to exert himself further, if he wanted to overrule her.

Curiously, he took a step closer to the glaring pixie of a girl, to see her get into a battle stance a moment later. A smirk, which she could see with irritation, crossed his lips as he walked slowly to the frozen kunoichi, his amusement with the frightened girl refreshing. He wondered absentmindedly when the last time he had even seen a female was. He was certain it had been too long.

By the time he was standing a foot away from her, every muscle in her body was stiff, and after looking at her for a second, Itachi came to the conclusion that her appearance was the least practical for a kunoichi. Her hair was pink, and though he was sure it was very pretty, not only did it stick out almost obnoxiously, but it was easily recognizable. Usually, a shinobi does not want their features to be memorable, or they will end up being hunted down for a bounty. The fact that she wore bright red did not help her situation either.

She was glaring at his chin, much to his amusement, but at least she knew something. If she did look him in the eyes, there were several painful jutsu he could cast over her, and she was smart enough to be wary of that. Nonetheless, could grate on someone's nerves if every person they met were too terrified to even look him in the eyes. It made the world seem spineless.

Itachi hoped she did not think herself to be threatening, because unless she had the boldness to look him square in the eye, then she was unfortunately wrong, even if it was wiser not to.

"Haruno Sakura, I presume. Medic-nin trained by Tsunade, and originally a genin student of Hatake, along with the kyuubi and my ototo. How interesting, that you would be a genjutsu type." He commented more to himself than to her. Her eyes widened in horror, no doubt because of how much he already knew about her, and her eyes slowly moved up to his, as if she did not even realize it.

It surprised him how much he could see in those brilliant, green orbs. His own face and sharingan reflected off them like a crystal mirror, but behind that, he could see straight into her. At the moment, all there was to look at was instinctive fear, but there was something deep within that screamed out gentleness. Then there was a small streak of rebelliousness he could sense in her, a want to prove herself to the world. She showed everything, did not guard her emotions at all, which should not have been allowed for any shinobi.

"How the fuck do you know anything about me?" She growled. He ignored the urge to chuckle; the girl had a dirty mouth as well. It was entertaining to see Sakura glare up at him with no restraint, and admittedly, it was much more menacing then when she had been staring at his jawline.He was still Uchiha Itachi though, and so he would not be easily intimidated by a sixteen year old kunoichi with pink hair

"You are intimately connected with both my brother and the Jinchuriki. Did you think I would know nothing about the kunoichi so closely related to Sasuke and my target? How presumptuous of you." He replied calmly, watching as she bristled at his brother's name. Clearly, she was upset over Sasuke's leaving Konoha, not that he could blame her for that. The thought that Orochimaru had his younger brother in his grasp disgusted him greatly, and it was annoying that Sasuke had not cared to stay in Konoha, as Itachi had intended him to.

"His name is Naruto, not Jinchuriki, you Uchiha bastard." Sakura fumed, her green eyes sharpening as she bore into his spinning, crimson sharingan. If she had been afraid before, that fear was gone, replaced by burning fury. She was an entertaining kunoichi to be sure.

"Let me assure you, Haruno, that I was legitimately born. My parents were respectable when it came to such things." He murmured. Perhaps it had been too far to bring up his parents in this, because a second later, she threw a chakra enhanced punch right at his face. Apparently, the hokage had taught the girl more than just medical ninjutsu. He tilted his head away from her fist, catching her wrist.

"Yet, you had to gall to murder them! I am sure they were very respectable people!" She shouted sarcastically, chakra charging into her other hand. Her fingers curled together into another fist, which she quickly aimed at his face. Again, he dodged, then caught this hand as well, holding both up by the wrist above her head.

"It seems that I have done something to offend you, though I do not recall doing anything to you specifically." He stated, catching her knee with a free hand as it flew up to his crotch.

"You ruined the life of a beloved teammate, who is now so determined to kill you that he ran away for power. Now you are chasing after my best friend so that your sick, twisted organization can suck the kyuubi out of him, killing him in the process. My entire life has been fucked up by you! I have plenty of reason to be angry!"

He sighed, displeased with her volume, then stretched her arms up higher. She was ignorant, sheltered by her village, like every other shinobi that hailed from Konoha. This was to be expected though, very few knew of his involvement in the Uchiha Massacre, and those that did worked to conceal the truth. He mildly wondered if his mission orders were still kept deep in the Hokage's archives, or if Danzo had gotten his slimy hands on them, destroying the evidence. He would be unsurprised if Danzo had.

"I only do as I am ordered to, Haruno. It has nothing to do with me if you chose to bind yourself to Uzumaki Naruto and my brother. I did not force you to do that, you sealed your own fate by forming attachments to them." He told her calmly. She growled from the back of her throat as she tried to tear herself from him, undoubtedly so she could attempt another attack on him. His hold tightened around her wrists though, preventing Sakura from doing so.

"As long as you are stuck here, let me clear something up for you, Haruno. I did not make you chase after a boy so hellbent on revenge that he ignores you, nor did I put you on the same team as Uzumaki. Do not blame others for your own actions."

Realization struck, and the shock set it, because she knew he was right. With that, Itachi released the flabbergasted kunoichi, who stared at him in a fearful amazement. He did not know why he had felt the need to say so much to the girl, but it had felt necessary. Itachi did not have the time to contemplate further, however, because Hatake finally managed to free himself of the genjutsu he was under. Hiding the shock she just recieved seconds before, Sakura steeled herself into another fighting stance. Itachi saw that his amusement was over, for the time being.

...

Itachi sighed, slipping away from the small fire he had built for Kisame and himself. His partner meant well, or at least he assumed he did, but Itachi honestly did not need Kisame's help. Especially with women. In fact, Itachi did not thing it necessary to get involved with anyone of the opposite sex, no matter how much his partner disagreed.

His life was much too hectic for any sort of relationship with a woman, it had been since he was thirteen. Itachi was not the sort of man to visit a brothel, he had never even participated in any sexual activities in his life. Kisame visited whorehouses regularly, and often told him it would do him good to have a woman. He refused to sleep with any prostitute he was offered though, and ignored his physical desires.

Perhaps this time it was his fault, for mentioning offhandedly something about that kunoichi. Ever since he made that small comment, had said that Haruno Sakura was interesting, Kisame had begun to hound him. While Haruno Sakura was definitely a very beautiful girl, Itachi had no such interest in her. It would be unwise to become involved with her, if he truly intended to atone for his sins at Sasuke's hand. Besides, he was he was five years her senior, and the evil brother of the teammate she idolized.

Though her appearance was appealing, very desirable if he thought of it, it was her eyes that he found most striking, despite himself. In their short encounter, she had been at first terrified of him, but then he realized, as she avoided his sharingan, that she had also been trying to hold something back. Then, when she looked him in the eye, it amazed him. She was just so expressive, even in her anger. Now, because of those glistening eyes, Kisame was pestering him.

At this point, Itachi only wanted a few moments of peace. Kisame was not going to stop his badgering until he gave into his bodily demands. It had only been a month since that fateful meeting in the clearing, and she undoubtedly had forgotten about it. It was best if she had; Itachi did not want to be the sadistic star of her nightmares.

He walked through the thick foliage of the forest floor, only just barely paying attention to his surroundings. Itachi was always on guard, but only by nature. The greenery slowly thinned, until he broke out of the shadows into an open field, the only thing to see for miles in the brilliant moonlight being a lonely tree, growing on top a short hill.

When Itachi realized it just so happened to be a cherry tree, he frowned, a heavy glare setting in. Not needing a reminder of the kunoichi, he started to turn away, with every intention in returning to camp, when he noticed the small, shadowed figure at the base of said tree.

His curiosity piqued, Itachi stepped closer, to inspect the curled-up form. He gasped inaudibly when finding it was Haruno Sakura huddled up in the shadows of the cherry tree, crying softly to herself. He felt that he was intruding by being there, but he silently wondered what could have happened to reduce the bold kunoichi to tears.

With not much over a foot between them, he kneeled down, eyeing the sobbing girl with an overload of questions to ask. Her eyes shot up to his in fury; she clearly was not in the mood to deal with him.

"Go away, Uchiha. I do not want to deal with your goddamned paperwork when I get back." She seethed, her teeth clenched together, as if she was trying to prevent herself from saying something more. Personally, he could not care less what she said, as an S-class criminal, he was well used to being insulted. Maybe she thought he would torture her for a mere snide remark. That hardly fit his true profile, but she would not be aware of this point, as she had only spoken to him once.

"I have my own paperwork?" He drawled amusedly, only adding to her anger.

"There will be plenty of paperwork to be done, after I bring home you goddamned head!" She screeched with indignation. He sighed at the familiarity of the situation, catching her wrist as she threw a punch. He smirked to himself, giving her a look that clearly said she should have learned such actions would not work on him in their last meeting.

"That was hardly polite, Haruno." He stated, letting his smirk show. She growled under her breath with pure irritation.

"Right, because you are simply the epitome of proper etiquette." She bit back sarcastically.

"It was something instilled in me by my mother at a very young age." He returned solemnly. Sakura flinched at his tone, and he knew she was wondering how he could even dare mention his perished mother, after being the one to kill her. It was understandable that this disgusted her, that he was so seemingly comfortable speaking of them in light conversation. She did not bother to reply, but instead ripped her arm back to wrap it around herself. He watched this small, self-protective action, then was reminded of the state he had found her in.

Stifling a yawn, as he had not slept for a few days, Itachi turned and sat next to her against the tree. The look she gave him was classic. Her eyes bulged, and then her jaw slackened, hanging somewhere in her lap. Sakura was absolutely horrified by the idea of him sitting next to her. He supposed he could not blame her, her kunoichi instincts must have been screaming bloody murder for her to run.

"I have no violent purposes here, Haruno, but if it makes you feel better, I can remove my cloak." He muttered, crossing his legs lazily. She said nothing to this, crossing her arms more tightly. Itachi held back a snort, then slowly began to unbutton his Akatsuki cloak, gaging her reaction. He was surprised she had nothing to say about him sitting next to her. Perhaps she already knew it would be low of him to lie, and that he had no intention in harming her.

Sure, he was irritated with her because of Kisame's pestering, but that was not truly her fault. That did not change the fact that she was entertaining, and though he had no desire to deflower her, she was still a beautiful girl. To add onto that, she was no doubt the girl Sasuke intended to continue the Uchiha line with, when the time came. For his younger brother's sake, she was someone worth protecting. He only hoped he could do this without giving away his cover.

Itachi slipped his arms through the silky sleeves of his Akatsuki cloak, setting it next to him in a neat, folded pile. She glared at him, and the fact that he only wore a netting shirt, which was basically pointless. In turn, she seemed to glare at herself for noticing his physique, and was undoubtedly annoyed for him showing off so much muscle.

While skimming his masculine form, her eyes finally fell to the small, flame-like, black tattoo on his upper arm. The symbol of the ANBU black operatives. He did not understand her bewilderment, it was common knowledge that he had once been an ANBU captain, so it was natural for him to have the flaming tattoo.

"You never had your tattoo removed." She muttered, poking the skin unthinkingly. a jolt of something unfamiliar shocked his body, and he was uncertain of how to react. It was strange for someone to willingly touch him, considering is infamous reputation.

"I never was discharged from ANBU." He replied cryptically, allowing her to interpret that as she wished to. Technically, he was still in the middle of a mission instigated by the Sandaime, and it would only end with his life. It was simple, really; infiltrate the Akatsuki, then feed Konoha information through Jiraya. It was created only so he could remain useful to the village after the massacre, and it helped reinforce the facade that he was evil. Sasuke seemed to buy it, at least. That was all he needed.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She whined, poking the tattoo again. He frowned, unsure of what he should tell her. It meant as he implied; though Itachi was listed in every published bingo book as an S-class criminal, the truth of the matter was, he was still a registered ANBU captain. It was unnecessary to remove the tattoo.

"There is much you do not know about your village. Your jonin sensei was wise in telling you to look beneath the underneath." He told her after a pregnant pause, crossing his arms to brace the night cold. She huffed to herself, then decided to ignore him. Itachi knew that she was hoping that he would leave peacefully after a while, but he, however, had no such intention in leaving merely because she payed him no attention.

"You were crying earlier. Is there a particular reason for that?" He broke the silence. Her muscles tensed, and he knew this meant she had no desire to appease his curiosity.

Much to his surprise, she replied. "You Uchiha are a bunch of fucking assholes."

Itachi was at first offended, though he did not give her any reaction to prove this, until he realized something crucial. Sakura had included Sasuke in the insult, which could mean only one thing. Sakura had somehow made contact with his younger brother.

"I am going to assume you were angered by my foolish younger brother when finding him." He stated, watching as her head flipped around and her eyes flashed to his in fury. Itachi wondered if she was going to attack him again, and was amazed when she did not, and when tears started to spurt from her eyes instead.

"Yes, it was your goddamned brother, you prick! Do you know what that bastard did? He, like the stupid ass he is, fucking attacked me! I lived my life for him, I worked hard so I could be of some use to him, but he fucking attacks me! I hope that when he finally finds you, that you kill his dumb ass!" She ranted animatedly, her tears uncontrollable. Itachi listened to this, trying to remain unbiased, and found himself unsurprised, but disgusted at the same time.

If Sasuke had really attacked his own comrades, then he was no longer the boy he had sacrificed everything to save. Sasuke had lost his innocence, and the thought of Orochimaru being the one to corrupt him was saddening. This changed nothing though, and if nothing else, that was reason enough for him to die at his younger brother's hands, for failing him so miserably.

Her anger was lost as she continued, making way for grief. "Then, when I got home from that mission, I find out that my parents were killed in an explosion, courtesy of that damned blond terrorist. They were already fucking buried, and I was told that bastard blew them up in retaliation for killing Sasori. I never even got to say goodbye, or see them before they were buried."

At first, he had not understood why she was sharing so much with him, but now he did. Very few people understood how it felt to have their parents killed, and he did, though from the opposite side of the spectrum. He had been the one to kill his parents, so he knew fully well how it felt. Sasuke was probably the one who she wanted to talk to about this, but considering the fact that she was angry with him, and how stubborn she was as a person, she could not do that. Uzumaki was out of the picture, he would never understand how it felt to lose something he never had in the first place.

"If it is any consolation, I can comprehend how you feel, losing your parents. Though it must sound sick and twisted to you." He said softly, turning away from her glistening face to look up at the sky. He like clear nights such as these, it reminded him of the times he used to sit up on the roof in the Uchiha compound, when he did not have a care in the world.

"It is not twisted, it is fucked up. I am sure you understand, from that freak's point of view. Is there a little club reserved for disturbed bastards who think it is fine to murder people, or is that basically what Akatsuki is?" She shouted, her fury lashing out again. He had to hold down the urge to chuckle at this; Haruno Sakura seemed to be prone to being irrational. This was, of course, amusing to Itachi.

Instead, he sighed. "Most do not take pleasure in killing, Haruno, even within Akatsuki. It was much more personal to Deidara than you think. As far as I am aware, their relationship was more than platonic."

Her nose scrunched up in disgust, and Itachi could not have agreed more. The thought of two men joined together in the way Sasori and Deidara had been was somewhat disturbing, and to be frank, unnatural. After the idea sunk in, Sakura recalled what else he had said, that even Akatsuki did not enjoy taking the lives of other people. Itachi had left her to assume that, at length, he was not cold-hearted, like everyone liked to think.

"He killed my parents to avenge his dead lover?" She seethed, her beautiful and burning eyes meeting his impassive, black ones. He knew this was something that would displease her, but Itachi nodded his head anyway, as it was the truth. A frown marred her pale face, showing how much this new information irked her. Sakura said nothing though, instead following his gaze to the starry sky.

"Why here?" He asked softly. Sakura's eyes dropped to her hands, which were shaking with stress.

"The first time I came here, I was three years old. My mother brought me here for my birthday, and told me this tree was my gift. Apparently, she was the one to plant it as a child. My father had proposed to her under this tree, and because I was born in spring, and this tree was in full bloom, I was named 'Sakura.' When I became a genin, my mother took me here again, and told me that before I ever brought a man home to my family, I would have to bring hi here first. I feel closer to them here, under my tree, than in that damned cemetery."

This place was sacred to her, and Itachi was certain he was the first one she had ever sat with under the tree, besides her mother. He wondered if she had ever wanted to bring someone else there, his brother perhaps, but knew it would be pointless now. She was just as alone as himself. He refused to think of it as some sort of sign, he was undeserving of any such attention. He had no time to apologize for his intrusion though, because a moment later, Kisame emerged from the forest.

"Itachi! What the hell are you doing, sitting under a fuckin' tree? What did you need to ditch camp for, to think about that goddamned kunoichi again?" Kisame questioned, walking up to the tree. Itachi did not reply to this, nor did he look to gage Sakura's reaction. It was undoubtable that she would figure out she was that goddamned kunoichi. Kisame understood why his partner had seemingly ignored him when he got closer, because next to him sat the girl he presumed to be Haruno Sakura. Kisame nearly laughed, but held it in after the dark look he got from Itachi.

"Goodbye, Haruno. You should return to Konoha, unless you want someone else discovering your tree." He murmured, grabbing his cloak and standing. She sighed, following suite.

"You are different from I thought you would be, Uchiha. If you had never mercilessly massacred you entire clan and tortured my teammates for the past seven years, I wound not have minded knowing you better." She commented. Itachi blinked at her statement, and this time Kisame could not restrain the laughter as he patted the disgruntled Itachi on the back.

"I never expected your partner to be a ten-foot sardine either." She added smugly. Then she froze, as if she had come across an epiphany.

Itachi could not help it, with the comparison of Kisame to a sardine and the myriad of emotions she was displaying on her face as she figured out she was that goddamned kunoichi, Itachi let out a soft chuckle. Both Sakura and Kisame stared at him in shock, neither of them having expected to hear him display feeling.

"That was... enlightening. I have no doubt I will see you again, Uchiha, fish-face." Sakura mumbled, turning in the direction of Konoha to hide her embarrassment. She disappeared in a puff of smoke, bewildered by the entire encounter.

"You should have kissed her." Kisame stated, twisting around to return to their camp. Itachi sighed, having no retort to give.

AN: Please review!