"So, Forehead… not to be a bitch or anything but…For how long are you going to keep hiding in my room?" Ino's voice trailed as she plopped on her soft mattress, staring hard at her best friend and rival. Sakura glared at her not saying a word as she pulled the blanket tighter around herself. Ino sighed.

"You passed! Shouldn't you be out there celebrating and not curled on my bed and using my blanket as a defense shield!" The blonde reprimanded Sakura and made a move to yank the annoying, fluffy material from her body. Just like a cornered dog Sakura barred her teeth at her friend.

Ino retreated her hand.

Her eye twitched as she glared at the gloomy presence on her bed.

Another sigh.

"You need to leave tonight." Sakura raised an eyebrow in question.

"I'm serious."

"..."

"Kiba and I are having dinner together to celebrate our first anniversary." Sakura regarded her friend with a blank expression. Ino felt her already frail patience dissipating.

"There will be no clothes involved at the end of the night Forehead." Ino gave her a pointed look and Sakura blushed, burying deeply under the blanket. Her eyes shifted to the closet door then back to the Yamanaka seething in front of her.

"No! You cannot hide inside my closet!" Ino snarled, her fisted hands shaking in rage. Sakura pouted.

"God damn it! Is it because Itachi invited you to dance when you went to celebrate your reinstatement as a shinobi?" Sakura's eyes widen in surprise and stared mouth agape at smirking woman.

"Oh yes. I know everything about your little stiff, robotic performance. I thought you were a better dancer than that. Was being held in Itachi's arms so overwhelming for your tiny, little brain Forehead?" Ino's smirk turned into a cheshire grin when she noticed the prominent blush colouring Sakura's cheeks.

"Or was it maybe the way he keeps walking you home or joining you for lunch on your breaks." A whimper was heard from under the blanket as the blonde kept enumerating her weird encounters with the raven haired male. She wasn't supposed to know about all that.

"Isn't it curious how he seems to be everywhere around you lately?" Ino continued and leaned closer to the frozen medic. She smirked to herself preparing to deliver her final blow. As much as she would have wanted to probb the woman for more juicy details regarding her relationship with the Uchiha, she needed to get Sakura out of her home and prepare for the much awaited date tonight.

"How about I cancel the dinner and you and I can have a nice girl talk about it?" She dragged herself closer and draped her arm over the pinkette's stiff shoulders. A horrified gasp escaped Sakura's lips as she turned her frightened gaze towards a grinning Ino.

Sakura shook her head violently before attempting to leap from the bed. She regretted wrapping the blanket around herself as she tripped over it and stumbled to the floor with a menacingly grinning Ino looming over her.

Being a sensor type has always proved to be useful for Ino. Especially now, she thought as she sensed the chackra signature of a certain ANBU captain near her home. She launched forward and grasped the ends of the blanket, trapping Sakura in. As fast as she could, Ino run to her front door and yanked it open coming face to face with a mildly surprised Uchiha Itachi, right hand raised and ready to knock.

"Here!" Ino shoved the hand-made blanket bag containing the body of her best friend and slammed the door closed not even bothering to greet the man. Itachi blinked in confusion his gaze falling to whatever it was he was holding in his arms.

The squirming of whoever was wrapped in the blanket caused one corner of the material to fall and a mop of tousled pink hair surfaced. Emerald eyes stared into amused charcoal orbs and Itachi watched as a slender hand came out and grabbed the bed cover. In one swift movement in was draped back over the girl's face, cocooning herself away from the world.

Itachi sweatdropped before shaking his head, a deep chuckle rumbling through his torso as he cradled the woman into his arms careful not to drop her and made his way towards the nearest dango restaurant.

After watching the scene unfold before her very eyes with a smile on her face, Ino allowed the curtain to fall and opened the door to her fridge ready to prepare a delicious dinner. She would have to thank Shisui later for all the information he had provided her with.

Two days earlier.

"What guarantee do I have that your intel is genuine?" Blue eyes narrowed in suspicion as Ino eyed the smirking Uchiha in front of her. Shisui shook his head in fake hurt manner reprimanding the blonde for her harsh words.

"Now, now Ino-chan have I ever offered you untruthful information?" Ino regarded him with caution for another minute before sighing in defeat. Shisui always provided her with reliable information. She didn't have any reason to doubt him now. But still…

"Why would you tell me something like this?" A shadow flickered over his eyes as not long ago memories resurfaced.

"I'm sorry, can you please repeat that?" Uchiha Shisui asked in disbelief as he stared at the ANBU's surrounding him. The ANBU captain took a step forward and repeated his instructions.

"Uchiha Shisui, under the orders of our Hokage we are to escort you to the hospital and keep you under surveillance until the physical procedures that you are scheduled for are completed."

"And what physical procedures would those be?" The Uchiha glared at the four shinobi circling him, cursing under his breath for exhausting his chakra reserves during his training. Voice laced with amusement and something akin to compassion, the captain spoke again.

"You are scheduled for a cystoscopy and rectal examination. Haruno-san's orders." The other ANBU operatives snickered in response. Shisui's eyes bulged out of their sockets remembering the sadic smile the woman had on her face when she wrote his chart. He made a move to flee but was too slow and his slim body was tackled to the floor, the muscular figure of the ANBU quickly incapacitating him.

"That damn witch!" Shisui cursed as he struggled against his captors, dragging him to the hospital.

His left eye twitched madly and a evil grin distorted his handsome features. Ino felt a chill run down her spine.

"No reason at all…" He drawled his voice and cackled maniacally before straightening his pose and bowing in farewell. Shisui body flickered leaving a speechless Yamanaka behind.

Present Day

The sweet fragrance of the anko dumplings presented in front of her had Sakura's mouth salivate. If it weren't for the fact that she was sitting in front of Uchiha Itachi, her esteemed taichou and the man who had more or less carried her around Konoha streets folded in a blanket she would have stuffed her mouth with the sweet delicacy. But as it was, Sakura resigned herself to staring at her plate.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened back at Yamanaka-san?" Sakura's eye twitched in annoyance at being reminded of it. She glanced at his delicate finger pointing at the offending object, carefully folded beside her, and Sakura shrugged.

"She wanted me out." Temptation and the deep grumble of her stomach got the best of her and Sakura reached for a stick with dumplings. She carefully raised it to her mouth and snatched the top one, licking the excess sauce from her lips. Itachi subtly gulped.

"Hn."

A strangely comfortable silence fell between the two, each savouring their desserts. Although Sakura still found their repeated meetings strange and to some degree creepy, Itachi's presence put her at ease. And that had her on edge more than anything. She ran her hand through her hair and sighed tiredly.

"What is the meaning of this Itachi-san?" She addressed the man in front of her leaving out the usual 'taichou' or 'Uchiha-san' she always used. Her mind was too exhausted to care about formalities. On the other side of the table, Itachi's lips twitched into a small smile, obviously pleased by her slip of tongue.

"You looked like you needed a treat." Itachi sent her a small smirk, amusement dancing once again in his eyes. The casual usage of her first name didn't go unnoticed by Sakura and she felt her irritation building up.

"Not this." She pointed at the table they sat at. "What is the meaning of ALL this?" She growled waving her hands around as she glared at her companion expectantly. Itachi merely raised an eyebrow and casually sipped his tea.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No!" Sakura snapped and fisted her hands on the table. With the elegance only Uchiha's seemed to posses Itachi placed his tea cup back, wiped his lips on a napkin and leaned forward, his hands clasped in front of his face, hiding his smirk.

"I am merely courting you Sakura."

'Say what?!'

Itachi almost laughed at the dumbfounded look on her face. Sakura stared at him, her eyes begging her to blink.

"Thank you for the meal Uchiha-san." She simply said and stood up. She turned on her heel and was out of the restaurant faster than one could blink. Itachi sighed and paid for their consummation before giving chase.

Sakura only made it halfway to the hospital when a strong hand grabbed her and her back was slammed into a wall. Hard. She groaned as pain shot through her but didn't have the time to retaliate as a muscular body was pressed against her pinning her to the spot.

"For how long are you going to have me chase after you Sa-ku-ra?" Itachi growled into her ear, his husky voice making her insides twist pleasingly. She tried to break free and push him but his strength and the way he was holding her hands behind her back made her escape impossible.

"Let go of me!" She demanded, raising and turning her head enough so she could glare at him. Itachi chuckled darkly his grip on her hands tightening painfully. He rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I'm a very patient man Sakura, but even I have my limits." He moved his head and looked her in the eyes with so much passion that Sakura felt her mouth go dry. Instinctively she parted her lips and her tongue glided over their surface. Her movements switched Itachi's focus to her mouth and his gaze darkened. Searching her eyes for any sign of resistance he leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers before pressing his lips over hers in a gentle kiss. Unable to fully comprehend what was happening Sakura stood there, frozen in place.

"Kaa-chan, what are onii-chan and onee-chan over there doing?" The innocent query of the child snapped the two shinobi from their trance and Itachi swiftly distanced himself from a blushing, flustered Sakura and puffed out. Left alone in a dark alley with a child and mother staring at her weirdly Sakura faked a smile and stretched her muscles pretending that she was in the middle of training.

"You can't afford to be out of shape." She laughed awkwardly and watched how the woman pulled her son closer and quickly fled the scene. Once they were out of sight Sakura sighed and did the only thing she could think of in this sort of situation. She slammed her chakra infused fist into the wall, making a new door for the dining room of nice elderly couple.

Sakura groaned.

Well fuck. She was back to destroying stuff.

Edited! Yay! Many thanks to NJ Sandman for helping correct this!