Hey! A little one to two-shot to commemorate the Halloween spirit ^-^ This is a sequel to Christmas With the Uchihas' and New Years With the Uchihas'. I was going to post this in October but given my uncertainty of wanting to post another chapter or not, I'm just going to add it now so it's still within season if I do want to add another installment

Summary: Sakura didn't know how it had happened, but somehow Ino managed to sucker her into some terribly obscene and slutty halloween attire. But Itachi wasn't complaining -at least, not at first. [Ita x Saku] [Sasu x Ino x Shis] [Naru x Hin] [Ten x Neji]

Disclaimer: I do now own Naruto or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form

It was that time of the year again. No, not Christmas, it hadn't been that long yet. Almost, but not quite. A different holdiay, but one that still filled the hearts of kids and adults alike with happiness -and teeth with cavities.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, it was finally Halloween, and a lot had happened within the span of the year. Some of which involved a very happy, very pregnant Mikoto, who, as Sasuke began saying, got "knocked up" by his Otou-san after the Christmas Party the year before. And who could ever blame her for being so happy anyway, when her very dear eldest son was now very happily in a relationship with the pink-haired medic she had come to love like a daughter and she now had another little boy (now named Sora), one which she was adamant on dressing up everyday until Halloween? Sasuke seemed broodier than usual, but even he could not deny that he was excited about having a little brother to call him aniki. He just didn't like the fact that Sakura was over all the time now, and not even to hang out with him (god damn it, that was his precious and most innocent teammate, and it sickened him to think everything that she and Itachi were doing -just the thought gave him goosebumps, even if Sakura ademently argued that it was neither his or Naruto's bussiness, although if she were being honest with herself the thought of doing anything more than the passionately heated kisses she and Itachi already shared was too much for her to handle).

But we're getting off track now. On this particularly chilly afternoon, Mikoto would be throwing a party -yes, you guessed it, a Halloween party, costumes or no entry, and our favorite pink-haired medic was just getting off work at the hospital, her shift cut short by a few hours so that she could shower and help Mikoto set up decorations (because let's be honest, now that Mikoto had a child to take care of, she needed more help, and Sakura was more than willing to lend a hand).

"Mikoto, I'm home!" Sakura shouted as she entered the Uchiha Compound -not that she lived there or anything, and as such couldn't really say "home", but Sakura was over practically every day, if not because of Itachi, then because she was hanging out with Naruto and Sasuke, and if not because of that because she was helping Mikoto take care of the baby.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Sakura could hear Mikoto's response.

And so Sakura walked towards the kitchen, seeing Mikoto busily preparing some food. "What can I help you with?" Sakura looked around at the mess, not even bothering with a formal greeting -they had much to do, after all, and didn't really have time to sit down and chit-chat.

"Anything and everything." Mikoto let out a hearty laugh. "But first thing's first. Itachi-kun has arrived early. Go greet him." And without so much as batting an eyelash, Mikoto was ushering Sakura out of the kitchen. "He should be in his room right now." The glint of happiness in her eyes did not betray her feelings, especially upon witnessing Sakura's reaction.

"H-Hai..." And so, with a slight flush on her cheeks, Sakura turned, intent on greeting her boyfriend as Mikoto had ordered. Yet, she didn't have to walk much further, for she could hear footsteps, and feel his presence approaching from down the hall.

Sakura caught one glimpse of Itachi and just about died. If not because he was wearing the most scrumptious tux with a red cape, his Sharingan eyes ablaze with that sexy smoldering gaze, then because he was carrying Sora in front of him, dressed exactly as Itachi currently was, minus the Sharingan eyes, of course.

Frankly, she didn't know whether she should die of laughter or get caught up in Itachi's own intensity. "Sakura" he greeted her, knowing fully well the turmoil that she was mentally dealing with, hoping to snap her out of her thoughts so that she didn't indeed end up laughing at him (curse his mother for making him dress up, and especially for deciding that he and his other ototou had to match).

Sakura's eyes snapped from the child to Itachi's own, smiling. "Hi. How was your mission?"

He approached her then, lowering his head to sneak a chaste kiss on Sakura's lips (an act that hadn't stopped making Sakura's toes tingle, mind you). "Uneventful"

Suddenly the baby began to squirm, and Sakura and Itachi both looked down at him. "He's just as disgusted to see you two as I am." Sasuke scoffed.

Sakura blinked. "Oh, Sasuke-kun! I didn't even see you." she smiled sheepishly.

"Of course you didn't" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You never pay any attention to me when Itachi's in the room" Was it just Sakura or did he sound a little resentful? "Come on Sora, I'll help you cope. I understand that disgusted nausea that has taken over you." Sakura could have laughed at Sasuke's beyond childish antics, as he suddenly took the baby from Itachi's arms and promptly left, although not forgetting to turn to send a despicable glare at his aniki as he always did whenever he saw him and Sakura together, before exiting the living room.

"I'm glad you're back." she was hardly fazed by Sasuke's departure as she focused her attention back onto Itachi, flashing him a grin, her fingers entangling with Itachi's own.

"Hn"

"I'm assuming Mikoto made you dress up?" Sakura allowed herself a moment of pure relaxation as she leaned into her significant other, as she indulged herself in some company with, dare she say it, her boyfriend (even now, ten months later, it was still weird to say), who she had not seen for about two weeks.

"There was no escaping Okaa-san's wrath." Itachi was not afraid to admit it -Sakura of all people knew how fearsome Mikoto could be if she truly wanted something, after all.

Sakura laughed at this. "It seems... fitting." she smiled. Itachi raised an eyebrow in question. A blood-sucking immortal being that had no reflection in a mirror seemed fitting? "They're said to be very mystifying and alluring. Hypnotic almost, with very charming good looks." Sakura easily explained. After ten months, she had grown accustomed to complimenting her own partner, so it didn't take much of an effort, she was thankful for, even though Itachi's mere presence was enough to make her go a little hotter.

Itachi smirked. "I wish I could say the same for you."

Sakura laughed, looking down at her attire. She was a witch, a long, simple black gown, with seemingly ripped hems on both the sleeves and the bottom of the dress, topped with a witches hat on top of her head. "Well I thank you for that."

"Sakura, ready to put up the decorations?!" They could both hear Mikoto's voice from the living room before Itachi could respond.

Sakura sighed, slightly wishing that she had more time to spend with Itachi, but at least he was here now, safe in Konoha, where she no longer had to worry about him getting killed or anything like that. There would be time to see him later, she assured herself. "Alright, well, duty calls. I'm assuming you're going to rest for a bit?" Sakura asked, more of a demand than a question.

"Hn" he gave a curt nod. It was a habit of sorts, at least one that Sakura had started and heavily promoted, to have Itachi rest for at least an hour or two after returning from a mission. Kami knew being ANBU Captain was a very stressful job, after all, one that Itachi did not take lightly, so by the end of the mission, Itachi was fairly taxed and definitely needed some time to relax and recover.

"Alright, I better see you at the party." And so she kissed Itachi goodbye, a quick kiss, before they parted ways and both walked down opposite sides of the hallway.

Ino sighed. This wasn't her fault, the reason for her tardiness, she swore. Not that Sakura would ever sympathize with her anyway. 'So much for helping, Ino-pig' she could already hear Sakura's condescending tone. Tucking her thoughts aside as she reached the Uchiha Compound, Ino allowed a bright smile to adorn her features, an attempt to defuse the anger that would soon take over Sakura, she was sure.

"Sorry I'm late! I got caught up in the Flower Shop!" Ino stormed through the Uchiha main household, now accustomed to the house and familiar enough to be okay with just walking in. After all, ever since Sakura started dating that beautiful Uchiha meat, as Ino put it, and Mikoto had given birth to that adorable little baby, Ino had been around often to either care for the baby or hang out with Mikoto and Sakura. Plus, it didn't hurt that that cute cousin of Itachi's was always around whenever Itachi was here too, she reasoned (not that Ino was actually crushing on him, he just happened to be good for some laughs, and it didn't hurt that he was cute to boot).

"Don't worry, you only practically missed out on everything." she could her Sakura's scorn, but she ignored her pink-haired friend as best she could.

"I bring treats though." Ino was hoping her assortment of cookies and other goodies would make up for her lack of punctuality. And, lo and behold, it did. In her hands, nearly stacked as high as her head, were boxes and plastic containers filled with all sorts of treats. On her back was a backpack, which Sakura knew to contain her costume, for Ino declared that she would prepare here at the Uchiha household so that she didn't have to walk around outside in an indecent costume (and why had Sakura been the only one to think her weird for doing so? Mikoto thought it perfectly normal!).

"Are those red-velvet? That's my favorite!" Mikoto gleefully ran towards the Yamanaka, all thoughts of Ino's tardiness out the window, helping her with her full hands. "I'll put these in the kitchen for now. Thank you Ino-chan." And so Mikoto quickly left towards the kitchen, leaving the Yamanaka heiress with her best friend, not that she had actually been able to look at her until now (she had actually been avoiding eye contact in fear of her temper).

And when she finally was able to see her, she just stared... And stared... and stared.

"Sakura..."

Sakura could almost groan, already hearing the disdain in her best friend's voice, and she could only ask Kami what Ino was judging her for this time. All her anger was immediately thrown out the window at Ino's tone, and she was now growing increasingly more wary. Was it because her hair wasn't even done? You couldn't really blame her for that -she had hardly had time to get ready what with all the decorations they had to put up (and no thanks to Ino, they had a lot more to do than they had bargained for).

Ino sighed. "Come on Sakura..." she repeated her name as she shook her head. "What is that and why does it lack even an ounce of sex appeal?" she pointed towards Sakura's current attire.

Sakura blinked. Once, twice. "Excuse me?"

"Where are you boobs Sakura?!" she approached her friend then, a scrutinizing gaze on her face as she lowered her head and stared intently at Sakura's chest. "I know you have some, but I can't even tell with that thing." she proclaimed.

The intent gaze made Sakura fluster quickly, almost as if Ino was truly checking out her assets, even though she knew that to be impossible through the black, high-collared costume she currently had on. "I-Ino!" she stammered, "cut it out!"

In response, Ino sighed as she stood straight once more. "Sakura, you're dating the hottest man alive and on the one night we can be slutty without being judged, you choose to wear that of all things?" she stressed as she looked at Sakura as if she were a child that had just broken a very valuable antique vase.

Sakura glared. She hated it when Ino used the "dating the hottest man alive" card. It only ever got her into trouble, she knew. "I've been double-shifting at the hospital for the past three weeks. I haven't had time, or even thought about going to buy a new costume Ino-pig. Plus, some of us aren't gifted money like you." she glared. "I have bills to pay -and by bills I mean the bills that Naruto always somehow ends up throwing on me in addition to my own."

"I'm glad to know you didn't buy this then, but where the hell did it come from." she glared at the costume, completely ignoring Sakura's complaints about her lack of funds -it was her fault anyway, for allowing Naruto (and occasionally Sasuke, although she would never understand that one) to mooch off of her so often. Deep down inside, Ino had a feeling that Sakura felt like she had to, a form of apology for always ditching them for Itachi -something which was perfectly understandable to Ino, if you just gave the elder Uchiha male one look.

"I bought it three years ago." Sakura shrugged. "We were doing a costume party at the hospital, and I was dirt poor. It was the best I could do." Sakura shrugged.

"Three years ago?" Ino raised an eyebrow, and Sakura nodded in confirmation. "You mean back when your breasts were the size of raisins? It's no wonder you got the loosest costume in the world. God knows how much judgement you would have received for trying to show cleavage and having none."

Sakura glared, her blush deepening. "Well I'm so sorry some of us can't be as gifted as Hinata. Lay of it already Ino. There's no time to go buy one now." she huffed.

But Ino simply laughed at Sakura, and suddenly, she decided she didn't like the way that Ino was looking at her. "Oh, my dear Sakura-chan," As a side-note, Sakura made a mental reminder that whenever Ino so much as dared call her "Sakura-chan," that she should run... fast. "You are so silly," she continued. "I always come prepared, or don't you remember? You really should thank me -you're so lucky you have me."

Sakura sighed, and even though there was no escape and Ino was already dragging her down the hallway to the spare room where Sakura, and sometimes Ino too, stayed, she allowed herself to mutter "I was hoping you wouldn't be this time around..."

"Shush, the party will start any minute now, I need to fix you up before then."

"Ino no, come on... I thought New Years was bad enough! Don't make me do this. I'm already dating him, I don't need this in my life." Sakura complained, a slight pout gracing her features.

"Sakura, you may have attracted him with the bait but you need to make sure he still stays hooked!" Ino emphasized, as if she were a love guru -which Ino swore she was.

"Ino-pig, my boyfriend is not a trout. More importantly, did you just call me a worm?" Sakura seemed completely un-amused.

"Shhh, minor details Sakura." she brushed her aside. "All men love meat, Sakura. They love flesh; skin." she winked.

"..."

"..."

"Ino... I'm changing."

"No you're not." Ino grinned in glee, staring at her nails as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Ino... where's my clothes?"

"Ohhey, look, the party started..."

"Ino! Pig get back here! INO!"

"Alright Sakura, we've been in here for an hour now. Everyone will start to wonder where we're at soon enough. Just get out there and have a ball." Ino tried to reason with her pink-haired friend.

"Ino I hate you sometimes." Sakura huffed indignantly.

"Maybe so, but look how boring and uneventful your life would be without me! I'd like to think I'm the sole reason you and Itachi are together right now!" she proclaimed. "So shouldn't you be thanking me and following my advice on how to keep your man?"

Sakura scoffed but didn't comment. "Ino please, just give me my damn witch costume."

"Witch costume? What are you talking about?" Ino had a puzzled look on her face. "Ohhhh, you mean that thing I threw in the garbage bin out back?"

"...God damnit Ino-pig, I paid good money for that."

"Really? I couldn't tell..." Ino scoffed. Frankly, she wouldn't have paid a dollar for the costume.

Sakura glared a fearsome glare at Ino. "I am not playing this game with you Ino-pig." she declared indignantly.

"That's fine. I'm willing to wait as long as it takes. Not like I have a boyfriend out there that I haven't seen in two weeks who I'm desperate to see." and so Ino leaned back on the bed, not a care in the world. It would only be a matter of time before Sakura cracked.

Her bright blue eyes clashed with those of Sakura's emerald. "You're the worst."

"...I'm strangely okay with that." Ino seemed to genuinely contemplate Sakura's statement, much to Sakura's chagrin.

"No, I mean it. You're the absolute worst."

"Hai, Hai."

"...Did I mention I hate you?"

"You're just stalling now, Sakura." Ino let out a laugh. "Come on, trust me, you won't be the only one dressed like this."

"Well no duh. Look at you." Sakura glared.

"Other than me." Ino rolled her eyes as she got up and tugged on Sakura's hand. "Come on, let's hurry, lest all those red velvet cookies I made are all eaten by Naruto or Kiba."

And maybe Sakura had to admit that she really did want at least one of those before they disappeared.

Begrudgingly, Sakura had to admit that Ino was right -she was most definitely not the only one dressed revealingly. Hell, even cute little Hinata (although there was nothing cute about her current attire or little about her bust size, clearly) had this Red Riding Hood costume on, one which accentuated her big bust size (No, Sakura was NOT jealous, she swore), and was short enough to make her legs look ridiculously long, even with the thigh-high socks. And don't even let Sakura get started with those heels -she had never seen Hinata wear such a thing, and she was sure that Ino had somehow tainted her favorite Hyuga friend if only for the sake of attracting her knuckle-headed blonde friend (although this she could not blame Hinata for, for it had been several years now and the blonde had yet to even notice Hinata's more than obvious affections towards him).

But more importantly than that, where was Itachi?

Itachi let out a microscopic sigh from his location in the living room, alongside his Okaa-san, Sora sitting on his lap. It was bad enough that he was constantly surrounded by women flirting with him -now he had women of all ages simultaneously flirting and ogling the little bundle of vampiric joy on his lap, strapped in front of him by a baby backpack.

And as miserable as he was, Mikoto thought herself a genius for deciding the match-up. Next year would be Sasuke's turn, she decided wickedly. "Okaa-san, where is Sakura?" he questioned, eyeing his mother.

Instead of responding immediately, Mikoto allowed herself some time to laugh. "Ino-chan thought her outfit unsuitable for your eyes so she went to go fix Sakura up."

Itachi raised an eyebrow in confusion, but said nothing more. Hopefully it wouldn't be too long -and what was wrong with Sakura's outfit anyway? It was a Halloween outfit, was it not?

Unfortunately, his prayers had not been answered. the seconds turned into minutes and the minutes turned into a damn near hour, and Itachi's patience was starting to wear thin. He had made sure he would be punctual to the party, if only for Sakura's sake (and his own, truthfully speaking, for his mother would give him an earful for not allowing her to flaunt off her matching sons, and regardless of his mother's wants and needs, he desperately wished to be around Sakura -he had missed her so, after all).

If he searched for her chakra, he could still feel her locked inside the room with her Yamanaka friend, but what in Kami's name were they doing that required so much time? But suddenly he sensed movement, and was glad to identify that they were finally exiting the room.

And so he got up, baby in tow, for apparently they were a paired costume, excused himself from the hoard of women, ranging from the age of sixteen to forty, and promptly left, entering the dance floor so that he could meet his significant other halfway.

But he would have never expected what he saw.

There she was, clad in what could only really be described as a very small, very revealing nurse's outfit, the zipper not even zipped up all the way, giving a clear view to Sakura's cleavage; the outfit so tight it could be second skin, honestly, and so small any small slip on Sakura's behalf would mean a show for anyone who happened to be looking the right direction, at the right angle.

He had seen Sakura in the hospital, dressed in her usual medical attire, donning the long white coat, and he had to admit, he much rather liked this one.

Instinctively, the Sharingan which had only been activated for pictures and nothing more turned back on yet again, as his eyes looked at her up and down, memorizing every single curve, every single inch of skin.

"Don't get too excited or blatantly insecure or anything, but I think your hunk of Uchiha meat is giving you the sex eyes right now." Ino whispered from alongside Sakura, nudging her in the ribs with her elbow as she sort of inclined her head towards Itachi's direction.

At the mention, Sakura jumped slightly, clearly startled, as her eyes roamed the crowds until they finally met Itachi's own Sharingan gaze, and the fact that he was indeed giving her the sex eyes made her want to melt. Before she could complain to Ino that she felt highly uncomfortable, suddenly she was walking away. "Oooh, look, there's still some red-velvet cookies! I'm bookin' it Sakura! Have fun." and with one more wink Ino had all but disappeared, just as Itachi was approaching her, although Sakura couldn't tell if there was a secret sexual innuendo to her words or not.

She greeted him with a hesitant smile, her eyes characteristically falling towards the baby in front of Itachi, too embarrassed to look Itachi in the eye. At least the humor in their outfits would give her something to tease him about, because she knew he'd be doing some of that all night.

"You changed." he stated, one of his hands reaching out to grasp her own.

"How nice of you to have noticed." Sakura rolled her eyes slightly. "Through no choice of my own." she admitted after a long sigh.

"Ahh. Okaa-san informed me. Yamanaka-san's doing, right?"

"Hai." Sakura sighed. Although Itachi didn't say it, by the way his eyes kept flickering towards her outfit, she knew all too well that he liked this one more than the other one. "Stop that" she snapped, her cheeks turning red.

"I am merely admiring your outfit, Sakura."

Before she could protest, suddenly there was a voice that called out to her.

"Sakura-chan!" Sakura turned to see Naruto, along with Sasuke, approach her. "Whoa... Sakura-chan..." he paused, having not actually seen what she was wearing when he had called her, and he eyed her up and down. "That's... umm... different..." He had to look away, for he knew if he didn't that his mind would be infested with terribly dirty thoughts of Sakura, and ever since the stupid evil older brother of Sasuke-teme's had claimed her as his, he hadn't even been able to enjoy her company without being reminded that he no longer stood a chance (not that he had ever to begin with, anyway).

"You can shut up too." Sakura glared. "And what in Kami's name are you supposed to be?"

Naruto frowned. "You can't tell? I'm a wizard, Dattebayo!" Sakura blinked as she stared at his attire, a purple cloak covering most of his outfit, and atop his head a pointy purple hat with stars and crescent moons. "I have a wand Sakura-chan... a wand...!" he emphasized, sticking out a hand from beneath his cloak to show her a wooden stick.

"Uh-huh..." she nodded, although not quite seeing what was so superb about his costume, and then she directed her eyes towards Sasuke,

-and then promptly died of laughter.

"Sasuke...kun..." she tried to say his name in between breaths, his angry glare only fueling her to laugh harder. And when she finally thought that she was done laughing, having taking in a big sigh of air, one more glace at him had her dying once more. "Seriously Sasuke-kun... a unicorn of all things?!"

Sasuke glared. "I lost a bet. Shut up."

Because atop his head was a pointy, spiraling horn, held down by who knows what (although Sakura really wanted to know). He had on what appeared to be a white, fuzzy onesie, and as Sasuke turned to walk away, clearly angered, she saw what was meant to be a bubble-gum pink mane of hair and the most ridiculously cute nub of a tail (which made her laugh all that much harder). Both his hands and feet were either gloved with hooves, and on either side of Sasuke's very luscious mane were a pair of wings.

Naruto was grinning from ear to ear, and Itachi was smirking. "God damn I love being right. Aren't you glad I won the bet Sakura-chan?"

Clearly, she had been the only one to not see Sasuke yet, for everyone else seemed pretty accustomed to Sasuke's ridiculous attire. "So glad" she agreed with a grin, and though she didn't know what bet Naruto was talking about, she couldn't find herself to care.

"By the way Sakura-chan, have you seen Hinata anywhere?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I saw her a while ago, why?" There was no way Naruto was catching on already... was there?

"TenTen mentioned something about her really liking wizards, so I wanted to show her my costume, dattebayo. She mentioned something about "showing Hinata my stick."

Sakura sweat-dropped. There was no way anyone would be impressed by Naruto's costume -this was a set up if she'd ever seen one, and she was sure it was obvious to everyone but Naruto. And was he really that oblivious to the implication TenTen had so crudely stated? "She might be with Ino-pig. I think you'll find her munching her life away by the red-velvet cookies." Sakura responded.

"There's red-velvet cookies?! Sakura-chan why didn't you tell me sooner?!" And Naruto was gone, all thoughts about showing Hinata his 'cool' costume clearly out the window. There were more pressing matters to see to, after all.

Sakura sighed. "Naruto's hopeless."

"Hn" Itachi smirked, using the hand that he was still holding to pull Sakura away from the dance floor and into a more secluded area.

At least, that had been the plan, up until another figure approached them, this one slightly taller and a lot harrier. "Itachi! Sakura-chan!" Both turned to look at Shisui, Itachi's older cousin, wearing a plaid shirt and torn black shorts with big tufts of brown hair protruding from any and all places.

"Werewolf. I like it." Sakura offered him a smile.

"Thanks. I'm digging the whole vocational costume you have going for yourself too, Sakura-chan." he gave her one look and laughed. "Itachi's going to have to be on the look-out in about an hour, this'll be fun to watch."

Both Itachi and Sakura raised an eyebrow in question as they looked at each other, but finding that neither knew what Shisui meant, they turned back to him, hoping that he would clarify.

"Never mind that, you guys can find out by yourselves. I didn't come here to chit-chat anyway." Shisui stated. Once more, both Haruno and Uchiha raised their eyebrows. "I came here for my little man, of course. You've been hogging him for the entire party, it's not fair." Shisui grumbled, approaching Itachi and picking up Sora. "Who's my little man? You are!" he began his baby talk, seemingly uncaring that he had just stolen a child. "Plus, did you see all the chicks you were attracting with him? I'm going to score big time!"

"You know, I would have never thought Shisui would get so attached." Sakura chuckled slightly.

"Ahh" Itachi agreed, watching as he played with Sora (but how could he not love the child?! Look at him!). But in all honesty, he couldn't complain -he was off baby duty, and he finally had Sakura all to himself, after all. All in all, things were finally starting to look up for him. "How was work at the hospital?" he began as he and Sakura seated themselves at a random, deserted table.

"Exhausting as always." Sakura sighed. "Everyone always gets sick around these times, including our own staff. You'd think they'd know how to take better care of themselves, but apparently not." Sakura frowned. "As such, I've been working double-shifts."

"Still?" Itachi raised an eyebrow. She had been working double-shifts when he had left, after all. He had assumed this to be a week-long thing as it usually was -apparently not. Sakura nodded in confirmation. "And you say I over-work myself, Sakura." he would have smirked, were he not actually worried about the pink-haired medic.

"I'm not going on dangerous missions every week." Sakura countered, her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at Itachi.

"But I am not exerting my body nearly as much as you are." he seemed unfazed.

But in response, Sakura merely frowned, knowing that he was probably right -Itachi was so skilled there was nothing ever too dangerous for him, she felt. He was flawless and efficient and sometimes Sakura didn't understand how she had gotten so lucky. But that didn't mean she didn't worry about him. As skilled as anyone can be, there's always that chance that you'll come up against somebody stronger. That you'll be surprised; that you'll be out-numbered. And especially in Itachi's line of work, it was very probable. Sure, Sakura's job was taxing on her body; very taxing, especially with the shifts she was taking, but there was no chance of her dying, no chance that she'd be hurt beyond repair.

Almost as if Itachi could read her mind, he brought his face closer to hers until their foreheads touched. "I appreciate your concern, but you have nothing to worry about." he began. "So long as I have you, Okaa-san, and Sasuke, I will always return safe and sound."

She didn't know why his words were so reassuring to her, but she appreciated it.

Yet, before any more words could be exchanged (or any kisses, for that matter) suddenly people began to fill their table. "Hope we aren't interrupting." It was Sasuke, appearing next to Sakura and nearly slamming his plate of food on the table, a glare sent towards his aniki, because he was clearly hoping he was interrupting something.

Itachi stared at his brother with an almost amused expression playing in his eyes. "Hn"

Sakura merely blushed and pulled away from Itachi, having completely forgotten that they were in public, at a Halloween party for Kami's sake. She turned to see who else Sasuke was with, which happened to be Ino (her plate stacked full of red-velvet cookies), TenTen, and Shikamaru.

"Yo" Shikamaru greeted in his usual casual expression.

TenTen offered a smile as she sat in between Sasuke and Ino. "Sorry for interrupting." At least TenTen was kind enough to have some remorse.

"Shikamaru, what are you supposed to be?" Sakura stared blankly at the pineapple-head nin. He was dressed in a normal jounin vest, a senbon in his mouth.

"I'm Genma, of course." Shikamaru blinked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, although everybody knew that he just didn't want to dress up.

Sakura sweat-dropped in response. "Right..." She looked towards TenTen, who was wearing what could only be an Alice in Wonderland inspired costume, and just like Ino had promised, it was short and exposed much cleavage. "So what brings you guys here?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. She could only assume they had a purpose for doing so, because Naruto and Hinata were nowhere in sight.

"We're trying to hook Naruto and Hinata up. We figure it's time." TenTen explained.

"Hn" Clearly, Sasuke was only here because Ino had probably dragged him away from his blonde best friend and he had nowhere else to go, so he might as well go ruin his aniki's day by making sure he was never alone with Sakura.

"I see..." Sakura looked around. "Where's everybody else?" she questioned, obviously inquiring to the location of the remaining Rookie 9 plus Team Gai.

"See, that's where we're having a bit of a problem." TenTen sighed. "Neji is on to us and refuses to leave Hinata's side. Lee is as oblivious as ever and is essentially third-wheeling alongside Neji, whereas Kiba is having an eating contest with the blonde-baka and Chouji. Shino is on a solo mission right now, so he's not a problem." she explained, pointing to where Neji was glaring fiercely at Naruto as he, Chouji, and Kiba began eating anything in sight, with Lee cheering them on and mentioning something about their "youthful spirits", and Hinata sitting there nervously.

"Oh..." Sakura blinked. "Well, if you really want Neji off of your backs," Sakura began, and all counterparts looked at Sakura, wondering why she of all people knew such a thing, "all you have to do is get him drunk." she smirked.

"Neji? Drink? Please. I couldn't even get him to take a sip even if I tried." TenTen laughed.

"But there's gotta be a reason he refuses to, right?" Sakura smirked. Ino and TenTen looked at each other, clearly puzzled, as they turned back to stare at Sakura expectantly. "Neji Hyuga can't hold his alcohol, ladies and gentlemen." she proclaimed with much excitement in her voice.

There was a pregnant pause, and then Ino and TenTen began laughing. "What? No way, how do you know that for sure?"

Sakura laughed. "There's only one reason to not drink at a party while all your friends waste away. I'm the same way, after all."

Ino laughed. "That's true, Sakura can't hold her liquor for the life of her." she nodded.

But TenTen ignored her. "But how do you suppose we go about getting him to drink something?"

Sakura smiled wickedly, one so mischievous that it nearly reminded them all of Ino (God she felt so proud). "If he's anything like me, all it'll take is for him to get a little angry."

"And how do we do that?" TenTen inclined her seat forward, as if they were sharing top secret information.

"Oh Sakura, I have taught you well." Ino sighed in content, knowing exactly where Sakura was going with this.

All eyes seemingly turned to TenTen, including those of Itachi's, and she returned their stares with a blank expression. "Why is everyone looking at me?"

Sasuke could have rolled his eyes. "Neji has the hots for you, TenTen."

TenTen could have popped a nose-bleed right then and there, Sasuke's statement catching her off guard. "W-W-What?" she stuttered out.

"Oh my dear TenTen, you're worse at this than Sakura." Ino sighed.

"Hey" Sakura glared.

"Well, it's true." Ino shrugged.

"At least I have a boyfriend." Sakura said smugly, her arms crossing across her chest (an act that had Itachi peering alongside her, not that anyone other than Shikamaru noticed).

"...Touche. But enough about me. Let's focus our attentions back on TenTen here." Ino tried to change the subject.

"I'm telling you, there's no way." TenTen shook her head vigorously.

"Well, how about we test it, then?" Sakura smirked.

TenTen blinked. "H-How d-do you suppose we d-do that?" she stuttered out.

"Back in New Years last year, Itachi had the wonderful idea of making me jealous," she paused momentarily to flash Itachi a small frown in response to his smirk, "which got me angry, made me take a few shots, and subsequently make me do things that I had only ever imagined doing in my dreams. Similarly, this is what we need to get from Neji."

TenTen blinked, still not understanding.

"Kami TenTen, you really are worse than me." Sakura laughed.

And so Ino watched as, seemingly in no time at all, Sakura evolved into a mini-Ino and began spewing out a devilish plan to get the Neji Hyuga wasted. This was truly a heartfelt moment, she decided. It would certainly go down in history.

It was a relatively simple plan. Have TenTen down several shots, get completely inebriated, and begin dancing a filthy dance with random males. From there on, Ino would inform Neji that TenTen was completely wasted, and try as she will, could not get TenTen to stop grinding on random males.

Yet, despite the fact that it had been her plan, Sakura couldn't help but be surprised by how fast Neji booked it to the dance floor upon hearing Ino's words.

And, just as planned, TenTen was to ignore her teammate's attempts to get her off the dance floor, and even as he scared away the next three potential dance partners, TenTen did not give up, dead-set on making sure Hinata finally had her chance. She shoo'ed Neji off, seemingly angry that he wouldn't let her have her fun, and after a few nasty words on TenTen's behalf (she promised that she would apologize after plan Hook Up Naruto and Hinata was successful), Neji stormed off, clearly fuming.

"Man, TenTen's a good actor." Sakura whispered to Itachi -like hell she would ever be able to pull something like that off.

And as he stormed off, Shikamaru was there to offer him a drink, commenting on how he seemed to need one. With very little persuading on Shikamaru's behalf, he relented, quickly downing a shot and a few minutes after that, another two. "That should be enough to do it" Sasuke watched, still alongside Sakura.

"Now we watch and wait." Sakura smiled in glee. At least, in Hinata and Naruto's future wedding, she could say that it was her own devious plan that paved the way to magic -a pun only she had appreciated, seeing Naruto's current attire.

The minutes passed, and no sooner was Neji completely inebriated (although none could really tell), suddenly standing up from his seat where he had been sulking for the past ten minutes. He walked his way towards the dance floor, easily finding TenTen among the crowd. But, instead of trying to talk to her once more, he grasped her elbow harshly, all the while glaring at the random shinobi who had been dancing with her, which easily scared him away.

Neji began dragging her away, all the while TenTen protesting (her face lit a red hue, mind you), and both Uchiha and the Haruno watched as he pulled her into the deserted kitchen, to either have a talk or as Ino guessed it, a long make-out session filled with pent-up stress and filthy desires on Neji's behalf. "Come on, all these years? He's bound to have some pent up sexual frustrations he's going to want to let loose. Just look at the way she's dressed."

And it was true. Neji never lost his cool -who ever knew what was going on in that head of his? And regardless of his Hyuga-esque impassiveness, he was still a man with needs, and they all had a feeling TenTen was about to understand this finally.

"Alright, all we gotta do now is get Kiba, Chouji, and Lee away from Naruto and we're good to go."

Ino simply laughed. "Shikamaru can take care of Chouji no problem. Leave the dog to me." And so Ino stood up proudly, happy that it was finally her time to shine.

Sakura blinked. "What do you think you're going to be able to do, Ino-pig?"

"Look at me Forehead. I'm irresistible. What dog is going to be able to resist chasing this cute little kitty cat?" she winked. She was, after all, dressed up as a kitty cat, whiskers on her face and a cute little tail on her behind.

Sakura simply scoffed in response. "I mean, I guess..."

"You shut it. How about you focus on getting Lee away from Naruto? He's drunk already, it shouldn't be too difficult. Just ask him to dance and disappear; he won't even notice you've gone. At this comment, Itachi was the one to raise an eyebrow. Was the Yamanaka seriously suggesting Sakura seduce the Gai look-alike? "Relax Itachi, all she has to do is ask him to dance, then she can book it. He won't lay a hand on her, I promise."

Itachi looked from Ino to Sakura, who simply shook her head as she sighed. "The things I do for Naruto's sake, I swear." And she was standing, glancing at Itachi quickly. "I'll be right back, alright?"

"Hn"

And so they left, and Sakura was true to her word, all she did was ask Lee to dance; and Ino was true to her word, Lee didn't lay so much as a finger on her, but he did look at her, mind you the kind of looking that Itachi had been doing earlier, and it didn't bode well with him.

And when Sakura came back he was in a slightly foul mood, though he dare not show it -this wasn't Sakura's fault anyway, she was just trying to help her friend out.

But he was glad, at least, that the Uzumaki and the Hyuga heiress were now alone and that they would hopefully not need any more help. Which they didn't thankfully, for it seemed that Ino had made Hinata drink something and she was acting more boldly than she would have ever imagined, apparently crashing her lips upon Naruto's before he could even think.

"Well, that's that, I suppose." Sakura laughed.

Itachi smirked. "That seems to be efficient." he agreed. "It worked for you."

"Hey!" Sakura's face flushed red as she pointed an accusing finger at Itachi. "Maybe if you hadn't been so insufferable I wouldn't have needed to get drunk in order to express my feelings." she proclaimed. Itachi simply raised his eyebrow in question, because what Sakura said was obviously full of crap. Itachi could have been the most proper gentleman (which he had been, minus the teasing) and she still wouldn't have understood what it was that she wanted. And regardless of that, not being able to tease Sakura simply was no fun.

"All you did was express desire, Sakura. You were simply too stubborn to accept it before." his eyes flashed with something akin to humor and some other animalistic desire, and Sakura decided to shut up and sink back into her seat.

"You shut it." she pouted, her arms crossing over her chest once more, mostly because she knew she lost the argument -and she knew Itachi knew too.

Kami she was too innocent, Itachi decided as he stared at her. She didn't even understand the effect that she had on him, after all. Deciding not to linger on such thoughts, he looked away from Sakura's ever too tempting cleavage, for once glad that his younger brother was there to cock-block.

"Yeah, shut it Itachi." Sasuke scoffed.

Sakura, never one to be amused by Sasuke's antics, looked his way with a frown. "Don't you have better things to do with your life than ruin my love life?"

"Considering Naruto is still lacking one, no." Sasuke stated.

Well, luckily for her that wouldn't take much longer, at the rate things were going. "And why don't you try to hook up with someone? There's more than a fair share of scantily clad girls eyeing you like the majestic piece of meat that you are." she taunted him, clearly still amused by the unicorn horn atop his head.

Sasuke scoffed. "I may have nothing better to do with my time but that doesn't make me desperate, Sakura."

"I can assure you Ino is far from desperate and she's still enjoying herself." Sakura laughed, and as she said this, three pairs of eyes turned to Ino, who was merrily dancing through the crowd, either unaware of the several pairs of male eyes that followed every movement of her hips, or simply uncaring (Sakura was putting her money on the latter).

"Ino is..." Sasuke opened his mouth, but closed it, unsure of what it was that he actually wanted to say.

"Ino is what?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"More comfortable in that sort of situation." his words made his cheeks flush a slight tint of pink.

Sakura stared. "Are you telling me you don't know how to approach a girl?"

Sasuke glared. "Of course I know how to." Sasuke scoffed.

"Then what's stopping you?" Sakura blinked, her emerald pools curious.

"I..." But once more, Sasuke did not know what it is that he wanted to say.

"Sasuke-kun, you're hopeless."

Once again, he glared. "Shut up."

"Sakura-chan~!" Sakura turned her head slightly, seeing Ino approach her, a hand falling on her shoulder. "What are you still doing here? This is a party -you should be dancing!" As she said this, she tried to grasp onto Sakura's hand, an indication that she wanted to tug Sakura into the dance floor alongside her.

"Ino, what-"

But Sakura had no time to argue, as Ino cut her off. "Come on, I'm lonely. Just one dance?" And for emphasis she made those pouty puppy dog-eyes, and Sakura found herself sighing as she turned to look at Itachi, almost as if asking if it were okay to indulge her best friend.

"Don't mind me, Sakura." Itachi assured her. Plus, it didn't hurt to know that Sakura loved to dance -she probably wanted to dance, but decided that she should stay with Itachi. Needless to say, Itachi was a gentlemen; he could dance, yes, but he would never be caught dead dancing in the manner in which most of the occupants in the room were.

Sakura gave him a quick smile, a form of thank you, as she excused herself and made her way towards the dance floor with her blonde companion -it didn't hurt when one of her favorite songs to dance to came on, she decided. It'd only be one song anyway.

At least, that had been the original plan, but one song ended in the blink of an eye, and as Sakura made to exit the dance floor, suddenly Ino grabbed her and refused to let go. "Please Sakura! Sasuke and Itachi are doing just fine! Don't leave me alone!"

Sakura frowned, knowing that Itachi was waiting for her expectantly. Almost as if he could hear them, he turned and his eyes caught Sakura's own slightly exhausted and exasperated eyes, and instantly he knew the turmoil within the pink haired kunoichi. He silently nodded, an okay for her to continue her dancing.

She gave him a small smile, a sign of her gratitude. "Alright Pig, just for a little longer then."

"Yosh!"

But a little longer turned into a little bit longer after that, not that Sakura gave it all that much thought anyway.

"Tch."

This had been the fourth time in the past minute that Sasuke had growled in frustration and irritation.

Not that Itachi could honestly blame him anyway -if he had any less control over his emotions he'd be doing a lot worse. And why is that? Because Sakura had left them over thirty minutes ago -but no, this is not at all what had either of them upset.

"I swear if he get's an inch closer I'm going to personally make sure he disappears tonight." Sasuke's scowl and frustrated glare did not betray his statement as he eyed a male, possibly just a few years older than him, eyeing Sakura as if she were some piece of meat.

"Hn" In fact, it wasn't just that particular male. Any male currently within a six inch radius around Sakura, he found he wanted to make disappear. It probably didn't help that they could both see Sakura's uneasiness, how uncomfortable she felt in such a revealing attire, knowing fully well that people, in particular people of the opposite gender, were staring at her in ways she didn't want to be stared at.

But Ino, as terrible of an influence as she was, kept on dancing. "Don't mind them Sakura. As long as you don't invite them with your eyes they won't lay a finger on you. Just dance with me." And so she did, and she had nearly succeeded in ignoring the stares and the occasional cat-calls (although these were mainly addressed towards her blonde counterpart), if not for one particular male that had gotten a bit too close for comfort.

In one particular instance, she felt his hand brush against her hip, either by accident or on purpose, but it was enough to make her yelp uncharacteristically, but within the next blink of an eye suddenly two males were before her, both equally as tall, handsome, and absolutely terrifying looking (even if one of them had an outrageously ridiculous horn on his head).

The male, whom she had no clue who he was, had instantly disappeared, if not because it had suddenly gotten very crowded in the area in which he stood, then because there were now two pairs of Sharingan eyes staring menacingly at him. "Alright Sakura, I think it's time you take a break." Sasuke none too gently stated, trying to force Sakura out of the dance floor by dragging her.

Sakura blinked. "M-Matte..." Not that she was particularly objecting or anything, for she was sort of tired and it was getting increasingly hot, but it would be rude to just leave her best friend in the dance floor. She turned, but didn't even have to search to pin-point her friend. She had, after all, already grabbed hold of Sakura's other wrist, holding on to her stubbornly.

"What do you think you're doing with my dance partner Sasuke?" her delicate eyebrow was arched quizzically as she eyed Sasuke sharply.

"Go find someone else." Sasuke scoffed. Itachi did not speak, although he couldn't help but agree with his ototou.

Ino didn't even bat an eyelash, seemingly unaffected by the intimidating presence of both Uchiha males. "Who else am I supposed to dance with?" she scowled.

"There are many people at this party Ino." Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Hinata and TenTen are off doing who knows what with Naruto and Neji respectively. God forbid I ask Shika to dance with me, and Chouji won't step away from the food table for more than two minutes." her scowl deepened. "I just want to dance with somebody who isn't trying to hump my brains out, is that too much to ask for?"

"And if I can guarantee you a partner that won't do as you stated?" Suddenly Itachi spoke, an act that had all three other members turn to him.

Ino opened her mouth to complain, but closed it seconds afterwards. "Well... I guess I can't really object if that's the case..."

"I have a proposition then." Itachi smirked.

"Itachi, did you just sell out your brother?"

"I wouldn't exactly use those terms." Itachi seemed un-phased by Sakura's words.

"What would you call it then?" Sakura mused.

"He wished for you to exit the dance floor, so I gave him the means of doing just that. I was helping him." Itachi stated matter-of-factly, although Sakura could definitely see the amused and humored expression playing in his features.

Sakura turned to look at Sasuke, currently in the dance-floor standing rigidly, with Ino dancing alongside him, seemingly uncaring that her supposed dance partner was more so just tapping his foot impatiently rather than actually dancing.

"Right..." Sakura chuckled slightly. "Anyway, I'm thirsty. I'll go get something to drink real quick." And so Sakura got up, all the while tugging at the treacherous piece of clothing that had slowly but steadily been riding up, and she began walking. Kami she couldn't wait until the night was over and she could take this wretched clothing off, she decided. Halfway to the kitchen, where all the beverages were currently located though, Itachi suddenly appeared, somewhat behind her. She raised a delicate eyebrow, as if questioning why he had followed her, but he didn't offer any sort of response -she stopped expecting one after a few seconds.

They entered the kitchen, filled with a few occupants, mainly males, with beverages, some alcoholic, she was sure, in their hands. She approached the cabinets paying no mind to them, reaching to grab one of the very last cups in the farthest corner of the shelf. 'Curse my height.' she could have grimaced, struggling to reach.

Unbeknownst to her, reaching for the aforementioned cup was also putting a strain on her terribly obscene outfit -Itachi noticed, as did the other occupants in the room. And so Itachi was quick to glare a very menacing, very enraged glare towards the four or so males in the room, and within the next few seconds they had all but abandoned their spots.

When Sakura turned back around the males were hurrying out of the room, clearly petrified to the bone, this much Sakura could tell.

She blinked a few times, and then turned to Itachi. "What did you just do?" Itachi didn't seem willing to respond, but Sakura held her ground. "Itachi, you're acting kind of strange." she frowned.

He seemed hesitant to respond. "Their eyes were wandering where they shouldn't." And as he said this, as a seemingly extra precaution, he undid his long red cape from the nape of his neck and suddenly draped it around her, Itachi somewhat caging her in between the counter and his own body.

At Itachi's words, Sakura blushed slightly, although her facial expression seemed amused. "Are you getting jealous, Itachi?"

Yet, Itachi did not reply as she had expected him to. "Why wouldn't I? They do not deserve to feast their eyes upon my treasure." She had expected him to casually deny it, in a way that implied yes but not really, but his blatant agreement had left her shocked.

Sakura's cheeks instantly flushed Itachi's words, her mouth open to speak but she just closed it seconds afterwards, knowing that even if she had a clever, witty comeback, it'd only be a stuttering mess. And after a few more seconds, Itachi's eyes sparking in amusement all the while, she sighed, side-stepping in order to escape Itachi's terrifyingly alluring gaze. "L-Let's go."

Were he a lesser man, he could have laughed. "Hn"

Needless to say, he was starting to understand what Shisui had meant.

End of Story

I am aware that Itachi is a bit of a pervert. But, I made him as such for the Christmas and New Years part of the story, and I'm attempting to keep things the same, as far as character development goes. I may post another addition to this to continue the harassment of Sakura, but I'm happy with how it ended thus far. We'll see though =] Hope you guys enjoyed!

I might another chapter just to continue Itachi's torture but for now I'm happy with the ending =]. I'll see how the feedback goes and act according to that thought =]

Any and all feedback is much appreciated ^-^

-MarzSpy

P.S. Happy Halloween in case I don't post another story!