Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**NOTE: Hello to all old readers! And welcome to any new ones! This is a sequel to my short little story called The Consequences of Snooping. I wasn't really sure if I was going to continue on with it, but I got so many wonderful requests for a sequel that I just couldn't disappoint people (I'm horrible, I'm skimming off my homework to get this out XD)! If you're new to my stories, I really advise you to read the first one so that everything here makes sense ^_^ I am going to try very, very, very, hard to update this at least once a week, so stay tuned. If I'm not able to, I'll probably update my profile to explain when the next chapter will be posted, so check back. Now, onto the story!**

Tsunade's honey brown eyes solemnly swept over the current occupants of her office. Inuzuka Hana, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi, and Haruno Sakura. The former three were one of Konoha's most talented ANBU teams, a carefully compiled group of uniquely skilled shinobi. The last one standing in the room, for some reason looking overtly disgruntled and unhappy, was none other than her prized apprentice.

Tsunade leaned forward onto her desk, locking her fingers together and resting her chin on them. She resisted the urge to yawn, for it was seven thirty in the morning—a time that was too damn early for work in her opinion. Alas, Shizune never let her sleep in, always making her get up at the crack of dawn each day. Unfortunately, her older apprentice's strictness and rules had rubbed off on her younger, pink-haired apprentice, who never failed to make an effort to correct her master's laziness and utter lack of drive for working. But she digressed. Turning her attention back towards the other shinobi, Tsunade said in her official, Hokage voice, "The mission you are about to embark on is more in the category of being diplomatic, rather than one in which there is a goal to be accomplished. Hopefully this will result in closer relations between Suna and Konoha, which as you probably are already aware, have been rather shaky ever since the chunin exam incident four years ago."

Comprehending nods or understanding expressions accompanied the Hokage's words. After all, even though Gaara was largely sympathetic towards Konoha, mainly due to Naruto's positive influence, there was still no denying that many of Suna's council members blamed the death of their former Kazekage and numerous shinobi on Konoha, even though Sound was the real culprit of the disaster. However, Tsunade and Gaara had been working hard towards improving their alliance. Sending Sakura over to help educate the medics further and having Suna participate in the jounin exams this year were just a few of those steps.

"Sakura." The young kunoichi's head snapped up at being directly addressed by her master.

"Yes, Tsunade-shishou?"

Tsuande's gaze lay heavily on her apprentice, trust and reliance written on every inch of her young-looking face. "A large factor of this mission is lying on your shoulders. Though it is rather needless for me to remind you, I do expect you to diligently and respectfully perform your duties in Suna to the utmost of your ability."

Sakura swallowed softly, inclining her head in acknowledgment of the weight of her assignment. She tried to banish the nervousness and unsure thoughts lurking in the dark corners of her mind. She focused on Tsunade as she began to speak once more.

"Uchiha Itachi, you are to be the team leader on this assignment. You and Uchiha Shisui and Inuzuka will protect Sakura for the extent of this mission," Tsunade broke off for a moment upon hearing Sakura's little sound of indignation that she made, highly amused by her apprentice's grumpiness at her abilities being taken lightly.

Hana's rough voice rang out in the room. "Protect, Hokage-sama? Aren't we supposed to be allies with Suna? Just who d'ya think is going to bother attacking the little pinkette here?" Shisui seemed to hold the same question, his dark, trade-mark Uchiha eyes inquiring.

Itachi was the one who answered Hana, his smooth voice saying, "It is naïve to believe that there will not be Suna shinobi or citizens in the city who are still upset at Suna's alliance with Konoha, or at the presence of Leaf shinobi in their village. Though I have the utmost faith in Sakura's capability to protect herself," Itachi's eyes lazily found Sakura's form which was carefully situated at the other end of the room, causing her to shift in discomfort, "It will be difficult for her to focus on her medical lessons and constantly watch her back simultaneously."

Both Hana and Shisui blinked in astonishment at their friend and team leader's words. It wasn't so much surprise at the fact that they were potentially going to be facing attack from Suna shinobi, but more due to Itachi's blatant compliment to the young chunin. After all, Itachi wasn't one to freely give such praise, and they had known him for many years. Itachi's cousin and the brown-haired Inuzaka's heads swiveled around to curiously look at Sakura, who tried to avoid their gazes while attempting to glare at the Uchiha.

Tsunade, who had also noted Itachi's statement with mild surprise, swiftly recovered. "Uchiha is correct in what he says. You will all keep an eye on Sakura, and make yourself useful to the Kazekage when possible. You will be escorting the Kazekage and his aids when he returns with you to Konoha for the jounin exams."

Shisui's slightly cocky, assured voice asked, "So, how long are we going to be in Suna?" Hana reached over to her teammate and smacked him over his dark head for his impolite tone, making Sakura smile at their antics and Itachi steadfastly ignore them.

Tsunade replied to them with a shrug, "No more than three weeks, I'm hoping. You will be expected back in time for the exam." The blonde hokage surveyed them all briefly, before carelessly waving her hand in a gesture of dismissal. "That is all. Good luck."

A tree shook as Sakura's small foot connected with its gnarled branch, kicking off of it as she participated in leaping through the forest at a rapid pace with the rest of her assigned team. With each movement, Sakura focused on concentrating increasing amounts of chakra to her feet and legs in order to try and keep up with the others. She looked to her left and right, seeing the short, slim shape of Hana and Shisui's lithe form through the dense trees. Alongside Hana, she could just barely see the outline of Hachiko, Hana's dark-furred canine companion that was a signature of the Inuzuka clan.

In front of Sakura, to her great displeasure, was Itachi. His long, black hair was flying behind him as he continuously jumped from tree to tree with a catlike grace. He had said little on the mission so far, only adding a few more details before they had set off. To Sakura's happiness, he had barely spoken to her, and when he had it was purely professional. She could only hope that he wouldn't try anything with her on the mission.

She had been wholly unsure of how to act around the enigmatic Uchiha ever since their date two nights before, though admittedly she hadn't seen much of him since then, a fact which only pleased Naruto and Sasuke, who still hadn't forgiven her for her 'kiss' with the elder Uchiha. They had just about had a coronary when she had bid them goodbye, telling them she was leaving with Itachi and his team for Suna. Their dire warnings to "stay the hell away from the spawn of evil and preserve her purity" still echoed in her ears. She sighed, desperately hoping they would have stopped sulking by the time she arrived back in Konoha. She didn't want to have to deal with her boys' grumpy attitudes when she returned from what was promising to be a rather exhausting mission. To be honest, her feelings for the Uchiha were extremely muddled at this point in time.

Other than Itachi's presence, she was altogether satisfied with her two other teammates. Hana-san wasn't too different from her younger brother, Kiba, and had a remarkably gruff but easy-to-get-along-with personality. Sakura had really only met her a few times previously due to her friendship with Kiba, but other than that hadn't known her at all. Shisui, on the other hand, Sakura had met various times before, and had always liked him immensely. One of the reasons for that was his completely easygoing and teasing personality, which made it easy for Sakura to forget that he was even an Uchiha at times. Really, just how did the stoic and cold Uchiha clan produce a cheerful guy like Shisui? In looks he was an Uchiha, but his personality was more similar to Naruto's, in her opinion. He must have been the result of mutated genes, she finally decided.

Sakura valiantly fought against drooping eyelids as they continued on, though it was understandable that her body was already giving out. The world had entered into night about three hours ago, and the team had set off from Konoha's gates before sunrise that very morning. Itachi had kept them going at a hard, fast pace for nearly seventeen hours, with few breaks along the way. Even though Sakura was quickly tiring, she refused to be the first to complain or request they stop for the night. She felt an inexplicable need to keep a strong face around Itachi, not wanting him to see her weak or exhausted.

After several more minutes of silent travel, Sakura nearly cried out in relief when Itachi came to an abrupt halt, his black-clothed form stilling on the outstretched branch of a giant oak tree. In the darkness, Sakura felt, rather than saw, Shisui and Hana's bodies come to a stop somewhere near her.

"We will stop here for the night," Itachi said quietly, turning around to face his team. "Shisui, help me secure the perimeter."

Shisui's laugh echoed through the dark area, and he easily commented to his younger cousin and best friend, "Thought we'd never get a break, Itachi. It's not a criminal act to stop a little earlier, you know? Poor Sakura-chan looks dead on her feet."

Sakura glared at Shisui the best she could in the dark, stung at the implication of his tone. His words did hold some truth in them though, as she wasn't used to the rapidly paced travel that ANBU teams frequently were subjected to. She was sure that for Hana and Shisui, this was completely normal. After all, they had been on Itachi's ANBU team for quite a while. She lightly spoke, telling Shisui, "Don't worry, I'm not tired enough that I don't have the energy to introduce your face to a tree, Shisui-san."

Hana grinned appreciatively, telling the pink-haired girl, "At least wait until the morning to do that, Haruno, I want to be able to see it. Besides, I'm pretty damn exhausted as well, Itachi's a sadist when it comes to traveling."

They heard a mock sigh from Shisui. "Ahh, whatever happened to nice, sweet girls who never endorsed violence?"

"They became kunoichi with ass-kicking abilities far beyond yours," was Hana's smug retort.

"Enough," Itachi ordered in low tones. He launched off of the branch he was standing on, leaving to observe the area. Shisui immediately went out after him.

"Yo, Itachi! Wait, dammit!"

After the forms of the two men had long disappeared from their line of vision, Sakura and Hana silently jumped from the high forest level they were on at that moment and onto the solidly packed ground, landing with two soft thumps. Hana's dog, Hachiko, agilely leapt onto the forest floor as well, skillfully landing on her feet. The two kunoichi busied themselves with removing their packs, and then proceeding onto stretching out their weary limbs in unison and trying to rub the drowsiness from their faces. Sakura looked over at the older girl beside her.

"Feel like eating anything, Hana-san?" She asked her.

Hana shook her head vigorously, "Nah. I'm more tired." The brunette looked up at the night sky speculatively. "We should take as much time to rest up as possible. Itachi's probably going to push us to reach Suna by tomorrow afternoon." She muttered something under her breath that distinctly sounded like "hard-ass captain".

Sakura smiled at Hana's grumpiness at Itachi, wondering for the umpteenth time how Itachi's ANBU team functioned so well with such conflicting personalities. Well, she reasoned to herself, I haven't actually seen them in combat mode yet. This isn't really an official ANBU mission, so they're probably taking it easier.

Withdrawing from her thoughts, she told her companion with a slight disapproving tone, "You really should eat something Hana-san. It's not healthy to deny your body energy sources like carbohydrates and sugars that it'll need for traveling tomorrow." After the words came out of her mouth, Sakura realized with embarrassment that she had been scolding a senpai. Not only that, but a senpai that was also a veterinarian for nin-animals, and who was already well-versed in how to care for the body. She felt like smacking her head against a tree.

To Sakura's relief, however, Hana was smirking at her, seemingly amused. Hachiko, seeing her master's good humor, let out a content whine. "You sure have that doctor routine down, Haruno."

Sakura shrugged, saying, "I try."

"And apparently, you're quite good at fighting, or at least Itachi thinks so." Hana's acute senses all homed in on the younger girl's face as she flinched almost imperceptibly. Unfortunately for Sakura, Hana's curiosity had been awakened in the Hokage's office upon hearing her captain and longtime teammate compliment Sakura. Having known Itachi since childhood, and personally witnessing up front the many girls he had ignored or turned down, it was, to say the very least, interesting to actually see him take note of a girl.

And here they had all thought he was asexual. A trademark wolfish grin spread across the brunette's face at the prospect of an interrogation.

Sakura, sensing what Hana's intention was, uneasily began unrolling her traveling bedding from her pack, laying it neatly on the hard dirt. Damn Itachi for saying something like that. Knowing him, he probably did it on purpose. That jerk always seemed to plan these things out.

Sakura slipped under the single blanket she had brought, for the nights were still warm nowadays, and curled up in a small ball. Maybe if she went to sleep, she could avoid being thoroughly questioned by the inquisitive woman next to her. She would forgo food so that she could keep herself from being involved in a long and annoying talk about things she would rather ignore.

To Sakura's great unhappiness, she saw Hana unrolling her bedding a few feet from where Sakura had done so. Hana and Hachiko settled themselves down and turned their bodies so that they faced her.

Oddly resembling a gossipy girl, Hana drawled out, "So, Haruno…what's your relationship with our beloved and lovable (It was here that Sakura snorted) captain?"

Sakura twitched.

Hana didn't even know her that well, and she was trying to pry into her life like this? So what if Itachi was paying attention to her? Just why did everyone think that was so important? Hell, he hadn't even said that he'd liked her. Though, if Sakura was being honest, Itachi had kissed her, albeit on the cheek. That must have been an indication of something.

Sakura burrowed her face into her blanket, finding herself longing for the time when Itachi had seen her as Sasuke's teammate, and nothing more. Everything had been so much less complicated then. No murderous teammates out for her blood, no Inuzuka questioning her without stopping, and no loss of sanity. Then again, maybe he had gotten all of his interest for her out of his system with that one date. Maybe. Hopefully.

Sakura let out a short breath, turning her head irritably towards Hana and abruptly sitting up in her bedroll. Now that she was thoroughly aggravated, she found that she wasn't as sleepy.

"Hana-san, it may be hard to believe, but there's nothing. No relationship. Not anything. I barely even know Itachi."

"Oh?" There was heavy disbelief in Hana's voice.

Didn't this girl ever give up? Sakura could clearly see why Hana was renowned as an excellent tracker. Once she caught onto a scent, she held onto it like a bulldog.

Sakura locked eyes with Hana, defiance and challenge shining from them. "Why is this so important to you? If you like the Uchiha and feel threatened by me, by all means, you can take him. I really couldn't care less," Sakura said to her.

Hana lay there for a moment, looking stunned and incredulous, before her brown eyes widened in laughter and she grinned with satisfaction.

Sakura blinked. She had half expected the Inuzuka to sic Hachiko on her for her words. So why did Hana look like she had passed a test?

"You'll do, Haruno. I'm glad Itachi had the sense to pick someone like you, instead of one of those airheaded Uchiha cousins of his that're always hanging around. At least you've got some backbone," Hana said approvingly.

Wait. What? Sakura thought in a panic.

Hana continued on, blithely ignoring the shell-shocked girl near her. "If you plan to be with Itachi, I feel I have to warn you, you're going to have to accept idiot Shisui and me also. We're a team, y'know?"

It finally dawned on Sakura. Of course Hana would be interested in Itachi's life. From Sakura's understanding, she had been a genin with him, and with such a bond would have inevitably become friends. A team always looked out for their teammates—it was no different than the protectiveness she, Naruto, and Sasuke held for one another. She softened slightly towards Hana's nosiness, knowing that it was done out of friendship.

Still, she couldn't help but think that Hana was getting the wrong idea here.

Sakura hurried to say, "Er, wait Hana-san! There's no me and Itachi, really, there's nothing between us!"

Hana only smirked in a condescending way and rolled over in her bedroll. Sakura scowled furiously and leapt up, intending to go over and make the other girl understand that she wasn't interested in her captain like that! She was already stomping over to Hana and was halfway there when she was suddenly startled by the return of Itachi and Shisui.

The two men looked at the situation curiously, as there was a wickedly grinning Hana lying in her bedroll and a murderous looking Sakura surrounded by a killing aura.

Shisui was quick to deflate the angry tension in the air. He playfully flickered over to Sakura (in Sakura's opinion, greatly abusing his Body Flicker technique) and lazily wrapped an arm around her, making her look up at the tall Uchiha in surprise, and causing Itachi's body to stiffen and his eyes to narrow slightly.

"Sakura-chan, you don't have to fight over me with dog-girl over there. I have no qualms about sharing my bedroll with you," Shisui said with a grin, his voice carrying hints of laughter in it.

A muttered "go drown yourself Uchiha no baka" came from Hana.

Sakura calmly reached out her hand towards her shoulder, where Shisui's arm currently was. She sent a wave of chakra through the nerves in his arm, effectively giving him a shock and making his arm go numb.

The result was that Shisui jumped back, swearing. He rubbed his arm rapidly, trying to get the feeling back into it. He then glanced over at Itachi, who was watching impassively.

"I think she just attacked me, Itachi," he said good-naturedly, smiling ruefully.

"It was not undeserved."

"Some cousin you are! If I was as beautiful as Sakura, you'd probably be taking my side instead!"

"I doubt that."

Sakura rolled her green eyes, and commented, "Shisui-san, the numb feeling will wear off in a few minutes. I hope the next time you go to make a move on a nurse or med-nin you remember what they can do to you."

Shisui paled at the thought of how many times he had flirted with a medic, now knowing that he probably could have been missing some very essential parts had he displeased them or crossed the line in his flirtations.

Itachi once again resumed command of the situation, bringing their little lapse in professionalism to an end. "We will resume travel tomorrow at sunrise. I will take the first watch, followed by Shisui and then Hana."

Sakura was well aware that there was one vital person he had left out of the watch schedule. She balled her hands into fists, and willed herself to address him calmly.

"I believe there is one person you forgot about, Captain," she said as respectfully as she could manage at the moment.

There was a long moment of conspicuous silence.

Sensing that there was about to be a rather large argument, Hana allowed her eyes to slip shut, feigning sleep. Shisui bid them a cheerful goodnight and quickly strolled off to get his supplies, preferring to let Sakura duke it out with Itachi on her own. He didn't particularly want to be in the line of fire once it started.

Sakura shivered slightly but stood her ground when Itachi's dark eyes pierced hers.

"I don't believe I did, Sakura."

She clenched her teeth, then said tightly, "I may be younger and not as experienced, but I'm just as capable as Shisui-san and Hana-san to take watch, Captain." There it was again, that horrible feeling. Sakura tried her best to push it down and ignore it, but it was one so reminiscent of the way she had always felt when she had been younger. That awful experience of being forced to let everyone else take care of her, of having to sit around and do nothing while watching their backs. She hadn't worked so hard to reach the level she was at just so an Uchiha could treat her like a child.

For some reason, it was ten times worse that it was Itachi who was underestimating her.

She swallowed hard, her anger simmering and traveling closer and closer to the surface. She was tired, and she really shouldn't be questioning her captain's orders, but everything that had been going on lately combined with the stress of what she would be doing in Suna was beginning to get to her. And Itachi's behavior wasn't helping the situation at all.

She continued on, her eyes shining with frustration, "Please don't feel the need to coddle me, I am perfectly able to—ah!"

A gasp escaped Sakura as Itachi, faster than her eyes could follow, moved beside her and took hold of her arm. Before she knew it, Itachi was practically dragging her from the clearing and deeper into the woods, away from were Hana and Shisui were. After a few feet, he had hauled her against him in a secure hold and increased his speed.

The damn man was moving so fast that her head was spinning, and she could barely struggle against the firm grip he had on her. The trees were going by at an alarming rate, and the wind was whistling noisily in Sakura's ears as it blew her pink locks every which way.

It was a relief when Itachi stopped, and Sakura found her back pressed against a tree, prevented from leaving by the presence of Itachi standing in front of her, quietly looking down at her. She thought she saw something akin to concern on his face, but put it out of her mind.

Sakura knew she must be wearing a deer-in-the-headlights expression, so great was her surprise, but she managed to turn an angry gaze on Itachi.

"Just what the hell was that for, Uchiha? If you had something you needed to tell me, you could have said it in front of Hana and Shisui!"

Itachi moved closer to her, his gaze unwavering on her face. He was wearing the look that made her think he could read every thought traveling through her head at the moment. His body was only a hair's breadth from hers, and she pressed herself further against the tree to try and put some more distance between them.

"Sakura. What is worrying you?" Itachi questioned her quietly and intently.

She was slightly startled when she heard his voice, but quickly got defensive at his words. Why did he always know how she was feeling or what she was thinking? It was uncanny, and somewhat disturbing. Stupid open, honest face of hers.

She sighed, tilting her head away. "Nothing. I'm…just tired."

Itachi didn't look like he believed her, and he lifted his pale, elegant hand to her chin, firmly turning her face towards him. Sakura glared, opening her mouth to protest as she couldn't exactly move her body without touching him. Which was something she really, really, wanted to avoid right now. Her protestations were unfortunately interrupted by Itachi.

"I was not underestimating you. You have already surpassed my expectations by keeping up with the travel pace of ANBU teams."

She blinked in confusion, before she understood. She raised her eyes to see if he was mocking her, but saw nothing but seriousness in his face.

"You are a vital part of this mission, and in furthering relations between Suna and Konoha. It would not be…wise to have you collapse when we reach Suna tomorrow, and you begin your medical lectures. Therefore, I thought it best for you to receive the most amount of rest possible tonight, without the added stress of taking watch."

Sakura hated to admit it, but Itachi's words did make some sense. They even soothed her previously wounded pride. She frowned, but reluctantly agreed, "I…suppose you're right."

Itachi looked amused. "You only 'suppose'?"

Sakura ignored him, saying hotly, "But, all the same, you didn't have to drag me out here like a misbehaving child just to tell me that."

Itachi smirked, his shadowy gaze traveling over the contours of her face and resting on her slightly turned-down lips. His cool hand was still holding her chin gently. "You are no child to me, Sa-ku-ra," Itachi told her in extremely quiet tones.

Shoot. Sakura froze at seeing the look in his eyes, her breathing becoming almost nonexistent.

She had definitely entered hazardous waters. Dammit, what had she said to make him go from explaining about why she couldn't take watch duty to…to…looking like he wanted to eat her? Where the hell were Naruto and Sasuke when you actually needed them? And what was going on now, when he was supposed to have gotten all of his interest in her out of him after that date?

Sakura let out a tiny squeak, then cursed herself for allowing the stupid, feminine sound to escape her. Nervously, she placed her hands lightly against Itachi's chest to stop him from coming closer. Then she abruptly thought better of it and quickly snatched them back. The number one rule for situations like this was not to add fuel to the already burning fire.

Sakura was feeling too crowded, too closed in without proper space in which to breathe. And it wasn't particularly helping that Itachi's moonlit form was the only thing her eyes could take in right then, making him look almost ethereal. Yes, escape was good, before she did something really stupid. Like letting her teenage hormones possibly get the better of her, for right now they were on the verge of addling her already Uchiha-fried brain.

She looked up at him, focusing her wide-eyed gaze on him, and hesitantly saying, "Itachi?"

"Mm?"

She swallowed softly. Funny, it seemed like her throat wasn't working. "What…what are you doing?"

That seemed to snap him out of whatever weird mindset he had been in. His obsidian eyes solemnly observed her rather nervous visage, and he let his hand slip softly from her face. A corner of his mouth tilted fractionally, and he stepped back with an unreadable look.

"Nothing. Go get some sleep, Sakura."

Sakura hesitated for a moment, looking for something to say to him, but desired nothing more than to get out of this strange atmosphere that had been woven around her and Itachi. She nodded once, and then turned around and walked away from Itachi as quickly as possible, heading towards the clearing where their two teammates must have been waiting for them.

Itachi merely stood where she had left him, and Sakura could feel his heavy gaze burning into her back as she fled from him.

I appreciate constructive criticism, helpful tips, or just plain, old happy comments so please leave a review! I'm sorry that I'm not able to get on the computer enough to reply to each review, but having your support is the best feeling in the world!