- i don't own naruto -

*~R&R~*

tell me your thoughts!

"Sakura, I highly suggest you eat this onigiri." Sasuke held up the last onigiri in the box so Sakura could see it. Sakura waved it away.

"Sasuke, I am currently working under the head of Konoha Hospital. I think I can handle my own blood sugar levels."

Sasuke leaned across the sofa to shove it in Sakura's face. The two were in the middle of watching football, or at least Sasuke was while Sakura studied her medical records. Sakura whacked him with her heavy book.

"I'm not giving it to you because I'm worried about your blood sugar level. I'm too full to eat this, and I don't want to waste it by giving it to Naruto. Giving it to you isn't as wasteful." Sasuke stated nonchalantly.

Sakura laughed. "As flattering as that is, I'll pass."

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something when the loud banging of the front door announced Naruto's arrival. "I smell Mrs. Uchiha's onigiris!" Naruto roared as he sprinted into the living room.

Sasuke tossed the last onigiri to him. "Here, dobe. I saved the last one for you."

Sakura snorted and returned to her text. It had been two years since all three of them moved in together but nothing had changed. Naruto was still loud and energetic; Sasuke was still blunt and cold.

"You bastard! How many were there in total?" Naruto pointed accusingly at the rather large box.

"About a dozen. Be grateful I saved you one instead of giving it to Sakura." Sasuke flicked his finger.

Naruto stuffed the onigiri in his mouth and toppled onto the sofa. "Sakura, we need to vacuum the floor."

"You know, you two live here too. Instead of watching sports, you could be vacuuming." Sakura reminded him. "I, on the other hand, have a date so rock paper scissors among yourselves."

"A date with who? One of your patients?" Sasuke scowled as Naruto let out a paper to Sasuke's rock.

"Ha! Go get the vacuum, loser." Naruto took Sasuke's spot on the couch. "Wait, so what date?"

Sakura closed her book. "It is with a patient, and he wants to thank me for treating his leg. It's probably because I had to help him go to the bathroom and saw more of him than his girlfriend ever did."

"How old is he?" Naruto asked.

"24."

Naruto almost fell off the couch. "What the fuck? He's 24?"

"You might want to check his records for pedophilia." Sasuke suggested as he lugged the vacuum cleaner out of the closet.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'm not a child anymore, guys as you all should know. I'm eighteen, and legally I am an adult."

"Yes, and legally he's six years older and possible illegally a pedophile." Sasuke began vacuuming in front of them and the t.v.

"Oh way to be obnoxious, bastard." Naruto snapped.

"I'm vacuuming, idiot. You're the one who suggested we do it."

Before the argument could develop, a loud screaming noise rang throughout the house. Sakura sighed and stood up. "We have got to go doorbell shopping. We are not keeping that horror movie button."

Naruto jumped up. "Sakura, don't you have to go change? I'll go ask him to wait."

"Thanks Naruto. Remember to get under the sofa, Sasuke." Sakura advised as she hurried upstairs. Leaving Kaji-san with Naruto for too long couldn't be good for his health. Sakura threw on her favorite pink summer dress and brushed her long, pink waist-length hair quickly. She carefully placed a shiny silver headband with a black bow on her head and skipped down the stairs.

When she opened the door, Kaji-san was nowhere to be found. "Naruto?" Sakura called warningly.

"Oh, Sakura. Since his leg's broken and all, I invited him to sit down and wait." Naruto came into the foyer with a big smile. Sakura noticed the television and vacuum cleaner were both off, and she raced into the living room. Sasuke was sitting lazily on the sofa while the vacuum cleaner lay next to him on the floor.

"Sasuke, why aren't you cleaning?" Sakura asked dangerously.

Sasuke shrugged. "We need a new filter."

"So go get one from the bathroom!" Sakura demanded.

"Taken care of." Sasuke nodded.

"How-?" Sakura questioned when Kaji-san came from behind her, limping with his crutch.

"Sorry, I couldn't find the filters." Kaji-san apologized.

Sakura gaped at Sasuke. "You idiot! His leg's broken and you make him go get the filters? I'm so sorry, Kaji-san!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and went to the bathroom himself. Naruto grinned eerily and ushered Kaji-san to the couch. "Hey, Kaji-san. Since your leg's broken and all, why don't you have lunch here? It'll be so much more convenient and comfortable, don't you think Sakura?"

Sakura opened her mouth but Naruto beat her to it. "I mean, as his doctor don't you think he should be resting his leg? And restaurants are so crowded – he could just lay on the couch and rest."

Kaji-san looked at Sakura uncomfortably. "Well, I –"

"I thought your leg was broken, not your sense of sight." Sasuke interrupted. "The filters were right there in front of your eyes." He held it up in front of Kaji-san's eyes.

"Sasuke, shut up and vacuum." Sakura cracked her knuckles threateningly. "Besides, we don't even have anything to eat at home really."

"We have ramen!" Naruto chirped. "I'll make four in a jiffy."

Sakura pointed to Kaji-san's leg. "Naruto, he's a patient. He shouldn't be having ramen."

Naruto exhaled dramatically. "Fine, then he can have the vegetable ramen. Sasuke, you missed a couple of spots under Kaji-san."

Sakura felt her blood pressure rise as Sasuke attacked the carpet under Kaji-san. Kaji-san looked less than comfortable.

"I hadn't realized you lived with two men." Kaji-san yelled over the roar of the vacuum.

"Well they're like my brothers. We've known each other since we were practically born." Sakura tried to smile affectionately at Sasuke but ended up scowling.

Sasuke turned off the vacuum. "She's had an obsessive crush on me for more years than I care to count."

"And then I realized what a jerk you were and stopped." Sakura said sweetly. "Sasuke can I see you in the kitchen? Kaji-san, feel free to watch t.v." She handed him the remote, and Kaji-san's hands lingered on hers for two extra seconds.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Sakura, you said you wanted to see me in the kitchen?"

"Yes I did." Sakura dragged Sasuke away from the living room into the connecting kitchen where Naruto was busily making the ramen. "You idiots! What do you think you're doing?"

Naruto looked up innocently. "Helping you with your date."

"If you two want to ever live to see your own kids, I suggest you stop trying to help. Sasuke, I'd appreciate if you kept your mouth shut like you normally do. Naruto, if I find that you did anything to his ramen, I'm going give you five hundred shots while you sleep." Sakura threatened. Naruto nodded meekly and brought the bowls out to the living room.

"It smells delicious." Kaji-san smiled. "Thank you for letting me intrude."

"Well, let's watch some football already." Sasuke flipped the channel to what he was watching before. Sakura mouthed 'sorry' to Kaji-san and he winked.

Naruto who had been watching Kaji-san instead of the television slurped his ramen loudly. "Kaji-san, did you know Sakura's only eighteen?"

"For the love of God-" Sakura raised her voice.

"Yes, actually. I was amazed to see such a young, talented doctor." Kaji-san said smoothly. Sakura blushed.

"Young enough to still be a virgin." Sasuke added to the conversation. Both Sakura and Kaji-san coughed into their ramen. Naruto's cough sounded suspiciously like masked laughter. As Kaji-san cleaned himself up, Sakura threw one of her chopsticks at Sasuke. He caught it right before it touched his temple.

Kaji-san began shifting around. "I think I should go now. Thank you for the meal, Sakura. It was a pleasure having you as my doctor." He wobbled as he tried to stand up. Sakura quickly took his arm and ushered him to the door.

"I'm so, so sorry Kaji-san." Sakura whispered.

Kaji-san smiled understandingly. "Goodbye." The minute he was out of view, Sakura slammed the door shut and shrieked at the top of her lungs, "I'm gonna inject you two so hard you won't be able to move for the next three months!"

Sakura strode up the stairs, took out a spare needle from her emergency medical kit, and raced back down. "You two better hope your nerves are made of steel like they were three minutes ago!"

Naruto and Sasuke had locked themselves in the bathroom, and Sakura was kicking the door with almost fearsome strength.

"Sakura, calm down. It's illegal to inject someone without their permission." Sasuke's cool voice came from inside the bathroom.

Sakura gave an extra fierce kick. "It's also illegal to murder someone so it looks like I'll be going to jail for a double felony. Get out here!"

"Sakura, we're sorry! We were just looking out for you. Sasuke always tells us those stories about pedophiles and-"

"What the fuck dobe? Are you trying to blame this on me?"

"Well you were the one who made that virgin comment-"

"I am going to murder you two!" Sakura screeched. She kicked the door again, and it shuddered. Sakura was just about to knock the door down when the horrible screeching came from the front door.

"Did he seriously come back for more?" She heard Naruto ask disbelievingly. Sakura marched to the foyer and opened the door angrily. "I'm sorry but we're a little busy right – oh shit."

Standing on the doorstep was Itachi Uchiha.

Otherwise known as He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Welcome.

Besides being Sasuke's hotter, older brother, Itachi was one of Konoha's most sought after men in both business and dating. His intimidating stare and fear inducing aura did nothing to lessen the number of admirers he had. Naruto and Sakura often tried coming up with a list of products or foods that Itachi ate or used that might have given him special pheromones but Sasuke shot them all down.

"He's just a freak of nature" – was Sasuke's response.

"You're Sakura Haruno?" Itachi's deep, suave voice brought Sakura out of her reverie.

"Only on certain days. On days I feel like murdering people my name is Chucky." Sakura smiled. Itachi stared at her with the same impassive expression on his face.

"My father wants to meet with the girl who is currently living with the sons of two of the most promising politicians in Konoha. I assume that is you, despite your different aliases."

Sakura felt all the civility of the conversation disappear. "Itachi, you've known me for about six years now. You could've just said your father wants to meet with me instead of making me sound like a whore."

Itachi's expression didn't change. "I apologize if I've offended you in any way." His tone was curt and unfeeling.

"As if you care. Ask Mr. Uchiha what made him think that after refusing him twice on the phone, you coming here personally would make me change my mind." Sakura stepped back in order to close the door when Itachi stopped the door with his arm.

"I don't like to take no for an answer."

"Looks like you have no choice." Sakura spat back. "Now if you don't mind, I have two people I need to get back to killing."

Itachi slowly let his arm fall away from the door and the door slammed shut. Years of coercing business deals and handling impossible shareholders was nothing compared to persuading three rebellious teenagers to be reasonable. He clearly remembered the day when Sasuke announced that he was moving out.

"Don't be foolish, Sasuke." Fugaku Uchiha snapped. "If you were half as responsible as Itachi was when he was eighteen-"

"I'd be making you look like a decent father?" Sasuke blazed back.

"Sasuke!" Mikoto pleaded. "Where are you planning on going?"

Sasuke glared at his father. "It doesn't matter where. As long as it's away from this hellhole."

Itachi stepped in. "Sasuke, don't be stupid. Go to your room right now."

"Fuck you." Sasuke said coldly. "As long as you stay, Father won't lose his image as a 'family man'."

"Sasuke, the minute you step out of this house, you are renouncing your name!" Fugaku roared.

Sasuke smirked. "You say that like my name was actually something important."

"Foolish little brother." Itachi watched from his car as Sasuke and Naruto came running out of the house with Sakura close behind. Something shiny glinted from her hand, and both Sasuke and Naruto were shouting at her to put it down.

"Over my dead body!" Sakura shrieked. It seemed that her conversation with Itachi renewed vengeful feelings towards Sasuke and Naruto. Itachi watched with amusement as his little brother scampered away from his deadly female roommate.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Itachi glanced at his phone. "Yes, Father."

"Did you get her to come?"

Itachi watched as the pinkette jumped on Naruto's back. "No."

"Use any means possible to get either Sasuke out of that house or Uzumaki's son and that girl out."

"Yes, Father."

"Sakura, don't forget your bag." Sasuke held out her white bag as Sakura adjusted her shoes.

"Thanks. Don't let Naruto skip out on studying. Make some crap up about poli-sci being the reason why ramen was invented or something."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Even he's not that stupid. Just go already."

"Love you too honey." Sakura threw him an imaginary kiss that he swatted away. He closed the door right when her foot stepped outside. "Bastard."

The sky was gray and cloudy, and the air felt cool. The train station was only a few blocks down but Sakura didn't want to risk getting wet. She quickly jogged to the train station where the train paused long enough for her to jump in and sit down next to a nicely suited man wearing a fedora.

"Nice weather we're having." The man nodded at Sakura. She looked outside but a curtain covered the window.

"Unless it rains."

He smiled at her. "Are you getting off any time soon?"

"Not quite."

"Good. We can get to know each other." The guy edged closer to her and lightly touched her forearm.

Sakura grew uneasy. "I have to go to the bathroom." She quickly got up and rushed to the very front seat of the train. A man was sleeping with a newspaper over his face, and Sakura chose to sit next to him. She quickly dialed Sasuke's number from her phone.

"What." Sasuke greeted her.

"Some guy just tried hitting on me-" Sakura blubbered.

"Congratulations."

"No! He tried getting closer to me and touched my arm too. It was like, arm rape or something." Sakura hissed. "Stay on the phone with me."

Sasuke was saying something to Naruto. "Sasuke? Sasuke!" Sakura urgently called.

"Naruto, I think she wants to talk to you." Sasuke said loudly.

"Stupid bastard, you should at least be comforting me." Sakura hung up and stared mournfully at the time. She would be at the hospital in thirty minutes. She just had to make it through thirty minutes.

"Can I get your ticket, miss?" The conductor asked in a friendly tone. "Is this your companion for the trip?" He gestured towards the man with the newspaper.

"Oh, no. Um, excuse me?" Sakura lightly tapped the man. Instantly, the newspaper slid off his face and the man held her arm in a vice-like grip.

The conductor bristled. "Please let go of her arm. She was merely waking you for your ticket. I will not allow anyone on my train to be manhandled."

Sakura stammered. "Aren't you Deidara of –"

The man let go of her arm and instead clasped his hand over her mouth. The conductor frowned and took out his walkie-talkie. "Sir, I must ask you to take your hand off of her before I have you escorted out."

Deidara lowered his hand and handed over his ticket. The conductor looked at him suspiciously before bidding Sakura a good day. When the conductor left, Deidara grabbed both of her shoulders and spun her around to face him. His long blonde hair was in its normal ponytail, with his front hair cascading over his face. His darkly lined and shadowed eyes pierced into hers.

"You will not tell anyone you saw me here." He said menacingly.

Sakura blinked. "What?"

"You are going to sit somewhere else and pretend you never saw me. Then, you are going to get off at the next station. If you don't I'm going to make sure you die a slow and painful death."

Sakura raised her eyebrows. How ironic that this successful businessman was threatening to kill her, a doctor, slowly and painfully. "I'm sorry, but my stop isn't for another twenty minutes and I can't risk being late. I do have peoples' lives to save."

Deidara's eyes opened wide when she said that last sentence. Sakura admired his bright blue eyes; the lines and shadows did nothing but emphasize their beauty. Sakura thought about her own eyes. Maybe Ino was right when she gave one of her lectures about the power of make-up.

"Come with me." Deidara said abruptly. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the end of the car where the bathroom was located. Sakura stumbled and tripped as Deidara mercilessly pulled her along.

"Stay put in there." Deidara ordered. Sakura stared at the bathroom door.

"Why? I don't have to go."

Deidara pushed her in. "Don't come out until I come back. Or else –"

"Yeah, yeah slow and painful death. Got it." Sakura brooded as she closed the door. Normally, she would've protested and demanded to know what was going on but certain rumors floating around about Deidara frightened her into shutting up.

The light was dim in the bathroom and the toilet seat was down. Sakura examined her face in the mirror and winced at the bags under her eyes. She rummaged through her white bag for concealer that Ino insisted every girl should carry with her.

As she was carefully applying under her eyes, the bathroom light went off. Sakura cursed her luck and tried flicking the switch back on and off. When that didn't work, Sakura gave up trying to conceal her bags and sat on top of the toilet. It was a long time before anyone knocked on the bathroom door.

"Would you please step out of the bathroom?" A hoarse voice called. Sakura froze. That wasn't Deidara.

Sakura quickly opened the door and saw a policeman waiting outside. "How long have you been in there?"

"I'm not sure." She stammered. "Is there something wrong?"

The policeman took her by the arm. "There's been a murder and you are now under investigation by law. Were you waiting for someone?"

Sakura opened her mouth, and then closed it again. Deidara was part of Akatsuki, an organization consisting of the world's most successful tycoons. If she ratted him out, he would find her faster than she would be able to hide.

"No."

"Then why were you in the bathroom for so long? The murder occurred over thirty minutes ago – you were in the bathroom for over thirty minutes?"

Sakura laughed nervously. "I have digestive issues?"

The policeman glared at her. "Please sit where you were sitting before you went to the bathroom." He followed her as she made her way to the front of the car. Then she gasped when she saw who was sitting there.

Instead of Deidara, Itachi Uchiha had taken his place with the very newspaper that had been on Deidara's face earlier. Itachi's eyes narrowed, and then turned to the policeman. "How long is this going to take? I have an important meeting to attend."

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Mr. Uchiha. We are searching everyone for a weapon. Miss, could you please hand over your bag?"

Sakura wordlessly handed her bag over to the police who took it and marched away. Sakura turned to Itachi. "What are you doing here?"

Itachi closed his eyes in annoyance. "I'm assuming you're the doctor Deidara locked in the bathroom?"

"He told me to go in! What the hell is going on? Who got murdered?"

"Zabuza Momochi and his assistant." Itachi opened his eyes and a tint of red edged his normally coal black eyes. "You are not to mention Deidara under any circumstance. I am the one you met on the train earlier."

"But the conductor saw Deidara-" Sakura whispered.

"The conductor is dead." Itachi said flatly. "Now, face forward and don't say anything else."

Sakura obeyed his command and stared at a spot on the wall. What was going on? Why did Deidara and Itachi switch places? Why were they on a train in the first place? Unless they knew something like this was going to happen; unless they were the ones who killed Zabuza…

Sakura gasped. She noticed Itachi's hand twitch ever so slightly, and suppressed herself. The police returned with her purse.

"Miss Haruno, we noticed an ID from the Konoha Hospital in your bag. What's quite interesting is that the only doctor on this train ended up using the bathroom during the murder."

Sakura tensed. "Are you trying to imply something, officer?"

"What were you doing in the bathroom for so long, Miss Haruno?" The policeman demanded. "Did someone perhaps ask you to wait there?"

Sakura snatched the purse and rummaged through it. She pulled out a tampon. "Officer, I may be a doctor but I am also an eighteen year old girl with a body that hasn't stopped changing yet. Unless there's a law stating that during a time of murder, a female doctor cannot be changing her tampon then I don't think you can charge me for any crimes."

The police wasn't finished. "And how long does it take to change one, Miss Haruno? Over thirty minutes?"

"I don't believe that's information that is to be shared, officer." Sakura said rudely. Inside, her heart was pumping blood at the speed of light and her hands were getting cold and clammy.

The police officer jotted some notes on his pad and stepped back. "After a full body check, you'll be able to leave. Until then, please cooperate with us patiently." He left the two in order to hassle another passenger on the train.

"Don't overdo on the lying." Itachi said calmly.

Sakura clenched her fist and punched the wall in front of her. A vibration passed through the train. "And whose fault is it that I have to lie about my period problems?"

Itachi stayed quiet. "That's what I thought." Sakura muttered through clenched teeth. "Now shut up and let me sleep."

"Someone just got murdered on this train and you have a good idea who the murderer is yet your only concern is getting sleep?" Itachi questioned.

"Look, if I start getting curious I'm eventually going to get killed myself. I'm just going to pretend I didn't see anything so if you don't mind." Sakura faced away from Itachi and curled into a ball. She knew Itachi was staring but she ignored him and tried to focus on the darkness of her eyelids. "Please let this be a dream," she prayed before falling asleep.

Itachi was focusing intently on his newest proposal. Now that Zabuza was out of the way, no one would object to the funding of his new project. Itachi smirked with satisfaction and turned to his unwitting accomplice. She was sleeping peacefully, with the occasional nose twitch. He didn't feel annoyed or bored when he was with her like he did with girls that his mother tried to push onto him. She didn't ask questions persistently, probably due to her experience in confidentiality as a doctor, and she was too naive to grasp the bigger picture this murder painted for the world. She was immature, by the way she refused to accept the reality of the situation, but she didn't go hysterical when he asked her to lie.

"Mr. Uchiha, please come with us." The police officer came back and looked at Sakura uncomfortably. "Excuse me, miss. You need to wake up."

"Shut up Naruto." Sakura muttered before turning away from the officer. Itachi and the police officer left Sakura alone.

Itachi stood nonchalantly as the officers checked his body for any suspicious weapons. When he was given the clear, he walked off the train where a sleek black Lamborghini was waiting for him.

"Did she rat us out?" Deidara moved in towards the passenger seat as Itachi climbed into the driver's seat.

"If she did, I wouldn't be out."

Deidara grinned. "Alright. She was cute, don't you think? She didn't ask any questions either. My type, don't you think?"

Itachi snorted. "Shut up. We've got a board meeting to attend."

Thanks to the whole murder incident, Sakura had to walk fifteen blocks before she reached home. She called the hospital after she was let go to tell them she was held up and Tsunade told her to not bother coming. Tsunade said something about it being an "easy" day, which meant that Tsunade found a stash of sake somewhere and was drinking happily in her office. Naruto and Sasuke were at their night class at Konoha University and she felt sluggish and dazed as she walked into the empty house.

As she crawled into bed and got ready to sleep, Sakura suddenly remembered Itachi's tinted eyes and shivered. Though Sakura was more annoyed with him than ever, she couldn't deny that he was irresistibly good looking.

Even for a murderer.