Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto, but the new plots (meaning the ones you don’t recognize!) are mine. This fanfiction has been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews for Chapter 10. It has been a while, I know, and I apologize for the delay. This is a longer chapter than usual, so I hope that would please you (smiles).

The Centerpiece by elle6778 - Chapter 11

Itachi was here.

Relief, and something else shot through Sakura as she clutched him close. She was so glad to see him that she had not thought twice about kissing him.

In fact, the act felt frighteningly natural.

But as grateful as she was for his presence, something at the back of her mind told her that she should really pull back. She was kissing Itachi, for goodness’s sakes! Then, at the realization that Itachi might take offence at her assault on his person, she berated herself mentally. They were in the middle of nowhere and so, it was not necessary to act like lovers because no one was there to see them.

At that thought, Sakura peeled away cautiously, releasing her grip from around him. Their eyes clashed momentarily, and Sakura froze at the look in Itachi’s onyx orbs. It was hard to tell what it was in the semi-darkness of pre-dawn. And before she could make sense of it, that odd look was gone, leaving him with his usual impassive expression.

What was it?

Feeling quite discomfited and not understanding why, she sought to put some distance between them by standing up. Her awkwardness was forgotten the moment pain shot through her body, making her squeeze her eyes shut. Yes, she had not had the chance to heal herself yet, seeing that all that remained of her chakra had gone to maintaining the genjutsu hiding her from view.

“Sit down,” came an imperious command.

At the feel of a voluminous cloak enveloping her body, Sakura’s eyes shot open to find Itachi staring at her with an uncompromising look. “I’ll be fine,” she responded, pulling the cloak more securely around her.

His brows furrowed slightly. “Do not be stubborn. You are in no condition to travel until you’re healed.”

She almost groaned out loud at his commanding tone. It was not as if she was not grateful for his presence, but… “I need to get out of here. Deidara might double back.”

His eyes flickered, and an odd expression escaped on his face before he hid it behind his usual stoicism. “Deidara?” he queried blandly.

Itachi might not be the easiest person to read, but Sakura had been so exposed to him over the last few months that she actually understood what his look meant. Her brows immediately furrowed at the awareness that Itachi recognized the name. But why would he know someone like that? Konoha nins did not usually associate with random rogue nins, after all. And what made it even more suspicious was the fact that Deidara had been the one to kidnap her.

“You know him from somewhere, don’t you?” she ventured cautiously.

His eyes flickered yet again, and this time, it was in surprise. “Was he alone?”

“You didn’t answer my question,” she pointed out, not that she expected any less. Itachi tended to be evasive when it came to such things. “Where do you know him from?”

“This is not the appropriate time to broach the subject.”

Irritation shot through her, but she had to concede that he was right. “Fine. Let’s get out of here and then you tell me.”

Once again, he did not answer her question. Instead, he turned and presented his back to her. “I’ll carry you.”

Carry her? Stunned, she could only gape at the back of his head, trying to process the information.

“Uh… What?” she exclaimed when she finally found her voice.

He glanced over his shoulder. “You are injured. You will only delay us in your condition. Especially in the dark.”

“Uh… right,” she muttered, feeling a flush running up her chest and shoulders.

For some reason, the idea of being carried by Itachi seemed so intimate. But it was ridiculous that she thought so because they had done ‘couple’ things like kissing, which was surely more intimate in nature, right? Him carrying her was just like a full body hug. Less than that, actually, since a hug was front to front, and him carrying her would be her front to his back.

She groaned out loud when she realized that she was rambling to herself.

“Sakura.”

Her eyes snapped up to find him staring at her inquiringly. She found herself wishing that he would look away, but she knew that she was being ridiculous. Her injury must have affected her brain somehow, causing her to feel so out of sorts.

“What?”

“I was of the impression that you wish to leave,” he said evenly.

She almost winced. “Alright.”

Telling herself to stop her nonsense, she limped the two steps which separated them and then gingerly placed her hands on her shoulders. Was she not too old for a piggy-back ride?

“Sakura.”

This time, she heard a hint of impatience in his voice. Before she could respond to it, a pair of warm, gloved hands clamped behind her knees. The next thing she knew, she was hoisted upwards onto his back. As her eyes widened in surprise, her arms shot around his shoulders, gripping him in reflex. Now, her chest was pressed so tightly against his back that she found it hard to breathe.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

She licked her suddenly dry lips, thankful that he could not see her face, for he would definitely spot the blush that was spreading over her skin if he did. “Let’s go,” she managed to choke out.

And with that, he set off at a brisk pace.

Once they were moving, all her discomfiture evaporated to be replaced by physical pain. She winced as each step jolted her injury, but she knew that it could not be helped. It would have been worse if Naruto had been the one to carry her, because she knew that Itachi’s movements were certainly smoother.

The thought of Naruto made her gasp.

Her team! How could she have forgotten about them?

“Itachi, what happened to my team?” she asked urgently. “We were on this mission and-”

“I know,” he interjected calmly. “Team Kakashi sent a message to Konoha requesting backup. They briefed us on the situation and my ANBU squad was chosen to carry out the search for you. The last I spoke to your team leader, he was planning on returning to Konoha with his prisoner.”

“Prisoner?”

“Kabuto.”

“Oh.” She let out a breath of relief. “They are all safe, then.”

“Hm.”

“So where are Shino and Genma?”

“Tracking your captor. Deidara. He needs to be apprehended.”

Her eyes narrowed at the name, instantly furious. “The bastard would pay once I get my hands on him. He could have blown me up back then!”

“He would not.”

“Huh? Why not? He tried hard enough.” She frowned in confusion. And then let out a frustrated sigh. “Actually, this whole thing doesn’t make sense to me. Why the hell did he kidnap me?”

Itachi simply continued to speed ahead without answering her. However, the subtle tensing of his shoulders fed her suspicion that he knew more than he was giving away. But then, he had said that he would answer her later, right? Her brows furrowed as she tried to recall their conversation earlier. Maybe ‘later’ was now.

“Itachi, you have met Deidara before?” she ventured.

“Later.”

An impatient huff left her, but she knew better than to press him further. It was clear that Itachi was not planning on telling her anything until he was good and ready.

Resigned to it, and besides, she was too tired to pursue the matter further, Sakura let herself settle deeper against Itachi. The repetitive, rhythmic motion was making her drowsy. She felt him tense almost imperceptibly, but she paid it no mind. Instead, she rested her chin on his shoulder. Yawning, Sakura tried to keep her eyes open. It would not do to fall asleep and fall off his back.

It would be far too embarrassing to contemplate.

She needed to focus on something, and that something was definitely not the scenery, she thought as the greenery whipped past them. Yawning again, she turned slightly to the side and felt something brush against her neck. A quick glance to the side told her that his hair-tie was slipping and his hair was about to become unbound.

Without thinking, she took one hand from his shoulder and snagged the tie before it could fall off. Itachi darted an inquisitive glance at her, but at the sight of his hair-tie in her hand, he returned his attention to the front.

She rested her chin back on his shoulder, closing her eyes when his now-unbound hair brushed over her face. His earthy scent enveloped her senses, and unwittingly, she inhaled deeper. It was a familiar scent, she thought, and it somehow made her feel secure and protected. At the same time, it also made her feel warm and fuzzy, like she wanted to pull him closer and burrow her face into his neck. And this was all from his scent only.

Wait.

Her eyes shot open in alarm.

Was she actually sniffing him?

She groaned inwardly. Deidara had definitely done a number on her. What was she doing, sniffing Itachi? No doubt he would not thank her for it, if he knew what she was doing. Then again, it was not as if she could avoid it. He was carrying her, after all. Stuck so close to him, there was no way she could ignore it.

But she had to.

“Bind it.”

His sudden instruction barely registered in her sleepy mind. “Huh?”

He did not turn around when he responded, “My hair will get in the way. Fasten the tie around it.”

She blinked. “Oh.”

Nerves jangling for some reason, she ran her fingers through his thick mass of hair, telling herself that she had good reason to do so before tying it. The silky strands caressed her hands gently, and she sucked in a deep breath. Her hands were shaking slightly when she brought the hair tie closer and bound his hair in its usual low ponytail.

“Thank you.” His voice was quiet.

She nodded, even though he could not see it. It was just a simple thing, nothing to be freaked out about. She was just feeling out of sorts because she was tired.

Closing her eyes, she resolutely told herself to think of something else.

000

000

Itachi had been prepared to travel all the way from where he had found Sakura straight to Konoha without a break. However, he had noticed that Sakura was growing increasingly weary, even though she was being carried. Her injuries had bothered her greatly, even though she had admitted it. It had been obvious from the way she attempted to stifle her groans of pain each time he had landed on a tree trunk.

Eventually, just before nightfall, he had made the decision to stop and rest in a village in Waterfall Country, halfway to their destination. Sakura had protested, adamant that they should return to Konoha as soon as possible. There was also something in her mannerism then that suggested to him that she was anxious about something. Something that she did not want him to know, seeing how she attempted to hide it from him. It had disturbed him that she had found it necessary to keep something from him. In his recollection, she had never reacted to him in this manner.

Perhaps that was why he had insisted that they stayed at the inn. Whatever Sakura was hiding from him, it piqued his interest and now, he wished to know what it was.

No. Their break had nothing to do at all with the fact that he was growing increasingly discomfited by her proximity as the journey progressed. It had nothing to do with his awareness of how tightly she had been pressed against him, allowing him to feel her curves, bringing certain thoughts to his mind. Furthermore, it had nothing to do with how he kept recalling the way her fingers had slid through his hair, sending heat rushing through him with every stroke.

Those thoughts were wholly inappropriate, considering the state she was in.

Itachi shifted into a more comfortable position on his side of the futon. Leaning back against the wall, his brows furrowed. Those thoughts were unacceptable even if she was uninjured, he insisted to himself. Still, something told him that it was too late for him to do anything about it.

Yes, he recognized it as physical attraction.

It would not be an issue if it was just that. He could control his physical urges if that was all it was. However, it was more than that. She was more to him. He had already deduced that much over the last few days. The icy dread he had felt when he learnt of her kidnapping were not the only things that came to mind. His contemplations of Sakura had also grown more frequent of late, and he could see that it was leading him in one direction only.

She had started off as his brother’s teammate, and then she had become his comrade. Then it had progressed to this charade that had begun as a mission, this farce of a courtship that had affected him more than he could ever have anticipated. The whole thing had snuck up on him, and he had been too stubborn to acknowledge it until it was too late for him to do anything about it.

And now…

Now…

He glanced at the sleeping form next to him on the futon and was immediately flooded by a feeling that, although he had experienced more frequently of late, had not given a name to. But now, with everything that had happened, he could name it.

Affection.

He was truly beginning to have feelings for her. At the revelation, he continued to run his eyes over her. She was sleeping on her side, wrapped in the cloak he had draped over her earlier, which hid her bloodstained form from view. Her eyes were screwed shut, a small furrow between her brows betraying her discomfort at her still-unhealed injuries.

His gaze dropped to her lips. Lips that had kissed him in the name of the farce of a courtship. Lips that tempted him to do more, to further the intimacy. It was something that he had been sorely tempted to do when he had found her earlier. She might have kissed him out of gratitude, but that was not the case for him.

He dragged his eyes away and fixed them to the window he had warded earlier. The additional precaution was necessary, especially since neither Genma nor Shino had made contact yet. It meant that Sakura’s kidnapper, Deidara, was still at large.

Itachi’s lips thinned. Genma and Shino would not stop until they have apprehended the rogue nin. And if they were to return empty-handed, he would personally go out on a hunt and make sure that this time, Deidara ended up in Konoha’s underground containment cells.

The futon shifted slightly, interrupting his thoughts. He glanced to the side to see Sakura stirring, cheeks strangely flushed. Much to his consternation, she began to toss around restlessly. Although her movements were limited by the cloak covering her body, she managed to almost fall off the futon, and only stopped because he placed a hand on her shoulder to restrain her.

And that was when her lips parted, releasing a soft moan.

Itachi tensed at the sound.

One might think that she was moaning because of the pain of her injuries, but Itachi doubted that it was the case. It seemed more likely that she was having a dream of a certain nature. And the notion of Sakura having such dreams…

He shook his head to clear it.

“Sakura,” he called out, his voice slightly hoarser than usual.

She whimpered, a sound that made him suck in a sharp breath. Her unconscious actions were about to bring forth some uncomfortable reactions from his own body. Knowing that he could not let it continue, he tightened his grip on her shoulder.

“Wake up, Sakura.”

“Huh?” she mumbled, eyes still closed. Her brows furrowed, as if she was displeased by the interruption to her dream.

He shook her slightly, and her eyelids fluttered in reaction. She was a little disoriented, but it was not long before her eyes snapped open in full alertness. That was when those emerald orbs snapped to his. Something like shock flashed across those eyes before she averted them, this time seemingly in embarrassment.

“Can you move?” he queried, for the lack of anything else to ask.

“Hello to you too,” she rasped, wincing as sat up abruptly.

He frowned at her voice. Reaching down for the bottle of water in the pack next to the futon, he offered it to her with a single instruction. “Drink.”

She took it gratefully and tilted her head back to drink deeply. His gaze dropped to her slender throat, watching its gentle undulations as she swallowed.

And he shifted his eyes away before any specific notion could enter his mind.

“Thanks,” she said a little while afterwards, sounding notably less hoarse. A soft groan escaped her before she asked, “How long have I slept?”

“Four hours.” He gazed at the window. “It is almost dawn. We should leave soon.”

“Okay. Can we stay an hour more or so? I think I might just have enough chakra to heal the worst of my injuries,” she muttered. “You can’t be carrying me all the way back to Konoha.”

He said nothing to that. But yes, it was probably sensible for her to heal her injuries before they travelled. His recent thoughts were discomfiting enough as they were without additional provocation.

“Itachi?”

“Hm?”

“What’s with the window?”

Realizing that his gaze was still fixed to the window, he slowly turned to face her. She was eyeing him questioningly, no doubt wondering why he was not looking at her. His behavior must appear quite peculiar to her, since she was unaware of what was running through his mind. And he intended to keep it that way. The alternative was too unsettling for him to contemplate at the moment. He had yet to decide what he should do about it.

“Itachi?” she prompted, frowning slightly now.

“Nothing,” he responded evenly. Deciding to divert her attention to more important matters, he asked, “How bad are your injuries?”

“Not so bad that I can’t heal them.” Looking down, she grimaced. “I have blood everywhere,” she remarked, plucking at her jounin vest. It was charred and bloodstained in several locations, and the long-sleeved top under it was not in a better condition.

Itachi stood up from the bed and went to the shelves nearby. There was a stack of towels there, complement of the inn. He took two from the stack and brought them to her.

Inclining his head towards the attached en-suite bathroom, which was one concession the inn had made for the sake of modern convenience even though it did not quite fit with the traditional theme of the rest of the room, he advised, “You should wash away the blood before you heal yourself.”

She took the towels from him. “Thanks.”

With that, she stood up slowly, her face screwing up in pain as she did so. He watched as she hobbled to bathroom, which was separated from the rest of the bedroom by a paper-thin shoji screen. The light soon went on, and much to Itachi’s consternation, the outline of her body was clearly visible through the insubstantial barrier.

He turned his back to her and sat back down on the futon, giving her some privacy, knowing that if he watched, the image of her undressing would probably never allow him any peace for the foreseeable future. While he could admit that the physical attraction was present, he had no intention of making it worse.

So he stared down at the floor, studying the tatami mat underneath his feet. The sound of fabric rustling reached his ears, and he tried to ignore it.

Suddenly, he heard a loud exhalation from the bathroom. “Damn it!” she hissed in frustration.

He blinked slowly, not turning around. She was obviously struggling with her clothing.

“Itachi?”

He tensed, sensing what was coming with growing unease. Keeping his tone even, he returned, “Yes?”

A few seconds passed before she spoke again, her reluctance unmistakable in her voice. “Can you help me? I can’t do this myself.”

Even though he had anticipated it, his entire body snapped taut at her request. Helping her in such a manner certainly would not do him any favors. But he knew that he could not refuse. So, slowly, he turned around and made his way to the bathroom.

He knocked.

“It’s not locked.”

When he opened the door, he found her standing in front of the bathtub with her back facing him, a towel clutched to her front and his cloak in a puddle around her feet. She was still dressed from waist down, but now, Itachi could see what the problem was. The fabric of her jounin top was stuck to her shoulders, melted into her skin, he noted with a small grimace. It was worse than he thought. The true extent of her injury had not been clear in the near-darkness when he had found her, and later, had been obscured from his view by the cloak he had wrapped around her.

“Not pretty, is it?” she asked wryly, glancing over her shoulder at him. Eyes flickering with hesitation, she continued, “I tried to clean it up, but if it is like anything at my front, it is a bit of a mess. I can’t see what I’m doing, so-”

“I’ll do it,” he interjected calmly.

He closed the distance between them. At this proximity, he could see the stain of fresh blood against the dark, mangled fabric. Reaching out, he placed one hand on her shoulder to steady her as he used his other hand to pick away the burnt fabric from her flesh.

Her body jerked and she hissed as he removed the first few pieces, and he gentled his touch. With each piece he removed, his lips thinner further in fury. Only half her back was left unburned, and the contrast between the healthy, smooth skin and the raw, burnt injury was stark. Deidara’s smirking face flashed across his eyes, and Itachi had to suppress the flare of anger which coursed through him. The urge to see the blonde nin suffer welled within him.

And then, as he continued, she shivered, goosebumps now spreading over her skin.

“Are you cold?” he asked, his hands stilling.

She cleared her throat. “A bit. But it’s okay.” A moment of silence passed before she added, “Anywhere near done?”

“Nearly.” And he commenced his ministrations.

A grunt escaped her.

He worked in silence for a few minutes more. Only when he was certain that her back was free from any burnt clothing that he stepped away from her. His hands clenched beside him as he surveyed the damage, feeling his anger boiling forth.

“Itachi?”

She sounded uncertain, almost wary. Perhaps she had sensed his anger.

Deciding that he needed some air, he announced, “I’m going out.” Taking a step towards the door, he added, “Stay in the room. It is warded.”

“Okay.”

“I will return with some food.”

“Okay.”

000

000

The moment he left her, Sakura breathed easier.

Exhaling loudly as she sat down, leaning against the smooth surface of the wooden tub, she wondered if Itachi had felt her growing tension as he stood behind her. She had held herself so still, so rigid that she could have snapped in two at the merest encouragement. She doubted that he was that oblivious, but then again, he was a man. And males could be a little dense when it came to such things.

Sakura fervently hoped so.

That stupid dream she had before Itachi had woken her up sure had a lot to answer to. How could her subconscious do something like that to her? How could it present a naked Itachi to her in her dream, doing things that she would never imagine him doing to her? And how could she allow herself to remember the dream in such disturbingly vivid clarity just when he had been helping to clean her up?

Because it would be really awkward if Itachi knew that each time his fingers had skimmed her skin, she had to forcibly suppress a shiver. Now, it would not be so bad if it was just a run-of-the-mill shiver. But it was a shiver of desire.

She shook her head roughly. He could not have guessed what had been running through her mind, right? Itachi might be good at a lot of things, but he was not a mind reader. He probably thought that she was really just cold.

Thumping the side of her head against the bathtub, she chided herself sternly. How could she be thinking perverted thoughts while the man had been peeling burnt clothes away from her bloody back? She had been in pain, and still was, and yet, she had not been able to stop her wayward mind from conjuring up all sorts of things she had no business thinking about.

Groaning out loud, she buried her face in her palms. So the dream she had of him naked in the river was just the beginning. It was almost like her subconscious was trying to warn her about what she should have realized before this. Foolishly, she had brushed those warnings aside, ignoring her reactions whenever they had shared a kiss or touched in the past, telling herself that it was part of the show, part of her mission. And she had tried to do the same yesterday, after their first… um… private kiss. Only that the excuse did not make sense at all because no one was there to see them.

She did not even want to think of the less than innocent thoughts which ran past her mind when he had carried her on his back.

Perhaps it was time to admit that what she felt for Itachi was far from platonic. Whatever it was, it was quickly getting out of hand. Their ‘relationship’ was supposed to be a mission, for crying out loud. She should be professional enough to carry out something like this without developing a crush on her client, of all people. How was anyone supposed to take her seriously if this ever came out in public? And how would Itachi react if he found out.

She could not bear to think about it.

But wait…

She frowned thoughtfully. Maybe she was overreacting. As far as she knew, Itachi knew nothing of her inner turmoil. Although she had slipped up a little, it was nothing too obvious. Therefore, the situation could still be salvaged. All was not lost. If she could rein in her wayward thoughts and keep better control of her responses, she could pull this off. No one has to know that she had a crush on her client. Itachi did not have to know. And in time, like all crushes, this one would go away too, right?

Relief coursed through her then. Yes. It would work, she decided as she straightened up. She had panicked for no reason whatsoever. Overreacted before she thought things through. But now, everything was alright…

Right?

Yes. It was alright, she told herself. Just act normal and everything would be okay. Acting was a big part of her skills as a kunoichi, after all. Itachi had hired her to act as his love interest, and she had done so convincingly right from the beginning when all she felt for him was respect as her captain. How hard could it be to pretend that she felt nothing for him except that?

Now that that was settled, it was time to fix herself. With that thought, she stood up with a wince. She could have used some chakra to numb her pain, but she knew that it would be a waste. As it was, she barely had enough to heal herself completely.

So, gritting her teeth, she proceeded to step into the tub of lukewarm water.

“Ow… Stings… stings…” she hissed between clenched teeth, willing herself to remain there and wash until she was clean.

A while later, when her blood had tinged the water pink, she rose from the tub and drained it. Dragging a clean towel to her, Sakura dried herself gingerly as she sat on the rim of the tub.

Only after that did she channel her healing chakra to her hands to begin mending her injuries. Time passed, but as focused as she was on her task, she paid it no mind. She did not stop until all her injuries were healed, leaving her with only a small amount of chakra.

Satisfied with her work, she exhaled loudly and stood up.

“Whoa…” she muttered as she swayed a little, dizzied by the effort of healing herself.

When she regained her balance, she walked across the bathroom to the pile of clothes on the floor. She frowned at it, knowing that the clothes were too damaged to be worn ever again. But Itachi’s cloak was okay. Picking it up, she went to the door. She needed some spare clothes.

Standing at the door, she listened intently as she wrapped the damp towel around herself. Had Itachi returned yet? Not hearing anything that indicated Itachi’s presence, she decided that it was alright to leave the bathroom, skimpy towel and all. So she stepped out of the bathroom and scanned the room for her belongings.

That was when she remembered that she had never found her pack.

“Oh, no,” she groaned dejectedly. What should she do now?

She took another glance around the room, and her eyes landed on Itachi’s pack. He should have a spare set of clothing in there. Her feet brought her closer to the pack while she pondered the wisdom of borrowing his clothes without his permission. She supposed she could wait until he returned, and then ask, but that would mean waiting for him in this skimpy towel.

Sakura decided that she preferred to risk his wrath.

Mind made up, she knelt down and opened his pack, brushing away the twinges of uneasiness at the fact that she was picking through Itachi’s belongings. The pack contained mission stuff only, from the looks of it, so it was not as if she was going through his personal things, she told herself as she pushed aside a tube of weapon cleaner.

It did not take her long to locate his spare clothes, tucked almost at the bottom of the pack. Extracting a black sleeveless ANBU top and matching pants, she closed the pack and stood up. Then she stared at the clothes in her hands. The idea of wearing Itachi’s clothes seemed so… personal.

She huffed at herself, annoyed by her thoughts. This had nothing to do with the attraction she held for him. It was simply a practical move, borrowing his clothes. He could not expect her to run around in a towel until she got some new clothes, right?

Dropping the towel, she shook out the clothes. She would wear them and deal with the consequences afterwards.

She had just pulled the pants on and fastened it when there was a surge of chakra behind her. A gasp of surprise escape her as she spun around, hands reflexively going around her bare chest.

And she froze.

Itachi was standing there, the white smoke of his transportation jutsu dissipating around him.

He was staring at her.

For a few seconds, shock kept her rooted to the spot. Her mind went blank at his unexpected appearance, at such an inconvenient moment. She was just standing there and Itachi was… he was…

Her eyes narrowed in annoyance when her mind clicked into place.

What did he think he was doing?

“Are you... DONE staring at me?” she hissed, outraged and embarrassed at the same time.

He blinked once, looking strangely bewildered for a moment. And then, languidly, as if nothing untoward had happened, Itachi turned away and walked past her towards the window. “Finish dressing. We are leaving,” he instructed evenly.

Her lips parted in surprise. That was all he was going to say? No apology or anything of that sort even though he had appeared without warning as she was changing? The man had some nerve, she fumed.

“That’s all you have to say?” she blurted out before she could stop it.

He slanted a glance at her out of the corner of his eyes. “Is something else the matter?” he queried smoothly.

She was glaring at him now. Was he deliberately being dense?

And then a thought struck her, and she paused in her inner rant.

Maybe he was not reacting to her half-naked form because it simply had not affected him at all. Because as far as he was concerned, she was just a kunoichi, a comrade. Nothing more. There was no reason for him to think otherwise, was there? Unlike her, who was quickly developing some sort of… attraction towards him, even to the extent of having naughty dreams about him. Twin spots of heat rose to her cheeks at the recollection.

He was probably thinking that she was making a big deal out of nothing, and was no doubt puzzled by her annoyance. Things like modesty probably should not be very high in the priority of a kunoichi when they were on a mission. That was how they were meant to pull off seduction missions. But then again, she and Itachi were not on a mission at the moment, were they?

Oh, she was just rambling in her mind again.

Her cheeks heated further, and she bit her bottom lip uncomfortably. He was still regarding her wordlessly out of the corner of his eyes, his expression more unreadable that she had ever seen it.

How should she fix this mess now?

000

000

Was she deliberately trying to tempt him?

Itachi’s entire body was taut, held tightly in check by his rigid self-control as the kunoichi before him continued to stare at him. He kept his eyes firmly fixed above her neck. She was still half-nude, covering her chest with her arms, as if it made any difference at this point.

Because he had already seen what she was trying so hard to shield.

When he had first appeared in the room, he was stunned into immobility by the sight that had greeted him. Her healed form was unblemished, the curve of her back smooth and… enticing, leading down to the twin dimples at the base of her spine, just above the low-slung pants. The sight had immediately knocked the breath out of him.

And then she had spun around to face him, exposing her unbound breasts to his view before she brought her arms up to cover herself. The image had burnt itself firmly in his mind and Itachi had a feeling that it would be difficult to forget what he had seen. But as difficult as it was, he had to. Because the impropriety of the situation called for it, and he had no intention of making the situation as unsettling for Sakura as it was for him. It was not necessary for her to know how she affected him.

Why was she still standing there?

Belatedly, he noted that the pants covering her bottom half was most likely his, considering that her pack was still with Genma. Itachi’s hands clenched once into fists before he slowly loosened them. The notion of Sakura wearing his clothes sent a rush of something he could not identify through him.

“Sakura,” he prompted, glad that the tightness in his voice was almost imperceptible.

She blinked. And he saw the color in her cheeks heighten. She had been offended earlier, but now it seemed that she was embarrassed. “I… uh…” Hands still crossed, pressing a piece of black fabric to her chest, she continued, “I borrowed your pants and vest. Is that-”

“It is fine,” he interjected in a deceptively calm voice. “Hurry. We don’t have much time.”

Her mouth opened, and then closed. She looked away once, and then back at him. A frown appeared between her brows. “We don’t have much time?” Eyes widening suddenly, she gasped, “Deidara is heading this way, isn’t he?”

He nodded once, and that was enough to jolt her into motion, much to his relief. She turned her back to him. Itachi looked away abruptly when she began to pull his vest over her head. If her earlier reaction was any indication, she would not appreciate his attention.

His trip out of the inn had been shorter than expected. He had returned without the promised food the moment he sensed the approach of a vaguely familiar chakra signature, and another unfamiliar one. Itachi knew that a fight would be unavoidable once their enemies caught up, therefore it was best that they left the inn. It would not do to involve civilians in this.

What concerned him slightly was the absence of the two chakra signatures he had hoped to detect. The fact that he had detected two enemy chakras most likely meant that Deidara had aid in subduing Genma and Shino. If that was the case, how bad had the encounter been?

However, there was another possibility. His two team members might have decided to hold back from attacking considering the uncertain odds of fighting two rogue shinobi, choosing to trail Deidara and the unknown shinobi instead. In that case, Genma and Shino could be close by, but still too far for him to locate using his Sharingan.

“I’m done. Let’s go.”

When he turned around, she was fully dressed, with the cloak thrown over her shoulders. His clothes were looser on her than they were on him, but that was to be expected. Nodding, he gathered his belongings and left the room. In matter of minutes, they were out of the small village.

Once they left civilization behind, they were surrounded by what the country was famous for; a wide river and the occasional waterfall. For a while, they travelled along the rocky bank of the river, leaping carefully from boulder to boulder before Sakura broke the silence.

“How far behind is he?”

Itachi glanced sideways at her, noting that even though she seemed completely recovered from her injuries, she was not at full capacity. Her chakra level was quite low, probably the result of her earlier healing. He would have preferred her at full capacity, but it was unlikely to happen. It meant that they would be at a disadvantage because he could not fight both of their adversaries at the same time.

“They are three miles or so behind us.”

Which was nothing in shinobi terms. Itachi knew that they could not allow the two enemies to catch up until Genma and Shino were at least within his range of detection.

“They?” She stopped abruptly on a flat piece of rock. Water from the river splashed up, dampening her sandals, but she did not seem to notice it. “Wait! There’s more than one?”

Stopping beside her on the same piece of rock, he nodded. “Aa.”

“Why didn’t you say something earlier?” she cried out in an irritated voice.

Why had he not done so? Because he had been somewhat distracted by her, perhaps. “You know now,” he murmured.

She huffed, frowning. “Come to think of it, I believe you agreed to tell me how you knew Deidara.”

He directed a pointed glance at the winding river in front of them. “We should move.”

“Tell me about Deidara,” she demanded, not moving an inch.

Her stubbornness irked him, but he knew that she would listen to reason. Even though it was only an excuse to delay explaining to her. “There is no time for that. You are not in a condition to fight. We need to avoid Deidara and his accomplice until the rest of the squad catches up.”

Her eyes widened in comprehension. “Oh.”

Without another word, she turned her attention back to their path and began to move. Itachi took a moment to glance behind him, focusing his senses and his Sharingan, but to his displeasure, detected no sign of Genma or Shino. Knowing that there was nothing much he could do about the situation, he turned back around and followed behind Sakura.

When he caught up with her shortly afterwards, he caught an anxious look from her.

“You said Genma and Shino are looking for Deidara?” she asked as she continued to move forward. “How? I mean, I left a few false trails.”

“Deidara followed one trail, so it was a simple matter for them to follow. My clones were sent to the rest of the trails.”

“Do you think they are alright?”

He did not answer, for he simply did not know. If it was the two of them against Deidara, then Itachi could be certain of the outcome. But the appearance of the unknown shinobi made it difficult to deduce what might have happened.

“They will catch up, right?” she asked distractedly, almost as if she was talking to herself.

If they did not, then he and Sakura would simply have to do their best to fight, and then capture the two enemies. The odds were not good, but they did not have any other options.

000

000

The deafening roar of water crashing down from a great height filled her ears as Sakura neared the waterfall. She almost groaned out loud when she eyed the steep cliffs on either side of the plumes of water. The parts in contact with the water were covered with moss, making it hazardous to climb.

Running all day meant that her chakra store had no chance to replenish much. It meant that she would have to scale the damned cliff without the aid of chakra because she needed to conserve the minuscule amount she had left, just in care Deidara and his buddy caught up with them.

Great. Just great, she huffed as she glared up at the water-slicked cliff.

“I’ll go first,” she announced, tossing a glance back at Itachi.

He nodded once.

Without further ado, Sakura began to climb, finding handholds and footholds in the natural crevices within the near-vertical surface. When she was about a quarter way up, she paused to glance behind her. At this level, she had a better view of the surrounding. However, she still could not detect their pursuers.

“Where are they?” she asked.

Itachi, who was further down, responded after a moment, “I cannot sense them.”

Without looking down, Sakura guessed, “They are masking their chakra?”

“Aa.”

She frowned as she curled her fingers around a protruding rock. The fact that they bothered to mask their chakra meant that they were close by. It meant that she and Itachi had to get off this damned rock face before their enemies arrived. Hoisting herself up, she continued to climb upwards, all the while wishing that she could use her chakra for this. It would make things a lot easier.

Then she slipped.

She did not know how it had happened, but one moment, she was progressing nicely upwards and the next, she was free falling.

Her fall was broken by an arm clamping around her waist, squeezing the breath out of her. Sakura could only gasp as said arm tightened around her, holding her securely. Her eyes shot up to find Itachi staring down at her with an unreadable look.

“I should just use my chakra,” she remarked sheepishly.

“No. You need that for battle. Hold on tighter,” he instructed.

She blinked in bewilderment, and then realized that he meant to help her up. Then she noted that that she was still gripping his ANBU vest. Her hold loosened, and then she shifted until her arms were looped around his neck. Her stomach was plastered to his side, and she was glad that there was the thick layer of his ANBU vest to provide a barrier between them.

“Okay, I’m ready,” she breathed out, slightly embarrassed at the situation. Playing the helpless maiden did not suit her.

Firmly supported by Itachi, she soon found herself at the top of the waterfall. The entire climb, with the extra burden of her weight, did not faze him at all, she noted when she stepped away from him. He was scanning their surrounding calmly, not even out of breath.

Inclining his head up the river, he murmured, “Let’s move.”

Nodding, she followed beside him as he ran along the side of the river. As she ran, however, the incident back at the waterfall remained on her mind.

Even though she was trying her best to conserve chakra, she knew that she would be in trouble once Deidara and his accomplice caught up, and she was certain that they would. Her chakra level was nowhere near optimum, even though she could possibly force out a jutsu or two if the situation became critical. She could not keep relying on Itachi, not to mention she did not want to.

That meant that she had to find an alternative method to fight. Without using chakra.

Her eyes flicked to the shinobi moving beside her. Reaching out, she tapped him on the shoulder.

“Itachi?”

He slanted a questioning glance at her, stopping as she did.

“Can I… erm…” She hesitated, not knowing if the ANBU captain would be willing to part with his weapon. “Can I borrow your katana? Please?”

A dark brow arched slightly. “You are capable of using it?” he asked quietly.

Slightly affronted, she retorted, “Basic training.” And then her lips twitched at the recollection of her training. “Kakashi might not be the greatest sensei, but thankfully, he had not neglected that portion of the syllabus. Sort of.”

“You seem amused by the memory,” he commented.

She grinned sheepishly. “Kakashi only had to come between Naruto and Sasuke about a hundred times to stop them from mutilating each other in the name of ‘friendly’ rivalry.”

“And your training?”

She turned her eyes back to the slippery rocks lining the river banks, slightly uncomfortable at the topic now. “Mine is alright. Normal, I guess.”

“You were paired up with your sensei.”

“Ah, not exactly.”

She was not exactly fond of that period of her life. That part of her training had occurred almost six years ago, when she was thirteen, but she could still remember how she used to wish Kakashi would pay her a little bit more attention. Her sensei had paid more attention to Naruto’s and Sasuke’s progress, leaving her to practice on her own with minimal supervision. It was a good thing she had been bookish enough to study everything the library had on swordplay, or else she would have been completely useless at it. And of course, she also had Tsunade to help her on occasion.

“Sakura?”

Itachi’s voice snapped her out of her contemplations. Pasting a smile on her face, she turned to him. “Sasuke didn’t tell you anything about our training, did he?”

Onyx orbs regarded her steadily. “He often spoke about Naruto and himself.”

She rolled her eyes. “Nothing about how I practice on Kakashi’s bunshin, while Kakashi spend most of his time making sure they didn’t kill each other, I guess.”

Itachi’s brow rose. “Perhaps he was of the opinion that you don’t need additional supervision. Furthermore, his bunshin would have informed him of your progress.”

“Additional supervision? He barely supervised me since I was training under Tsunade half the time.”

“The Godaime is the better teacher to develop your abilities. Your sensei knew that.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, disgruntled by his words. “You sound almost as if you’re defending him,” she grumbled.

“It is merely my opinion.”

“So much for feeling indebted to you for making Naruto and Sasuke realize that I’m part of their team,” she muttered darkly. “I should have known that what happened outside Tsunade’s office almost two years ago was just a coincidence.”

“It was not.”

Sakura frowned. “You’re confusing me.”

“Your sensei has always been aware of your ability, even though he might not make the effort of showing it. Naruto and Sasuke, however, were not as perceptive. They took you for granted. The first time you joined my team was the first time they became aware of the possibility of losing you.”

Her eyes widened in comprehension. “So you took the opportunity to give them a wakeup call then?”

“So to speak.”

She mulled over his words. What he said made sense, as usual. Kakashi was not the most expressive of humans and he was lazy enough to take the easy way out, such as fobbing her off to Tsunade if he had enough of a reason.

Okay, fine, she relented reluctantly. It was just as well that she had studied under Tsunade, or else she would not be where she was today.

“Take it.”

Itachi’s katana was thrust under her nose. Taking it from him, she looked into his eyes. “Thanks.” She flicked her eyes down to the katana before she looked back up. “Not just for this, but for all that-”

“Sakura-” he interjected, tensing visibly as he did so.

“Wait, let me finish,” she cut in. “I-”

His hand on her shoulder and the warning light in his eyes brought her words to a halt. “We have company,” he announced.

“Don’t let me interrupt anything, yeah,” came a familiar voice.

Sakura spun around, hardly believing what she was hearing. And sure enough, Deidara hovering up in the air on his ridiculously oversized bird some distance away, staring at them with a mocking look. Her hands tightened instantly on Itachi’s katana.

“You!” she snarled, taking a step towards the blonde. “I’ll kill you!”

“Sakura,” Itachi intoned, caution dripping from his voice.

“Tsk… Tsk…” Deidara shook his head as he landed on the ground. “I feel sorry for you, Uchiha. Having a girl like her must be a pain, yeah.”

Sakura felt a vein pop. “Why you-”

A hand clamped around her elbow, stopping her from attacking the smirking blonde nin. She turned to find Itachi shaking his head at her. But before she could say a word, another surge of chakra caught her attention.

She spun around, and her eyes widened at the sight of another nin and a puppet standing close to Itachi. The nin was a redhead, and his expression appeared strangely inanimate, almost like the puppets standing close to him. Her eyes slid to his hitai-ate, noting that he was a missing-nin from Suna.

“Your concern for the kunoichi is clear for all to see, Uchiha,” the redhead suddenly remarked. “It is understandable, seeing who she is.”

Sakura’s eyes widened. The rogue nin must be referring to their farce of a relationship. Darting a glance to the side, she noted that Itachi’s expression was unreadable. But she knew that meant nothing, for Itachi was a master of hiding his feelings.

“This is nothing personal. We don’t need to fight. In fact, we did not even need to take her if you had chosen to cooperate in the first place. You know what we want, Uchiha.” His eyes narrowed meaningfully. “Just hand it over and we’ll leave.”

Her brows furrowed in thought. And then she gasped as realization dawned. What the hell? She had been kidnapped to be used as leverage against Itachi. They had some nerve. What did they want from Itachi anyway? And how long had this been going on? Come to think of it, this was probably how Itachi had encountered Deidara.

“That is not possible,” Itachi replied calmly, bringing her inner rant to a halt and her attention back to their conversation.

Deidara snorted. “I told you he wouldn’t listen, yeah.”

“Had to try.”

Then one of the puppets moved.

Her eyes widened in horror. “Itachi! Watch out!”

But Itachi had seen the puppet flying towards him and reacted swiftly. His hands blurred and with low murmur of the name of a water technique she did not quite catch, water from the river surged high up into the air.

The column of water crashed into the puppet before it could reach the unfazed nin.

“Not bad, but hardly impressive,” the red-headed shinobi remarked.

And then the battle commenced in earnest. Sakura could only watch, wide-eyed as the rogue nin manipulated his puppets skillfully, using them to attack Itachi, who countered with a blinding array of jutsu. They traded blows back and forth, each not relenting even a little.

And soon, there was only one puppet left.

Itachi released a fire technique. Balls of flames erupted from the ground, filling the air with the scent of burnt earth. The sheer number of the fireballs meant that very little would escape them. True enough, a fireball soon enveloped the puppet. Fire licked over its entire form as its movement slowed, and then… it stopped.

Unbelievably, Sakura heard the sound of mocking laughter. She snapped her gaze to a certain blonde nin to find him laughing out loud, clutching his stomach, as if the elimination of his comrade’s puppets was something that amused him to no end. Staring incredulously, she could not help but wonder if the guy was insane.

Still laughing, Deidara taunted merrily, “That’s pathetic, yeah, Sasori. Told you my kind of art is far more superior to yours.”

The one he called Sasori growled. “You over-estimate yourself. And what are you doing standing there?”

“Well… I think I’m just going to watch, yeah,” Deidara said with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s entertaining.”

Sakura glared at him.

“Be silent,” growled the red-headed nin as he withdrew something from within his cloak.

At that angle, Sakura could not see what it was. Two puffs of smoke materialized. And then her eyes widened as two more puppets appeared right out of nowhere. One made a beeline for Itachi and the other…

A rain of kunai heading towards her was all the encouragement Sakura needed to move.

“Those puppets…” she gasped as she back flipped to avoid another kunai before landing behind Itachi. “Who the hell is this guy?”

“Akasuna no Sasori,” he supplied. “He is listed in the Bingo Book. S-class Suna missing nin. A puppet master.”

“Figures,” she muttered darkly. “Two against four. Granted… two are not human. What are our odds of getting out here alive?”

“Good.”

“Good?” she echoed doubtfully.

Itachi nodded once.

She only hoped that he knew what he was talking about.

000

000

Itachi had seen what Sakura had missed the moment he laid eyes on the blonde rogue nin. Deidara might have delayed Genma and Shino, but he had no doubt that the members of his squad, or at least Shino, would appear soon.

It had better be soon, for Sakura was certainly unfit to fight with her chakra at such a low level. It was fortunate that for whatever reason, Deidara seemed content to watch the progress of the battle without participating in it. But should Deidara finally decided to fight, Itachi knew that Sakura would not last long in her current condition.

A puppet flew towards them, forcing him and Sakura to jump apart to avoid the oncoming attack. He darted a concerned look at the kunoichi before deciding that he needed to focus fully on his own battle and defeat Sasori to be of any help to her later. She should know that she had to keep herself out of danger till then.

With that thought, Itachi released a water jutsu towards the puppet. Unfortunately, his opponent saw the move and counteracted by withdrawing the puppet swiftly back to his side.

“It would be much simpler if you just hand over what we want,” Sasori said, sounding irritated.

Itachi did not even bother to respond. Instead, he streaked towards them with the intent of destroying the source of his annoyance; Sasori.

A burst of chakra from the opposite direction interrupted his focus on his target. Itachi flicked a quick glance over his shoulder, only to find a smirking Deidara focusing his attention towards Sakura. Unfazed, the kunoichi stood her ground, his katana held in one hand.

“What are you staring at, you freak?” she snarled.

Deidara’s expression darkened. “How many times must I tell you not to call me a freak, hm?”

“Too bad I’m not planning on obeying you anytime soon.”

“Then you’re just making this more fun for me, yeah,” Deidara sneered as he extracted something from the pouch by his side.

Before he could see what it was, Itachi’s attention was dragged away by a whizzing sound heading towards him. Reacting purely by instinct, he substituted himself with a bunshin just in time to avoid being impaled by the rain of shuriken thrown by Sasori’s puppet.

He reemerged some distance away, and immediately heard a series of explosions.

Sakura.

A quick scan around told him that Sakura was unharmed. She seemed to be holding her own against the blonde nin. Her strategy appeared to be close-quarter combat, which saw her trying to get near Deidara, while he tried to do the opposite. It made sense, for at close quarters, she would be able to utilize the katana better.

“You should pay attention to your own battle, Uchiha.”

Spinning around, Itachi blocked the downward blow from a puppet with his arm before launching a counterattack. A small distance away, Sasori continued to manipulate his puppets and the battle grew more intense. Hands now full with his own fight, Itachi did not have the opportunity to check on the kunoichi. So, it was only when he heard a muffled curse that he shot a glance at her.

It appeared that Sakura had just taken a blow. She was clearly growing weary, as evidenced by the way she stumbled before righting herself on a boulder. In the interest of conserving chakra, she was not using any to assist in stabilizing herself on the slippery boulder. Instead, she formed the seals for a wind jutsu, which forced Deidara down to the ground. Katana ready, Sakura rushed towards her adversary and they clashed when katana met kunai. It seemed that she was coping as well as she could at the moment, but how much longer could she last?

Brows furrowing in concern, Itachi took another moment to direct his attention to their surroundings before quickly refocusing on his opponent. Genma and Shino were gaining on them, he noted as he raised a pair of kunai, deflecting a heavy downward strike from the puppet.

Shifting his focus back to his opponents, Itachi traded blow with them for a while until he saw an opening. Forming seals rapidly, Itachi sent another fire jutsu towards one of the puppets. It did not manage to dodge in time, and was soon engulfed in flames.

A crash sounded, followed by a choked cry, pulling his attention to Sakura once again.

Much to his alarm, he saw her sprawled unconscious at the base of a tree. Ice spiked through him at the sight of the three clay birds swooping down at Sakura. His heart clenched suddenly when he realized that he would not be able to reach her in time to intercede.

And then a sudden flash appeared, almost blinding him.

Three kunai pierced the clay explosives, setting them off mid-air. The explosives went off with a collective bang, and the burnt clay debris floated down to the ground harmlessly.

The air cleared to reveal a smirking Genma standing between Sakura and an irate Deidara.

“Sorry we are a little late, Taishou.”

000

000

A/N: That’s it for now. Hope you’ve enjoyed the overload of Ita-Saku interaction in this chapter. Please review to let me know what you think. Thanks!

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