Inseparable Companion

Disclaimer: Naruto is not my original creation.

Chapter 8

Kakashi sat next to Sakura on the bed. His anger was still there, but he had managed to keep it under control as he waited patiently for Sakura to control her sobs.

Kakashi was still trying to understand what had greeted him on his arrival home. If it had been any other woman he'd caught Genma with, then Kakashi would have just been pissed off that it was his bed they were using.

But it was Sakura-chan. The naïve girl he'd originally trained and had watched grow. What was Genma thinking?

"Sakura... tell me honestly, do you like Genma-san? Is that why you're hear at this time of the morning?" Kakashi spoke with a calm tone, his words quietening her crying to sniffling.

Sakura's face took on a concerned expression, struggling to decide on what she should say, "N-no…"

Kakashi sighed.

"I'm disappointed in you, Sakura-chan."

Those words hit deep and Sakura looked up in surprise at Kakashi.

"But sensei!"

Kakashi stood up frustrated, fighting to keep his calm aura, and when Sakura reached her hand out to stop him from walking away she flinched at the expression he showed her when he looked back down at her.

"Please stay and listen to me..."

"Why?"

Her fingers were still attached to his sleeve, holding him in place. She bowed her head into his arm.

"So you can tell me that I'm still the same Sakura-chan whose hair you used to rustle all those times to reassure me."

Kakashi brought his other hand up and placed it on Sakura's fingertips, "But you're not. You've grown up now… "

He moved her hand away from his arm before continuing, "Sakura, are you going to tell Naruto?"

He noted her surprise then followed by fear, and confirmed what he already suspected in his head. That they were involved.

"Kakashi-sensei, I never did anything with Genma-san. I swear, this was the first time and you stopped us"

He listened, his eyes staring out the window behind her.

"…and I was just lonely, it won't happen again."

She could see a crease forming between his eyes as his squeezed them shut at her words.

"That's not good enough, Sakura-chan. You have people who care about you, you have friends, Naruto who loves you! And I'm here too, as well!"

Sakura reacted instantly, her anger lashing out.

"But you're NOT!"

Kakashi turned to her in confusion.

"You think you understand and that you are aware but you're not! The two boys I cared about, abandoned me. And I kept waiting, never minding or saying anything, I worked hard on my own while waiting for them to return to me! And when they finally did, Sasuke dies and Naruto hasn't even noticed I have changed! No one looks at me! No one!"

"Sakura!"

"And you Kakashi-sensei! Only lecturing me when it's convenient. Were you really my sensei! When did you ever really care about anything I di-"

Her words were stopped by a ringing smack. She raised her hand to her left cheek in stunned surprise. Kakashi too looked surprised.

"I didn't mean that." And he pushed forward and brought Sakura into his embrace. His long arms wrapped her up and his fingers caught in her hair. Sakura's face was pressed awkwardly into his vest pocket and its contents were sharp. But she didn't mind, taking advantage of this rare display of warmth. She raised her hands and curled her fingers into his chest, fighting more tears.

"I'm sorry you feel that way Sakura-chan, but we have all noticed how much you've grown and improved, and we all care for you."

"Mmn. Sensei!"

"Oi! I had to sleep on a park bench because of you!"

Kakashi was leaning against a thick trunk of a nicely shaded tree, he didn't bother to raise his head from his well-loved book to look at Genma.

He moved over to join Kakashi in the shade. Kakashi didn't appear as upset or angry as Genma was afraid he would be.

"So…"

Kakashi flicked to the next page, "So what?"

Genma sat in front of Kakashi, crossing his legs and started twisting his senbon between his fingers. "What did she say to you?"

"That she walked into my apartment and bedroom looking for me."

Genma let out a snort followed by laughter, "You liar…"

Genma went on, "The guy she likes she can't have, so she came to me. Because, the guys she usually relies on for comfort weren't there for her…"

Kakashi remained silent, leafing through his book at bit faster now.

Genma played with his senbon a little before continuing, "Remember when we were in Sand, at the Kazekage's birthday celebration. Right after that Uchiha kid had returned. Naruto had been drinking and stated he was awake that night, when Sakura had kissed him in his sleep. And then Sasuke-kun spoke up and said he'd been awake too when she had kissed him as well."

Genma chuckled at the tale. Kakashi remembered that mission, he'd been awake as well. But he would never speak up about it. That was year's back when the team had been sent on an A-class mission, before Sasuke had left the Hidden Leaf.

"What's your point?"

"Hmm, nothing. Just, Sakura-chan said something odd to me last night…"

"Genma…"

"Well, I was just thinking," He raised his face to look at Kakashi, "you don't think Sakura released Itachi out on purpose, do you..?"

Kakashi frowned at the comment, finally lifting his gaze, "What do you mean by that?"

Genma scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "Sakura said to me she has never kissed the guy she likes. Maybe…Sakura likes Uchiha Itachi. Maybe in her hurt over losing Sasuke-kun she has unwillingly attached herself to the next best thing from him."

"That's… that's impossible." Though, Kakashi felt something suspicious uncoil inside him. It sounded ridiculous, but when he considered Sakura and the circumstances surrounding Itachi he couldn't stop thinking about it being a possibility.

"Itachi murdered Sasuke! Sakura is very aware of that fact."

Genma stood, he's knee's cracking and he stretched his arms. "Well, tonight I plan on getting a good rest! I'm going to go find some babe to take me in."

He turned to head off, picking up a drawstring bag on his way, before stopping one last time, "Kakashi, err… about Sakura-chan… "

Kakashi drew his hand over his eyes, sighing, "Genma. No more, just leave. And let's not talk about that ever again."

"Right!"

And he was gone, taking with him the ability for Kakashi to focus on his book. Now he had new and unsettling thoughts clouding his mind.

Sakura stepped through the door of her dark and cool apartment, leaving her shoes at the entrance she headed straight to her kitchen. Although she barely slept, nodding off in the early hours of the morning at Kakashi-sensei's house, she felt refreshed.

Today's shift didn't start until noon and Sakura found herself looking forward to the free hours ahead of her. She shut the fridge door after finding the orange juice and turned for a glass.

A sharp voice hissed at her from the dark, "Damn you, Sakura-chan!"

She jumped at the large shadow, and the glass shattered at her feet.

Itachi loomed before her, his weight leaning heavily on the bench, he looked tired, and thin. His skin was like wax, and his cheeks and eyes more hollow than usual.

"You bitch! You didn't heal me. You did something else to me… "

Sakura regained her composure at his appearance and moved toward him, "Itachi-kun, you really came back. To tell you the truth, I never planned on letting you go in the first place."

"God damn it! I barely made it here un-detected. If I'm found, I swear…"

Sakura raised a fine pink eye brow, "You'll what? Itachi-kun, you're in no position to be threatening me."

She raise her hand to her lips to cover a small smile, "I'm the hokage's apprentice, and you are a traitor to Konoha. I would die before letting you escape like that."

Something flashed in Itachi's eyes. Surprise, hurt, anger or just exhaustion, Sakura couldn't define. "You shouldn't let someone have such open access to your mind Itachi, who knows what that could really be playing around with."

"But you healed me, I felt it!"

"And then I poisoned you, just a chakra induced suggestion that you couldn't detect."

"What the hell… "

"It's just a pin-hole, slowly draining you. I'm surprised your sharingan didn't detect it. Or, maybe you can't use your sharingan either…"

He moved into place in front of her and roughly seized her shoulders, his expression cold and menacing, "I was going to let you live, but not anymore."

As damaged as he was, he still moved swiftly, pilling out a kunai from his dark cloak, but Sakura was strong and fast and threw his weight over her shoulder. She jumped with him and landed on top of him, Itachi laying under her on his back, gasped for air.

"Itachi-kun, prepare to face the judgement of Konoha…"

"Sakura…" his eyes pleaded with her, "I thought, that you and I…"

She pushed her kunai into his neck, cutting off his words. "There was never a you and I. You were just convienient, and so was I. Other than that, I feel nothing for you."

Her last words pulled at something inside her but she didn't correct them. Itachi relaxed his hands and posture and lay limp under her. She sat rigidly on top, still unsure of his intention. He looked at her, a bemused expression touching his features and he tipped his head back and let out a chuckle.

"To think, I've been so foolish lately, to let my guard down around a girl…"

He lay there, his legs and arms splayed around her. He then gently touched her legs and drew circle on her thigh. "I might have a little bit of energy left, you know for old times sake…"

Sakura blushed. "Baka! I'm never doing that with you again!"

Itachi's familiar smirk appeared and Sakura found herself transfixed, "You know, I think you just desperately wanted to keep me for yourself. Did you really only think of Sasuke all those times when I was inside you?"

"Of-of course!"

He pushed his upper body forward, "Sakura," his voice like a caress, pleading with her, "Come on, heal me again this time, truly, and I swear I'll give you the greatest pleasure"

"No… Itachi-kun"

"Come-on Sakura-chan…" his lips were now nipping at her collar and trailing up her neck, when he stiffened slightly, he brought his face to hers, a cynical expression attached, "Your scent, and the way you react… have you been with another man recently?"
Sakura scrambled off his lap and pulled her arm up over his face. Was it that obvious!?!

"Hmm. Don't tell me, I've left you that un-fulfilled. What did you do with him?" Although he said it with a smile, it didn't reach is eyes, which were cold and piercing.

"Did he fuck you as good as I would have?"

Sakura swiped her hand at his approaching form, "Shut up! It never got that far! I haven't slept with anyone since you!"

He seemed pleased at her words and drew her close, which she made to resist.

"Come now, you went through all that trouble of making sure I'd have a reason to come back, now - don't pretend you don't want me to embrace you."

And with that she relented, and her words tumbled from her lips in a rush. "Just until the end of the month, and then I swear I'll release you. I'll heal you fully and let you make your own way out of the village. If you are captured so be it. But I'll do my part honestly. But you have to stay with me just until the end of the month…"

Itachi looked down into her eyes, she looked very vulnerable and he took her word for it. Not questioning his own motive for seeking her out again when he knew it was a risk.

"Just until the end of the month!"

Just until Naruto gets home.

End Chapter 8.

Sorry this was another short chapter, but I'm posting a new fanfic soon. But, I'll prioritize this one first.

Check it out sometime.

rXr