Sakura knew, without an ounce of doubt, she would not miss from this close a range.

They'd gotten the target pinned into a corner in the cave of a mountainside, and now it was her turn to execute her side of the plan. Render the enemy incapacitated, and then take him to Sai to be delivered back to the village for questioning. It was simple, so easy a Genin could complete the task.

That is, if she didn't have two Akatsuki members breathing down her neck every few seconds.

It had been a struggle simply to break away from the unanticipated new arrivals that had come to take their assignment. While she aimed to capture, apparently the goal they sought was to deliver a swift execution. The guy was rumored to know quite a bit about the Akatsuki organization, in hindsight it did make sense that they would run into a couple of its members trying to get a hold of him. Tsunade knew it was a large possibility, and had sent them knowing they would be able to handle it.

Still, why did it have to be those two?

Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha were not foes to be taken lightly and even less so to fail a mission. Ever since her fight with Sasori, she'd come to picture the majority of Akatsuki members to be just like that.

How wrong she was. Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha were nothing like Sasori.

This was exactly why it had taken them so long to get the target in the right spot. Kakashi had decided the best plan was for Sai and Naruto to take Kisame, while he would try and handle Itachi. That left her to take on the target. Each attempt to pin him had been rendered futile when either Kisame or Itachi managed to get in her way, despite being "taken care of" by her teammates. She'd very nearly had her arm severed by Kisame in her last attempt.

Now though, she had him. This time, no one would get in her way.

Charging chakra into her fist she reared it back, giving a wry smile. She hesitated just enough to see the panicked look on the targets face, and then she launched it forward.

Everything was moving so fast, faster than her eyes could follow. One second she'd been aiming a well-deserved punch at the target, and the next her fist had met thin air.

At least for a moment.

The space he'd been occupying against the mountain side was now left wide open and unable to stop her movements in time; Sakura felt her hand slam against the rock.

In that moment everything fell apart.

The resulting vibrations against the mountain traveled up, to the rock and snow towards the top. Within seconds a loud noise could be heard, like a stampede heading down the mountainside at top speed. With their superior senses all the shinobi knew what was coming.

Avalanche.

From her position at the mouth of a cave Sakura could feel the vibrations, and some of the rocks above them were crashing to the ground. Suddenly the ground did not feel so steady, almost lighter under her feet.

Kakashi was already calling for a retreat, and Sai was moving after him. She struggled to find her balance against the rattling, searching for the safest path out of the cave mouth.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled. She could barely hear him over the noise, but his form was a short distance away. He was pointing to something, something behind her.

She didn't have time to focus on that because in front of her was the target, with a paper bomb lit in his hands. The avalanche was almost upon them. If she went after him now she'd be caught up in it with him, but that didn't matter. They had to capture him!

"Die, Leaf ninja." He spat.

Her foot hardly rose from the ground before the man dropped the paper and a loud noise overshadowed the falling snow and rocks around them.

For a moment Sakura didn't understand what had happened, but then when the ground left her feet and she felt a rush of air beating at her face she realized what the man's true intention had been.

He'd blown up the cave ground under her, and now she was falling into the mountain.

Years of training had prepared her for free fall situations, but she couldn't seem to recall anything that would help her. The wall was close, so close, but she'd fallen to far from it to touch. To slow her descent she'd have to be able to touch the wall first, and then latch herself onto it with her chakra.

Though, it was doubtful at this speed she'd be able to accomplish that, even if she could touch the wall.

'Quick Sakura think', she jabbed, starting to panic. Naruto always made clones to carry him to other cliff walls and hold on, but her chakra was to worn down to make the amount necessary to stop herself. Sustaining them would also be difficult. She didn't have any jutsu like Sai's to create birds, and her summoning contract would do little good for her in this situation.

With her options running out Sakura turned back to the wall, which was actually closer to her then it'd been seconds ago. She reached; stretching out so far it hurt physically.

As soon as her hand touched the wall she yanked and crashed into it. Now instead of free falling in the air she was rolling down the rock wall, painfully fast. With all her strength she pushed her right hand against the wall, stopping her bodies spin and sending a searing pain through her arm.

Then her left hand latched onto something, and she felt a jerk before her shoulder ripped to pieces under her skin. The sudden halt slammed her body against the cliff wall, and she felt disorientation for a long moment before her senses slowly started to come back to her.

First she observed a thin layer of ice coated the rocks along the side of the wall, creeping into each crevice. Through the blistering pain in her right arm Sakura could feel the bone chilling flare of cold seep into her skin. The jacket she'd once adorned had shredded to pieces against the rock side, small tendrils of its remains clinging desperately to her blood-soaked skin.

She winced as something wet slithered down her head, crossing straight over her left eye lid and down to her mouth. It was salty, metallic, the familiar taste of blood. She hadn't hit her head, had she? No, she'd of definitely felt that.

A grunt above her pulled her attention upward, to a sight that shocked her to the core. Itachi Uchiha, her enemy, was gripping the hilt of a kunai slammed into the rock with white knuckles. A gash on the side of his head was bleeding profusely, and tiny droplets fell from his chin, brushing her face. His eyes were closed, whether from pain or concentration she didn't know, and he was leaning more toward the right then seemed sensible.

Until she caught sight of his free hand, which was gripping hers so tightly she hadn't been able to feel anything from the numbness.

In a second she understood. The sudden stop, the searing pain from an assumed (now confirmed) dislocated shoulder. Itachi Uchiha had effectively stopped their descent, and taken hold of her hand in the process. A move that had most likely saved his life, as well as her own.

But…why? How? She hadn't even known he'd fallen in with her? How could he have…?

Naruto, he'd been pointing behind her. She hadn't turned around, but that must have been it. Itachi Uchiha had been behind her while she was trying to pin down the target, and had got caught up in the broken cave floor as she had.

That still didn't explain how he'd managed to maneuver himself in such a way that he'd effectively halted their fall. Or even why.

Another grunt pulled her back to the present situation. Itachi's grimace now seemed more pained, and the kunai was shaking from its place on the wall. With his wounds it must have been difficult to focus enough to slam the kunai hard enough to stop them. Then to grab and hold her too, especially for this long, it was taking its toile.

Sakura looked down; gauging the distance downward they'd fall if he released the kunai. It was so dark, she could scarcely see further than fifteen feet down. She squinted, making out a small shape in the dark that looked much like a ledge. Big enough to fit the both of them. Was it stable enough for both of them though?

Sakura raised her injured arm, clutching the side of a crevice in the stone wall as tightly as she could. The wound burned on her arm, screaming in protest when she started to lift herself as best she could. Forcing the pathetic remains of her chakra into her hand and feet she pressed herself fully against the wall, attempting desperately to stick herself to it. When she didn't start to slide as expected she let out a relieved breath.

She felt the hand holding hers start to shake, and knew Itachi was losing his battle to hold on. Her sudden lack of weight had helped tremendously, but it would only be a matter of moments.

She realized in that moment she could save herself. Drop to safety and leave him to fall to his death. He deserved it; after all he'd done to Sasuke, to Naruto, to everyone in the village. He was a traitor, a murderer; no one would fault her if she did. In fact, it would be a service to the shinobi whose lives had been taken at his hand.

But…he hadn't let her fall to her death. It would have been all too easy to save himself, and forget about her. As her enemy it would have been expected of him. Instead he'd saved her, and even now he still hadn't released her hand from his vice like grip.

For whatever reason he decided she was worth saving.

Maybe something inside him was worth saving too.

"Uchiha," she rasped, her throat feeling a bit tight," there's a ledge fifteen feet down. Release the kunai and I'll lower you down."

The man in question moved his head downward, finally opening his eyes. Instead of blazing red they were onyx, a true testament to his exhausted state. What's more they weren't meeting her gaze, instead staring in her general direction, like he was simply reacting to the sound of her voice.

Then Sakura remembered what Kakashi had told her a long time ago about the Sharingan. The more the mangekyo is in use, the more rapidly ones sight begins to deteriorate. The darkness surely didn't help, but she could make out his form perfectly fine. Perhaps Itachi's sight had deteriorated so much he wasn't even able to see something right next to him.

"Your arm." He brusquely replied, squeezing her hand. He must have been referring to the injury she'd acquired from the sudden stop. It would be nearly impossible to keep a hold of something heavier than herself with such a painful injury, but she wouldn't give up. Sakura Haruno didn't just give up.

"I can hold out for three seconds. I need you to trust me."

Itachi seemed to weigh his options, looking toward his shaking hand on the kunai, then down to Sakura. When he reached a conclusion he nodded his head.

"I'll trust you, kunoichi."

Without another word he released the kunai, falling straight down. For the second time Sakura felt her arm snap and she bit her tongue until it bled to halt the scream begging to escape her mouth. Itachi hung limply in her grasp, gazing upward toward her. She took a deep breath and released the crevice she'd been clutching so desperately.

Her feet held solid against the wall as she bent backwards, lowering Itachi painfully slow. By the time she'd stretched out far enough to where her back touched the wall he was only a couple feet from the ground.

She nodded her head and he released her, landing with a thump against the ground. The ledge didn't even quiver.

Sakura however was shaking all over, feeling her muscles protest against the excess strain. One foot slipped, hanging in the air perpendicular to her body. As her last bit of chakra faded from her foot she fell straight toward the ledge.

"Oof!"

Sakura winced, feeling the wind knocked out of her chest. She'd been falling face forward, and whatever had caught her had done it by the waist. She felt herself being carefully lowered to the ground, and when she gained her breath back enough she raised her head to stare at Itachi. He'd saved her again, albeit painfully, but safe all the same.

"Ow!" She hissed, feeling all the pain rush back into her body at once. The wounds on her right arm, the dislocated shoulder on the left, and now a burn on her right thigh she hadn't paid any attention to before. She was in pretty bad shape.

But Itachi was too from what she could tell. That head wound was certainly nothing to play around with, and it looked like he was favoring his left leg a bit. Just as her jacket had been ruined his cloak was shredded as well, so bad it barely clung to his form. They had both survived something that should have killed them, but they hadn't avoided injury.

He reacted to her exclamation with a glance in her direction, trying to see what might be wrong. Once again she reminded herself he probably couldn't see, and while she didn't exactly want to share her condition with the enemy it didn't seem as if he would be able to take advantage of the situation. They were both in the same rut; chakra depraved, injured, and cold.

"I think my shoulder was dislocated from the fall," she murmured, lifted her hand to her arm. "I don't have enough chakra to heal it, so the natural way will have to do."

Normally Sakura had little difficulty dealing with pain, great or small. Dislocated joints were simply a part of being a ninja, and she'd done her fair share of realignments on herself. Now though, with the throbbing pain in her right arm, pulling on her left to fix the damage would certainly worsen her wounds, if it didn't send her into unconsciousness first.

Being unconscious with Itachi Uchiha wasn't at all an option. He may have had pity on her enough to save her from the fall, but that didn't mean he wouldn't take advantage of her venerable state if she were to black out. The only option left was to ask him for his help, or leave the shoulder as is. Both options were unappealing, but as a medical ninja she knew what the obvious choice was.

"Uchiha, I need your help."

He didn't reply, waiting for her to continue speaking. His eyes seemed much softer in the dark, different then the eyes of a murderer. She must truly be delusional to be seeing such things, or otherwise the pain has altered her perception. She sighed heavily, stepping a little closer to him.

"My joint needs to go back into the socket properly, and I'm in no shape to do it myself."

Luckily he seemed to understand what she was asking for, and gripped her elbow with one hand, and her hand with the other. He paused for a moment, seeming almost reluctant to go through with the action, but then just as quickly jerked with all his might.

This time she did scream, and loudly. The resulting pop signified the joint was returned, and the job was done. Black dots filled her vision as she dropped to her knees, cursing loudly.

'Pain is temporary'; she chanted in her head,' it'll all be over soon.'

"Can you continue kunoichi?" Itachi asked. He'd assumed a position a few steps back from her, turned opposite the direction she was facing. She looked beyond his form, noticing a dip in the ledge leading downward. The path was narrow, but wide enough to fit the both of them.

Did he intend to continue downward? Wouldn't it be more productive to wait here for help to come? If they went downward, there was no guarantee they'd find a way out. Shouldn't they wait for their strength to return then try and find a way back up from where they fell?

Wait no. She did not just think 'they'. Both of them had made it to solid ground. They didn't have to spend any more time in each other's presence. They could return to normalcy, enemies, and tread separate paths. Her friends would find her soon and he could find his way out of here alone and meet up with his sadistic partner.

Everything could go back to normal, without the confusion of lines being crossed, grey areas. No, Itachi Uchiha was the enemy through and through. She would not stoop down low enough to follow him through this cavern.

When she didn't reply he started moving, his hand tracing along the wall. She just watched, angry. Why was she so angry, and at herself. She should be happy that he was leaving, happy that that murderer was going to probably end up dead in these dark tunnels. He deserved it for what he did.

Before she started to settle against the wall for her long wait she looked one last time at Itachi, specifically his hand against the wall. A line of red rested along his palm, and the skin was torn in places, bleeding. The hand he'd held the kunai with. The hand he'd used to save them both.

She made the mistake of looking upward, now toward the part of his face she could see. That gash, he hadn't made a big deal out of it but a head injury like that would certainly have some dangerous results.

It was a sin. A sin to want to help him. A sin to want to follow him.

"Wait." She found herself saying. His form froze, but he didn't turn around, hand steady against the wall. She forced herself up shakily on two legs. Her head spun for a moment, but settled quickly as she narrowed her eyes on his back. "I don't like the idea of joining you, but I think if we're both going to make it out of here alive we need to work together to do it. So I'm calling a truce, at least until we make it out of this place."

"Words mean little kunoichi," Itachi muttered, looking back toward her. She frowned, clenching her fist only to hiss at the pain that brought. "There would be no point in my attacking you now, even if I were physically able, so regardless you have nothing to worry over."

Sakura blanked. Did he just openly admit he was too weak to fight her? She never imagined the revered Itachi Uchiha would so openly admit his faults, and to an enemy no less.

He must have really thought her weak to give such information away without worry.

What an insufferable…

"Very well," she said curtly, brushing past him to start down the ledge. "I'll lead the way."

Itachi made no argument, following after her. She felt nervous with him so close behind her, but was able to hide it. With her good hand she fumbled in her pack, praying she still had her flare on her. Satisfaction flooded her veins when she felt it around her fingers. She pulled it out, placing it in her other hand before digging around again for some matches.

Her blood went cold when she came up empty.

It only got darker the further down they went. If they continued this way soon they wouldn't be able to go anywhere. They had to have some form of light or they would be stuck standing here or searching futilely through the darkness.

Without warning a hand snaked around her shoulder, taking the flare from her hands. She spun, pinning Itachi with a glare.

"What are you doing?"

He didn't reply, instead closing his eyes and bringing the flare close to his face. She was about the repeat herself before the smallest of flames spewed from his mouth, lighting the flare in his hands. Without a word he handed it back to her, and she frowned, noticing an abrupt change in the Uchiha.

His shoulders were hunched from the effort, and he was breathing raggedly. If she didn't know any better she would say he was forcing back a cough. His face was paler then she remembered and it looked like he wouldn't be able to move another step without crumbling.

The medic inside her instantly went to action.

"Ok we can't go anywhere until we get you taken care of. Sit down."

Surprisingly he complied with her demand, moving into a seated position against the wall. When his eyes closed she worried for a moment he might pass out, but he stayed awake. She kneeled beside him, brushing away the black hair crusted to his face with blood. The gash on his head had to be taken care of first. It would be a real problem if that got infected.

She tried to feel for any semblance of remaining chakra in her body, hoping to find just enough to heal the major damage. What came was hardly enough to bind the tissue back together, but it was more then she'd hoped for. With that taken care of she slid her hands down to his tattered cloak, ripping a long piece off. By this time Itachi had opened his eyes and was watching her every move. She wrapped the piece around his head, settling it over the wound gently.

She was startled out of her thoughts when he spoke.

"Medical ninjutsu suits you."

Deciding to continue the conversation, if only to distract him from her work, she answered him.

"What makes you say that?"

"A compassionate heart is a trademark of a true medical ninja. If you did not possess such a trait, you would not have made it as far as you have."

Sakura frowned at the comment, wondering why her enemy of all people would be telling her this. Compliments were not something she often received from anyone, let alone a foe. It was disconcerting to hear it so plainly from his mouth.

His eyes held absolute sincerity though. The warmth in them was so different from the naturally cold look he possessed. She traced the frown marks on his face, not surprised that there were no opposite marks to indicate smiles. No doubt his smiles were a rarity and she wonderer for a moment how he would look if he smiled. It would stick in her mind, no doubt.

"Compassion is also a weakness." She retorted, moving to bind his bleeding hand with another piece of his cloak. She couldn't be more a fool, thinking about his smiles and sincerity. Itachi didn't have the heart for such things, and she shouldn't even be considering them right now.

"Perhaps it is, or perhaps it is just in the way one uses it." She froze, gaze questioning.

"What do you mean?"

"You're strength; it requires intense focus of your chakra and is usually driven with powerful emotion behind it." She nodded, feeling strangely entranced by his words. This was the most she had ever heard him speak after all. "If you tried to land a punch with compassion behind your swing, the result would be less then desirable. In the same manner if you tried to heal someone with anger behind your actions, you would not possess enough focus to channel your chakra correctly. Medical ninjutsu without compassion is not possible, it is simply a weakness."

The way he'd explained it, made perfect sense. Something Sakura had always considered the weakest part of her, something that always made her the weakest of her team, had actually been her greatest strength. She'd focused so much on what she'd been doing wrong; that what she did right had slipped right past her.

Itachi Uchiha had known all along what she hadn't. How did his insight reach so deep that he'd seen right through her?

The question bubbled in her brain, making her question further, just why had he saved her? What could have compelled Itachi Uchiha to risk his own safety for that of an enemy?

"Why?"

"Why what, kunoichi?" He sounded tired, but there was no hint of impatience in his voice.

"Why did you save me?"

It was quiet for a moment, and Sakura wondered for a moment if the Uchiha had actually succumbed to unconsciousness, but finally his eyes opened and looked right to her.

"Was my compassion a weakness?" He answered simply, never once taking his eyes from hers. She felt awkward under his gaze, but she couldn't summon the strength to turn away. His response certainly hadn't been what she had expected. Missing ninja did not help someone for any other reason than for their own personal gain.

Itachi Uchiha just did not have compassion. Hatred, cunning, power, yes, but compassion?

Still, he was leaving the question to her. Would she make his decision a wrong one? Had she already done so? Did she even want to?

Yes, her rationality argued. He was evil, she should want to ruin him, hurt him and leave him behind.

But another side of her, that compassionate side of her that was grateful for his actions and sympathetic to his injuries, told her she would not be able to let him down. She would help him, at least until they were both safely out of this place.

"No Uchiha, it was not."

He nodded, gripping the back of the wall with his bandaged hand. As he raised himself up Sakura watched him, seeing the struggle in his movements. The fall had surely damaged him, but even that level of injury would not drain him so much that he'd show it so blatantly. There had to be something else? Excessive use of the Sharingan did tire one out easily, but she hadn't seen him use the mangekyo even once in their brief scuffle.

No, she was missing something.

A hand touched the skin of her shoulder, jolting her out of her reverie. Within seconds she was stumbling back, years of being on guard forcing her body into a fighting stance. She leveled her gaze with the offending appendage that had touched her, and followed it up to Itachi's surprised features.

Embarrassment washed over her.

His hand was still outstretched toward her, and he seemed startled at her reaction. Then for the briefest of moments she saw a hint of a smirk touch his mouth. It was gone just as quickly, and he turned around the face the darkness.

"Your arm is wounded. Take care of it."

She moved the flash closer to her arm, inspecting the damage more closely for the first time. Several cuts lined her arm in different patterns, all surrounding one large gash from her elbow to her wrist. How she'd managed to walk around with that on her arm this long was a mystery.

The slid the flare into her mouth before ripping at the cloth on her jacket. The gash would need stitches for sure, but she had no chakra left and it would be at least an hour before she'd have enough to take care of herself. Hopefully the remnants of her jacket would slow the bleeding enough for her to hold out.

"I wish I had my medical bag with me." Sakura murmured absentmindedly, tying off the cloth. She must have lost it in the snow when that mad man, Yahagi, had attacked her.

That reminded her. Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi were still up there. She'd thought they would be trying to get to her, but maybe they were still fighting up there. Kisame and the target were still on the surface with them after all. Would they be ok? What if they were hurt by the avalanche?

"What do you think is going on up there?" She found herself asking. The fact that she was asking such a question to a criminal seemed insane. What would he care if her friends got hurt? He probably didn't even care about the fate of his own partner.

"It is not impossible to assume they were caught up in the snowfall as we were." He replied stoically, continuing down the ledge with her close behind him. "Kisame would have continued with the mission if he survived, assuming our target survived as well."

Sakura bit her lip, wishing she hadn't said anything at all. He was right; it was likely they'd all been swept into the snow. If they survived they had to be injured to some extent.

No not if. They were all alive. They had to be.

"Your friends won't abandon you kunoichi. Avalanche or enemy would not deter them from coming for you."

Sakura froze mid step, staring at Itachi's back. Had he really just said that? Such words of comfort, with true confidence behind them.

Why did he continue to do that? Why couldn't he just be the evil murderer she'd always imagined? Insults, sarcastic retorts, yelling, those she could handle perfectly. Instead she was left with no idea how to respond. S class criminals did not act this way toward enemies.

Unless this just a rouse to lower her guard, and pull her into a false sense of security? Itachi was not known as one of the most intelligent shinobi of their time for nothing. Deception was a practice he'd perfected after all.

As much as she wanted to believe him, it just wasn't right to.

As she hovered in her spot Itachi walked back to her, extending his hand. It looked like he wanted her to take it.

"The path could be unstable. Separation is not in our favor." He explained.

She understood, but taking his hand didn't appeal to her in the slightest. She almost denied him, respectfully of course, but the bandage on his hand reminded her that they really did need each other. He wasn't trying to push her away, or treat her like she was a disease to him. Why should she be doing the same?

She'd repeated in her mind that they had a truce, and whilst down here they should work together, but a part of her had always been holding back. Now though, she needed to start truly treating him as an ally. That meant trusting him and stopping with the excuses not to.

So with a deep breath she took hold of his hand, as they descended down the ledge.

Xoxoxo

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I feel I may have rushed some of the beginning but hopefully it will all make further sense later on. I cut out the fight scene I would have placed at the start because I felt it was too long and unnecessary. Hopefully the short explanation at the beginning will suffice.

Currently I am up to chapter four with no solid direction of where this story is to go (Do not panic, I didn't say I did not have ideas for the direction. Currently I am sitting on three ideas). I appreciate reviews because suggestions are what will help me determine the direction I'd like to take. If you have any ideas, thoughts, questions, feel free to review. All will be taken into consideration.

Also I would like to mention that while I appreciate those who point out grammar mishaps, it is not my main focus. I feel that if you can read and understand, then all is well. So yes, I have quite a few grammar problems, as I am sure you will notice, but please do not go through with the intent to pick each and every one out. Thank you.

Lastly, I plan to update sporadically so as not to disappoint. If I keep this on a timed schedule it will rush me and I'll lose interest. So while I do have the next couple chapters finished (unless I changed something based on my ideas or reviews) I will not be posting them immediately.