Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.

Fanfiction by: graylubitches.

Do NOT Plagiarize in any sort of way such as; copying/pasting, editing, printing, saving to documents/files, translating, claiming this short fanfiction as yours. I can accept it if you are a silent reader or is a harsh commentor, or an anonymous hater, just don't break my number 1 rule which is 'plagiarizing'. Thank you for understanding and enjoy the story~

Rated-M for Mature Themes and Content. Lemon.

Summary: Sasuke finds out that Itachi has taken an interest on Sakura and wishes to claim her. The two former teammates makes an agreement of Sasuke marking her, a way to help her get Itachi off her back and for the younger Uchiha to lure his brother into a trap. With the Leaf Ninjas running to retrieve them, Itachi's persistence, and feelings getting carried away, will their plan go to the way they want it to be or head a different path for it to take?

AN INTENTION UNPLANNED.

CHAPTER I: A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL.

Suna is in need of help of a strong medic and had personally requested for Sakura Haruno. They had just recently been attacked by a group of Sound and Mist ninjas and sent many of their mens (including Kankuro and Temari) to a hospital bed. During her journey back to her village (alone), she encounters her ex-teammate, Sasuke Uchiha and fights him. He over-powered her; it was quite obvious, and soon she felt herself succumbing to defeat. But in the last minute, she found a chance of escape and quickly, she bolted away. She ran through the woods, scaring the birds, waking up the owls and small insects — then she stumbled onto the dirty and dry land. Groaning, she attempted to stand up after hearing footsteps getting louder and near to where she settled. "Ah!" She yelped when she felt a hand grab her wrist.

Out of reflex, she pulled out a kunai and tried to slice the person out of the way, but it was soon flicked out of her hand. With eyes closed and her heart pumping, she laid on the ground waiting for blood to spurt out of her body. Surely — Sasuke would kill her right now and then. So she waited.

The grasp on her wrist felt more relaxed and enduring. But Sakura still waited. Nothing came at her. Slowly, her eyes fluttered and took a peek at Sasuke? Why wasn't he trying to rip her head off? She provoked him. She had intentionally threatened his life for the sake of Konoha and Naruto. Even if she was to be the cause of his death, she would do it — and he understood. He moved to kill her before she could kill him. The sharp edge of his blade came in contact with her shoulders and pierced through the flesh. She wasn't surprise anymore. Sasuke had changed; she kept that in mind. The duel began.

She gasped with wide eyes. Her body stiffened and her breath got caught in her throat; unable to properly breathe in air. The red familiar eyes never failed to make her cower in fear. The sharingan held so much power over her. She'd seen how the Uchihas used its power. From Kakashi who was hospitalized for more than a week (almost killing him from their mind games); the sharingan can hurt anyone mentally — and if upgraded to a stronger one, it can also hurt you physically.

Aside from fear, she also felt something else for those eyes — anger.

The figure hovered over her stoned-like body and took notice of how her emerald eyes glinted of a specific emotion. The person seemed to have no intention in hurting her as he merely stroked her cheek with his soft, delicate and cold hand. "Such beauty.." he muttered, eyeing her like a piece of meat. "Sakura, right?"

She bit back an insult for his boldness. Did he really think she was going to fall for that? Trying to confuse her feelings so she wouldn't fight him with full potential? She managed to give him a grunt in response; annoyed. The black and red cloak he wore made her adrenaline suffice her boiling feeling for the Akatsuki member. She hated them because they intend to hurt someone who's very precious to her — Naruto, and the kyubi inside of him. But for this person, it was beyond hatred. He was the reason his team broke apart. He had become a goal of a certain member who only wished for revenge. A payment and punishment for massacring his whole family and clan. "Itachi..." a hissed came in a bitter tone. Surprisingly, the name didn't come out from her mouth but from a certain raven-haired, younger Uchiha.

Itachi didn't even spare him a glance as he continued to look at Sakura with admiration. "I didn't expect our reunion to be like this Sasuke.. It's truly disappointing." Sasuke growled, glaring at his brother with his own sharingan. "And you haven't even achieved the Mangekyo sharingan, it's rather upsetting." Sakura took note of the Akatsuki's great sense. He didn't need to look at Sasuke's eyes to know that his sharingan hadn't levelled up; he had done it by feel. She bit back a compliment and awe as she stared at him with a harden look.

"SHUT UP! THAT ISN'T GOING TO STOP ME FROM KILLING YOU!" The pink-haired kunoichi was pushed back by the older Uchiha as Sasuke charged recklessly. Itachi had saved her from Sasuke's chidori while he simply dodged and was quick to give a kick, which sent the lad flying towards a tree.

"SASUKE!" Sakura called out then instantly covered her mouth with a hand, reminding herself that she no longer cared for the boy. She managed a grip on herself as she painfully looked away from the sight of the boy's bleeding head. The impact came too strong and she could simply guess that he had a small concussion.

Itachi's body twitched at her voice and he teleported behind Sakura. He wrapped an arm around her waist then leaned close to her ears, sending shivers down her spine. "How can you still care for my brother... didn't he betray you? And your village? You should hate him. Despise him. And love someone else." His voice came like a poison venom, dragging her to insanity and probably a short hallucination as she tried reminiscing herself with Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke back in their genin days. She felt something warm and wet touch an exposed part of her shoulder and it made her heart freeze. Itachi trailed more kisses on her shoulder, upto her neck, and Sakura could not help but feel furious at the thought of him taking advantage of her. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Uchiha?!" she hissed as she tried to rip herself away from his body but his hold only tightened, keeping her in place. She cursed for not having enough chakra from battling Sasuke earlier on.

"Love someone else Sakura..." he whispered in between his kisses, making her flinch from his husky voice. Meanwhile, Sasuke was tensing up seeing his brother and Sakura pressed together so close and something inside of him flared.

He unsheated his sword then attack one more time in anger, ignoring the surging pain coming from the back of his head. "DIE ITACHI!" The Akatsuki member immediately bent down to carry the female bridal-style then transported away. He gently placed Sakura down to the ground and brushed a few strands of hair away from her face before whispering, "Get away from here."

Sakura hated being ordered around; especially from an enemy. She also hated the fact that Itachi was in control. But what she hated the most was that he was right. She was in no condition to fight and beside, this was their fight and obviously, they need no interference. She'd only be a hindrance; so she ran.

'Are you sure you're doing the right thing? What if one of them dies? Naruto would be devastated if he finds out that you didn't do anything to save Sasuke...' the voice inside her head spoke. Her feet landed on the branch and she stayed there while contemplating. But wasn't her goal to kill Sasuke? 'You still love him, don't you!?' "I DO NOT!" The kunoichi gasped at her own tone then her head fell. She was fighting with herself. Denial; it pursued and logic reasons she commutes. Naruto was chasing Sasuke who doesn't want to be chased. She knew—they both knew that Sasuke will kill anyone who stands in his way. But being the high pride, fox boy he was; a shinobi who keeps his promise, stands by what he says (because that was his ninja way), will not, definitely not, give up on the very first boy who understood him and befriend him.

With a long sigh, her hand slipped into her coat and she pulled out a pill; food pill. Tossing it in her mouth — she paid attention to how her chakra began reproducing, almost back to normal. Screw Itachi! She can take care of herself very well without his guard. And who does he think he is? For him to start kissing her like that? For him to start protecting her like some knight in shining armour? They weren't even close for godsake! They have not personally met, until now (if you considere him "confirming" her name that is)... Did he even know her last name? They've only seen each other twice! NO, THRICE!

The first time was when she was with Grandma Chiyo, Kakashi and Naruto. The day Team Kakashi and Team Gai left on an S-Class mission to retrieve Suna's Kazekage, Gaara of the Dessert. He was merely a substitution, but in a more advanced jutsu. Their first meeting was stuck in her head, remembering how stunned she was when she saw a glimpse of his face. He looked so much like Sasuke.. Well, they were brothers after all. Two avengers waiting for the day where they would rip each other's head off and maybe, possibly, finally, hopefully, find peace.

Their second encounter was only a little over three months after their first one. It was an A-Class mission. Team Shikamaru (their leader, Lee, Kiba, Akamaru, Hinata, Sai and herself) were assigned as guards to protect a princess from the Grass Village. They were told that the princess was being assassinated by a group of rogue ninjas from the Sound Village. It was obvious that Orochimaru was behind it. He was planning on taking over the Grass but the princess was standing in his way. They had met Kabuto and fought him head on. He had plenty of backups on his side, which were very skilled based on how they gave her teammates a lot of trouble. There was also a man they could not fully identify. The collar of his black coat was zipped above his nose and his eyes barely visible from the hood he wore over his head. The man was carrying a scythe over his back and his dark aura screamed danger. Shikamaru planned to trap him with his Shadow Possesion Jutsu, while Kiba and Akamaru tried their combo attack, Hinata used her Byakugan to carefully watch for any threatening movements (stepped back), Sai was up in the air summoning ink demons towards him and Sakura charged with her fists glowing in a bright coloured-green chakra.

It was quick. Sakura didn't have time to blink when she felt herself being thrown to the ground and a sharp edge of his weapon slicing through her skin — and her teammates were all knocked out of the way by a swift yet heavy weight of force. "The name is Shin. Remember that." Then the two left leaving her with an ugly scar drawn on her toned and milky-skin-like stomach.

Fortunately for them, although they did not defeat the so-called Shin guy, the princess was safe because of her own skills and their teammate Lee who protected her along the way. After healing her teammate's wounds, Sakura headed to bathe peacefully in a room she shared with Hinata; leaving the others to eat in a nearby store. It wasn't long when she sensed a strong force of chakra closing in the territory. An Akatsuki. She remembered slipping out of the shower, wearing a slightly big shirt (one of Sai's since she lent her own extra clothes to the princess to hide her identity) and a black short which could barely be seen from the length of her top. She had ran out of the room, with a small pouch tied around her waist (filled with senbons and a few kunai knives), and she hid a flat and thin rectangular container (with five shurikens) secretly behind her back where her pants kept them safe. With her hair still damp from the water, she met the Akatsuki with a slight shrill from the wind and a short pant. "Uchiha. What are you doing here?" she snarled.

The man eyed her (observing her whole) and inwardly smirked at what he saw. If you squint really hard, you can picture his eyebrow slightly arching up. Sakura looked at him, bewildered. "Aren't you gonna enlighten me with an answer?" she scoffed, gripping onto a kunai knife. The Akatsuki stepped forward which almost made her jerk back, but she didn't as she kept telling herself that she wasn't scared. She was a jounin now. She wasn't the old weakling she was five years ago. She wasn't scared of those familiar crimson, dull and deadly eyes. Not anymore. So she stared at him; eye-to-eye. "Are you doing this to arouse me, pink?" he spoke in a mono-tone voice (but behind that tone is where a hint of amusement was kept hidden). Her eyes twitched. Did Itachi Uchiha just call her... pink?!

She threw the kunai, incredibly fast but he caught it which had only been a centimetre away from his forehead. Sakura raised her arm then attempted a punch. He blocked. A kick. He blocked. A jab. He blocked. An uppercut. He held. A wince came out of her mouth as the Akatsuki continued to twist her arm behind her back and her kunai aimed at her neck. Her attack had backfired. 'Damnit!' she cursed.

Her body stiffened as he dragged the knife down her chest, passing between her breasts then stopped below them. "Don't tell me you didn't notice how you were practically showing your boobs to me this whole time.. pink."

Sakura gasped as she looked down at her white shirt. It was sticking to her skin with a vivid picture of her black bra and cleavage pressed against the thin fabric, giving the Uchiha a good look of her matured body figure. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment while biting her bottom lip. "Then don't look!"

He chuckled, leaning to her ears and licking it. "Oh, there's no need to be shy. I actually like the amazing view." It was true. Over the years she'd grown; her boobs has gotten bigger, her body has gotten slimmer, an S-line figure could be seen, her lips had become more shaded red, her green eyes shone more alive, her features has gotten sharper, her hair upto her shoulders (she decided that she liked them short; and possibly, it was because she didn't want to see herself in the mirror with long hair, knowing that she had grown them when she was little to catch the attention of a certain boy) — in other words, Sakura has become a beautiful but fierce woman as time passes by. Many noticed the positive change.

She elbowed the man in the guts (who didn't seem to feel the impact) then jumped a metre distance away.

"Who would have thought an Uchiha could be such a pervert!" she insulted.

The Akatsuki grinned darkly. "There are a lot of things you don't know about us Uchiha.. Like the fact that we can be wild in bed. You want me to demonstrate?"

Her eyes came filled in horror and she took his words for an approaching challenge. In her mind, her inner-thoughts lost sanity as she started screaming incoherent words. 'Take it! Take the offer Sakura! Let's see how good he really is in bed! Fuck him!'

"Sakura!" She snapped out from her thoughts when she heard her name being called. Hinata. And with her were Shikamaru, Kiba, Akamaru and Sai. They must have only sensed the chakra now as she observed how healthy they looked, ready again to battle.

"Well I guess I can show you some other time... See you around, Sakura." She flinched at the way he said her name. Then an epiphany lit upon her head. How did he know her- Hinata. He heard her name from Hinata. She sighed. At least he wouldn't call her pink from now on... And that was certainly a weird meeting.

"Uh.. S-Sakura!" the Hyuuga stuttered while fidgeting with her fingers.

"Yes Hinata?" she answered then she noticed the mens behind her with a deep shade of red brushing along their cheeks. Akamaru yelped as he dugged his head into his paws; hiding. Shikamaru was the first to look away, followed by Kiba who cleared his throat. Sai however, kept staring at her—no, below— "AHH!" she shrieked finally knowing what was happening as she tightly wrapped her arms around her chest. "D-DON'T LOOK!" She panicked.

... Sakura flashed-back to the scene in front of her and within a second, she found herself running back to see her former teammate — she'll regret this later on (she thought). Sasuke had gained another gash on his arm while Itachi had a small cut on the left side of his cheeks. The two were slowly losing their chakra (especially Sasuke from his battle with the kunoichi) which made it an iniquitous fight.

Itachi suddenly jumped back. "It's clear to me you haven't improved much. You lack in chakra. Experience and strength. Again Sasuke.. you still waste my time." The younger Uchiha's eyes widen and gritted his teeth in anger for the lad (and possibly himself as well). He's been training and improving (or so he thought before his brother downgraded him right then). Suddenly, he was doubting himself. Could he really beat his brother? Years of training with Orochimaru... will it all go down the drain? "Let's meet again once you've actually improved."

Sasuke's heart dropped then he lifted his head to glare at the man. "NO! I CAN beat you! You don't have to wait for death to come because I will kill you! RIGHT NOW!" The curse seal envelopped his body and the transformation began. His skin turned dirt-brown, lips changing to dark blue, eyes completely black, claws growing, and two big wings appearing from his back; he's turned into a monster.

Itachi looked at him in disgust and pity. "Pathetic. To think you'd go to this trouble to achieve more power and HOPE you'd be able to beat me? How can my little brother sink so low?" he insulted. Sasuke flinched at the word 'brother'. When was the last time he heard him say that word and call him by it? He didn't know if he should feel happy because he was acknowledged to be related to Itachi Uchiha or rage because he had NO right to call him his brother. The man who killed his family and clan. Who haunted him for the rest of his life. Destroying him.

"I'm going to kill you!" he shouted, charging at him with his sword wrapped with his chidori.

The Akatsuki stood his ground then muttered a word, "Amaterasu." Even with the dark and powerful fire eating away his skin and flesh, Sasuke didn't stop. Their fists, kicks and metals collided and the two—no one, fought for his life.

"I WILL AVENGE THE CLAN AND YOU WILL DIE!" Blood spurt from Sasuke's arms, legs and chest, while Itachi had a gash on the side of his stomach. But the two continued to fight. The one with pride (and a heavy heart), while the other lost in his emotions, sanity, mentality, darkness and loneliness.

"SASUKE! STOP!" a feminine voice yelled, stopping the older Uchiha but not the younger one of course. Like deja vu. She ran towards the boy, wrapped her arms around his waist and something flickered inside the boy. Warmth. And. Care. His body tensed in her protective hold. The curse seal slowly drew back; the wings vanishing into thin air, lips turning back to pink, finger nails growing to shorter ones, eyes changing to their original dark blue colour and skin bringing back the paleness and smoothness of its skin. "Stop." Her voice came out as a hoarse and they slightly quivered. The scene was so familiar to the time they took the Chunin Exam (except that the pink-haired shinobi wasn't spilling tears) like what she had done before when he first lost control.

Sasuke felt his body relaxing to her arms and secretly, he pressed himself closer. Itachi watched with an unreadable expression on. "I'll be going." He started, dusting his black cloak with images of red clouds printed on as designs. He looked at the raven-haired boy who did not meet his eyes. "Like I said before, let's meet again once you've fully grown stronger. In other words, you lack." The kunoichi felt the Uchiha stiffen but only wrapped her arms tighter to ease him. "And Sakura." She reluctantly turned her head to look at the Akatsuki who called her name. He had a confident look on his face. "When we meet again, I'll be claiming you as my mate." Then he disappeared with her face of surprise imprinted on his view and mind.

Once they were left alone, Sakura quickly pulled her arms away, remembering what she was doing. She stood there waiting for him to move, speak, do anything. Everyone would have thought that what she was doing was risky and dangerous; she knew this. Earlier, wasn't Sasuke on his way to kill her? However, Sakura also knew that he barely have any chakra left. It would only take him one punch before he collapse; she studied this much.

"What did you do?" he voiced in a threatening tone.

"Can you specify what you mean, Sasuke?" she argued; angry that he was trying to scare her for no apparent reason.

He slowly turned around to face her, eyes boaring into hers then opened his mouth to continue, "Certainly, there must be a reason to why my brother suddenly declares to claim you. So spill it!"

Sakura's lips parted, ready to argue with him for yelling at her when she realized that she too didn't know why. Had the older Uchiha developed feelings for her? But how? They've only seen each other three times. He couldn't possibly start liking her now, could he? 'Says the girl who started liking a boy who she'd only seen from afar. Once!' her inner-thought exclaimed. "I don't know."

He glowered at her before swiftly pinning her to the ground. "You obviously did something! Now analyze what it was that made my brother say that!"

Sakura gripped on his shirt, trying to push him away. "I already told you I don't know! We've only seen each other three times! First was when I was included to retrieve Gaara from the Akatsuki then the second was at that A-Class mission! I confronted him and we were alone for the first time! He called me pink and... and.. then he-.. I was wearing.."

"Wearing what?" he questioned darkly.

The kunoichi came to her senses to what she was doing. She was giving him information to what the Leaf ninjas has been doing. Idiot (she called herself). With much strength, she pushed the boy off of her who only had little chakra left then sat up with him glaring at her. "I am in no obligation to answer your questions."

"You fool," he hissed with clenched fists. "You do know that an Uchiha can only have one mate. And since Itachi has marked you for his to take, you'll be forever under his command like a prisoner."

Sakura gaped at the sudden information. "What?" Was that what Itachi mean by claiming her? He wants her to be his mate? Soon her jaw tightened then her eyes went blank. "That's not going to happen! I'm NOT going to let him take me!" She crossed her arms.

He narrowed his gaze then said, "And it seems like his already started. The kiss on your neck was to place a scent of himself and use it as a tracking device. He can simply know every place you go to. Which means, he's decided. You're gonna be his woman."

The female gasped then placed a hand on her neck. She panicked. "Oh no! How do I get it rid of me?! Tell me!"

"You can't."

"What?! No that can't be! There must be a way!" Sakura yelled frantically as she rubbed the part of her neck and shoulder to where he'd sent her kisses.

Sasuke shook his head. "I meant, you can't do it alone. There are three options." He lifted three fingers up in front of your face. "One, either you hide really well and prevent him from fully claiming you which will likely be impossible without people to help or if the Uchiha was a genius." 'In this case, Itachi is one..' Sakura annoyingly thought. "Two, you get another Uchiha who also declares to claim you and fakes an act that you choose to be his partner instead. There's a ritual you two need to accomplish. It's a one week challenge. If you two pass, the other person's mark will fade and you'll be free. No Uchiha can mark someone twice. Or three, you marry early.

Her mind memorized the information with no difficulty. So far, what he said made sense and were very reasonable. She now had ways to get through this situation. But one question, which option will she go with? Number 1 seemed like a good option since she'd just have to talk to Tsunade about not sending her on a mission for awhile, but then the idea of Itachi sneaking into Konoha just to claim her could possibly endanger her friends and families. This option laid between the positive and negative aspects. Number 3 looked to be the easy way out with no complications except for the fact of who would be willing to marry her? [From this statement, many male shinobis would be raising their hands up; Sakura is just too naive to have noticed anything peculiar]. Furthermore, marriage at the age of 18 did not seem appropriate. She also did not like the idea of having an extra responsibility, knowing that her village is heading to war. Lastly, number 2 (she intentionally made up her mind in this order). There are only two Uchihas she have met and known who are still currently alive. Itachi Uchiha and his brother, her former teammate, her childhood crush, before known as her lover — Sasuke Uchiha. Even if she were to surprisingly be brave enough to ask the younger Uchiha to help her, will he agree to it?

"I'll mark you."

Time stopped and Sakura's surroundings began to fade. "What.." she breathed out.

"I'll help you get rid of him in exchange of staying with me 'til I become strong enough to face Itachi again. Since he's after you, you can help me lure him into a trap once he realizes that I've marked you as well.. He'd immediately think about the ritual and come to us to prevent it from happening," he explained.

Sakura bowed her head down. "But what about Naruto.. What would he say when he finds out that I was gone? He'd think I betrayed Konoha. I can't!"

"Then do you choose for Itachi to claim you!?" his voice darkened once again in fury.

She fidgeted but soon nodded. "I'd just have to try and avoid him." She bit her lip, knowing that it would be a tough task.

Sasuke grasped onto her wrist which made her shortly gasp. "Sakura... we both know that my idea is the best way. Naruto would understand once you explain to him eventually. I would even back you up, if you asked me to!" She let out a sigh as she felt herself agreeing to his valid pursuasion.

She had lost the time she had to think it over and Sasuke was growing impatient by the second. "Alright..." she mumbled. A smirk appeared across the lad's lips as he gripped on her tighter. Sakura suddenly felt frightened. Where had the old, sane Sasuke Uchiha has gone to? She asked, but still, she couldn't predict.

"It's settled then.. you're coming with me."

messejii from graylubitches: hii! aside from the fact that this is my first multi-chapter Naruto fanfiction featuring Sasuke&Sakura + Itachi&Sakura, and also my very first rated-m story, do take it easy on me :) some of you are just probably waiting for the lemony to start and i can tell you that it will probably be on the next chapter or the third... if ever i want to do a time skip ^^ do; ignore my mistakes because i don't check over my work very well. my stories are NOT BETA read. i'm too lazy to find one and it seems idanah~ complicated :3 i'm not much of a tough working person ;; REVIEWS are appreciated :P they help me know when to update and i'm sure most of you know what i mean C: