Kiss The Rain

A/N: Sorry, but I needed some time off. Anyways, here is the newest chapter in this fic. I hope that you guys enjoy it.

Please read and review.

~!~

For nearly a month, the village of Konoha was quiet. Sakura could not help but feel a tiny bit relieved that she had some extra time to rest and relax, especially since her dreams had become so disturbing.

After reading Itachi's file, Sakura came to the conclusion that she would simply walk away and forget about what she had seen. After all, it really wasn't any of her business, and she knew that if she didn't let it go, that her thoughts would wind up driving her crazy.

And so, she threw herself into her work, and was happy to find that when she went to bed at night, she was so exhausted that she didn't even have the energy to dream.

But, if she thought that her peace would continue, she was wrong.

Naruto, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sai had been sent to Suna with several scrolls for the new kazekage, Gaara, to sign. They were gone for nearly two weeks, and when they returned, she was shocked to find not only her teammates at the gate, but also the kazekage, himself, along with his brother and sister.

It seemed that the scrolls that had been sent to Suna warned the kazekage of the impending threat that the Akatsuki posed, and Gaara wanted to discuss with Konoha's hokage on what they needed to do in order to stop the Akatsuki in their tracks.

At first, the meetings went well, but when it was proposed by one of the elders that perhaps the problem needed to be dealt with by both Naruto and Gaara, seeing as how they were the only ones that the Akatsuki were after, all hell broke loose.

Once she managed to heal the elder, while Tsunade and Jiraiya held a very angry Naruto, and Temari and Kankuro held back a very blood-thirsty Gaara, it was decided that the meeting would adjourn until the next day and that the elders were not invited.

Naruto and Gaara decided to go to the training fields, to work out their anger on each other, and she decided to tag along. At first, she had been frightened of Gaara, seeing as how he nearly crushed her with his sand when she was twelve, but when he noticed her hesitation around him, he asked Naruto about her, and was told who she was and what had almost happened.

She was sure that she was probably one in a handful of people who had ever received an apology from the stoic kazekage, and he never failed to include her in his invitations to spar with him and Naruto. Eventually, her fear of him waned, and she soon found that she enjoyed talking with him, and found an intellectual equal.

And, in her, he found a friend who would never turn him away. No matter what.

However, whenever they would spar, she was always the first one to bow out. Even with the lengths she had come, she still could not keep up with either of the demon containers, and so, often watched as they beat each other to bloody pulps, and then suppressed a grin when they came to her afterwards for healing.

Despite their demons being able to heal them, Naruto had mentioned to Gaara just how nice her chakra felt when she was healing him, and because he was naturally curious, Gaara requested that she heal him, too. Just so that he could see how nice it felt for himself.

It was during this visit from Suna's leader, that she began to experience the dreams, once again, and this time, they were even more heartbreaking than before.

She would have never thought that someone like Itachi would be capable of tears, or the emotion, sadness, but in one of her dreams, she watched as he slid to a stop, and glanced behind his back.

Once he was sure that he was not being followed by the ANBU from Konoha, he slid down the trunk of a tree, and held his head in his hands.

The sounds that came from his throat were those of a boy, much like the ones that came from Sasuke's throat.

“Hate me, little brother.”

Those words seemed to echo in her mind as she watched Itachi slowly reach up and remove his head plate. Taking a kunai out of his weapon's pouch, he slowly etched a line through the Konoha symbol, and then allowed himself to take in several deep breaths as he stared at the mark, now declaring him as a missing nin.

She didn't realize just how much of her attention that Itachi had started to occupy, but when she was suddenly hit with a face full of sand, and moments later found herself on her back, with Gaara standing above her, his face showing his disapproval, she knew that she was in trouble.

Damn her and her soft heart.

~!~

They watched as the kazekage fought with their target, and while Kisame's eyes were upon Naruto, Itachi's eyes were upon the young female, her body language telling him that she was not concentrating on her surroundings.

He watched as her face scrunched up every couple of minutes, but then relaxed. However, he smirked when she suddenly went flying, and found herself flat on the ground, with the redhead standing above her, his arms crossed over his chest.

It was clear that the red head was scolding her, but he lifted his brow as the girl gave the sand demon a sheepish smile and then shook her head. Their now secondary target, the kyuubi container, ran towards the girl, shouting her name, and slid to a stop, on his knees, beside her.

Despite being so far away, both men could hear the blonde's frantic words.

“What in the hell was that for, Gaara?” Naruto demanded, his face scrunched up in displeasure. “Sakura, are you all right?”

The girl stood and brushed herself off, slapping away Naruto's hands as she shook her head. “I'm fine, Naruto.” She said, her tone soft. “It's my fault. Gaara saw his chance and took it. I guess that teaches me to loose focus on my surroundings.”

Naruto's eyebrow lifted, but then he broke out into a grin. “Well, just try and keep your guard up. You never know when one of those nasty Akatsuki guys are going to rear their ugly head again, you know.” He said, his tone growing hard. “They really freak me out. Especially that shark guy. Did you ever see anything so ugly? And what about Sasuke's older brother? That guy needs to be put out of his misery.”

Kisame glared down at the small group and then glared over at Itachi, when the shorter man gave a sharp shake of his head.

“Do not forget why we are here.” Itachi said, his tone calm. “The container is not our primary focus, at least, not now. We want the girl, and the more distracted she is, the easier of a target she becomes.”

Kisame's lip curled up in a sneer, but then allowed his eyes to turn back to the field. Both men watched as the kyuubi container asked his friends if they were hungry, but when told no, he told them that he would see them later, and then disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Now, all that remained in the field was the kazekage, and Sakura.

“You are never this distracted, and do not confuse me for Naruto. I'm not that easy to fool.” Gaara said, his tone as stoic as ever. “Why are you not able to focus?”

Sakura's eyes met with Gaara's and she sighed as she thumped back to the ground, her shoulders sagging. “If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone?” She asked, her green eyes pleading.

When Gaara nodded, she began to speak, and for once in his life, Itachi allowed his curiosity to arise, and shoved in front of Kisame so that he could have a better view of the girl as she spoke.

For nearly an hour, Sakura talked, and not once did Gaara interrupt her. Instead, he was attentive and when she was finally done, he quietly asked, “Are you still having the dreams?”

Itachi's head was bowed, as he listened. He, too, had been having dreams, but his dreams were about the pink haired girl, and for the first time, since that horrible night, he was able to have a full night's sleep, without waking up.

Now, from what he understood, the girl was experiencing his nightmares. While he certainly didn't want those dreams back, he knew that the girl was very smart, and would probably figure out what had really happened on that horrible night.

And, if she figured it all out, then it was highly possible that she would go running to her beloved hokage, or worse, his little brother.

He could not let that happen.

“Have you told anyone else about what you saw in the mangekyo?” Gaara asked, as he looked over the field.

“No.” Sakura whispered, though due to his heightened senses, Kisame was able to hear clearly. He shook his head at this partner, whose tense shoulders relaxed.

“Sasuke would hate me. He would accuse me of trying to protect his brother.” Sakura said, as she brought her knees up to her chest, and hugged them tightly to her. “Naruto would be angry with me for upsetting Sasuke. Sai, well, Sai would probably use that information to annoy Sasuke and Naruto with. Kakashi-sen....Kakashi would be furious with me, because he is firm in his belief that Itachi did it, and that he is nothing but pure evil. So, I've kept it to myself.”

“And, suffered for it.” Gaara finished for her. 'His eyes are quite pretty.' Inner Sakura said, her voice soft. Ever since the incident with the mangekyo, her inner personality had been quite, troubled. This was the first time since that horrible day that she had spoken. It seemed that Itachi's pain hurt her, too.

Sakura's eyes, to her horror, welled with tears, and before she could stop them, huge tears began to roll down her cheeks. Gaara didn't say a word. Instead, he moved closer to her, and imitating what he had once seen Kankuro do to Temari, when she discovered that the Nara boy was dating that loud blond on his team, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him until her face was buried in his neck.

~!~

“We've seen enough.” Itachi stated, and then turned his back. Kisame looked at his partner, with poorly concealed curiosity, and then looked back at the girl. Shrugging, he followed his partner, and soon, both were gone.

~!~

Gaara walked Sakura back into the village, and followed her to her apartment. Without a word, he followed her inside, and nodded when she quietly said that she was going to start dinner. They had failed to notice just how much time had passed as they talked, but it was frighteningly clear to Gaara.

Because of what she was experiencing, and the fact that Itachi had not been able to hold her, it was highly probable that the Akatsuki would be interested in seeing how she escaped, and the only way they could do that was if Sakura were in their control.

He also had been aware of two very distinct presences, and though he didn't tell Sakura, he could almost say, without a doubt, that it had been the missing-nin and his partner.

Now, the Uchiha knew that Sakura was experiencing disturbing dreams of his past, and would probably want to silence her, especially since she knew that he had not been the one to commit the acts against his clan.

That meant, that his new friend was going to need protection, and since she had sworn him to secrecy, he was going to give her the protection that she needed.

His.

~!~

“Are you all right?” He said, his eyes kind as he bent down to help her collect the items that had been spilled and then placed them into the bag. “That was a pretty hard fall.”

Her eyes shyly moved up to meet his, and he offered her a soft smile. When she nodded her head, indicating that she was fine, he picked up the bag and said, “I'll walk you home.”

She quickly shook her head and brushed herself off. “It's ok.” She whispered, softly. “I don't want to bother you.”

“Believe me, it is not a bother.” He replied, his hand moving over to the top of her head, ruffling her short hair. “Besides, it isn't every day that I get to walk such a pretty girl home.”

“Me?” She asked, her voice filled with doubt. She peered up at him, waiting for him to tell her that he was 'just kidding'.

He could see the doubt that lived in her eyes and silently cursed those awful girls, who teased the little girl before him, mercilessly. He was reminded of his younger brother, who often held that same look, especially when he stood before their father, hoping to be praised on the techniques that he was learning.

It was a look born of pure hope that someone would accept them.

“Of course.” He murmured, and motioned for her to walk with him. “What is your name, little one?”

“Haruno Sakura.” She whispered, and quickly looked at the ground. She wasn't stupid. She knew who he was. He was Uchiha Sasuke's older brother. The same brother that her classmate would always say he was going to beat. One day.

“My name is Uchiha Itachi.” He said, his tone rich with amusement. He told her that he had seen her practicing with her kunai, the other day, and that if she practiced hard enough, she would become quite good.

She was not used to such praise. In fact, she seemed almost distrustful of anything that didn't have to do with scorn.

As they walked, he allowed his mouth to set in a hard line, as he saw the same girls who had attacked Sakura, watching them. He narrowed his eyes at them, daring them to try and get near Sakura, and nearly laughed when their little faces paled, and when he and Sakura neared the group, he watched as the girls quickly disappeared.

Sakura had scooted closer to him, her eyes wary upon the small group of girls. But, he didn't mind. If it made her feel safer to walk closely to him, he would allow it.

When they reached her front door, it opened and a woman, with a bright smile greeted them. “There you are.” She said, and then gasped when she realized that her daughter had an escort.

It was clear to him that the woman knew who he was. She gave a short bow to him and softly asked, “Is there anything wrong, Uchiha-san?”

“None at all.” He replied, his eyes moving down to Sakura. “I happen to enjoy playing the hero for a pretty damsel in distress.”

Her mother lifted a curious eyebrow, but then accepted the torn grocery back into her arms. She smiled and then asked, “Sakura, what do you say to Uchiha-san?”

Turning around to face him, Sakura could not quite bring herself to lift her eyes to his, and she timidly said, “Thank you for bringing me home, Uchiha-san.”

Kneeling down to her level, he realized that despite being five years older than her, she was still very petite. Once grown, she would probably only reach the top of his chest. He reached out and ruffled her hair, before softly saying, “Sakura, ignore those girls. They are jealous, and hateful. Never listen to their words, because they are not true.”

Sakura nodded, and he, once again, ruffled her hair, his mind noting just how soft the strands felt, and then respectfully bowed to her mother, before lifting his hand in a wave, and taking his leave.

As he walked, he smiled.

She was such a cute, little girl.

~!~

He awoke and noticed that the sun was streaming through the dirty window. Well, he had been correct when he had said that she would probably only reach his chest. She was pretty short, but he could tell that her personality more than made up for her stature.

It certainly was a shock to see her so forceful, and he just could not see the timid little girl she had once been within that strong woman.

She had also turned out be quite a beauty.

The shrinking violet had turned into a blossom that commanded attention, and now, she had his. Not that it was a good thing.

~!~

He turned to look at her room, and watched as the door slowly opened. Sakura emerged, and he quirked an eyebrow up at her appearance.

He knew that she didn't sleep well, mainly because she had spent a good part of the night, crying. Because he was so new to people and their emotions, he simply left her alone, and had been relieved when her sobs finally stopped around three in the morning.

The evening had been very quiet, and when she was ready to go to bed, he simply made himself comfortable on the couch, and because she was now used to his ways, she didn't try to persuade him to leave, but instead, offered him a blanket.

After she took her shower, and changed her clothes, she reemerged, and gave him a tired smile. “Good morning.” She said, her voice weak.

“You cannot go on like this.” He stated, and crossed his arms over his chest, as he towered over her. “You are going to make yourself sick.”

Sakura knew that he was right. So right, that she could not even muster up the words to snap at him, telling him to mind his own business. Instead, she sank into a chair and placed her head into her folded arms.

For what seemed like several minutes, Gaara finally said, “He will come for you, Sakura.”

Lifting her head, she focused her puffy eyes upon the redhead and said, “Huh?”

Sighing and giving her an eyeroll, Gaara pulled out the chair that was across from her and sat down. He folded his hands and calmly said, “The elder Uchiha will come for you.”

“I wish that he would just leave Naruto alone.” Sakura murmured, miserably.

“He won't come for Naruto.” Gaara snapped, his patience wearing thin. “He will come for you, and he will want to figure out how you were able to break the mangekyo's hold.”

Sakura's eyes widened, and she allowed her head to fall back to her arms.

Well, she had finally gained the attention of the Uchiha. It just happened to be the attention of the wrong one.

~!~

Sasuke glared at the blonde idiot, and then over at Sai, who was doing his best to piss him and Naruto off with his whistling. As the minutes grew longer, it became clear to him that out of his team, he was the only stable one.

Finally, he just could not take it, anymore. Whirling around, he snapped, “Knock it off, wannabe.”

Sai lifted his eyebrow, and then gave him one of his 'smiles'. “Sorry.” He said, his tone telling the other two males that he really wasn't. “Am I bothering you?”

Before he could reply, Naruto stood up and said, “Sakura, where in the hell have you been?”

The two dark haired males turned and watched as their female teammate approached, and both noticed that the kazekage was with her. But, when she came closer, it was clear to all three that she had been crying.

She walked past her teammates, without a word, and when the males turned to look at him, Gaara simply said, “She had a rough night.”

Naruto turned on his heel and hurried to her side, and made her stop. “Sakura, what’s wrong?” He demanded, his normally easy-going nature quickly replaced with concern.

She shook her head. “I wasn’t able to sleep last night.” She mumbled, and moved around the blonde. She felt a hand upon her arm and turned to see Naruto’s blue eyes glaring down at her. “You know, I’ve tried so hard to understand what has been going on with you, and I’ve allowed myself to come to the conclusion that your sudden depression is due to the encounter with Itachi, but this has gone on long enough.” He snapped.

Sasuke and Sai approached, and Gaara trailed them, knowing full well what was about to come. He was silent as the three males surrounded the small female.

“The dobe is right, Sakura.” Sasuke said, his arms crossed over his chest. “Even I’ve seen a change in you, and I want the truth, right now. What did you really see when Itachi trapped you in the mangekyo?”

Sakura tensed, and gave a pleading glance over her shoulder to Gaara. When she saw that he wasn’t going to come to her aid, she turned and found that her three team mates had spaced themselves out, so if she tried to bolt, one would catch her.

Finally, she whispered, “Please. Please don’t do this to me.”

He knew it. She had lied about what she had seen. He knew Itachi too well, and knew that he must have tortured her in that pseudo-world.

Naruto glanced over at Gaara. From the look on his friend’s face, the red-head knew what she was hiding. Didn’t she trust them? Him?

When he saw that no answer would be leaving the lips of the Shukaku container, he turned his attention back to Sakura, who was now shaking. He frowned, and stepped forward.

“Look,” He said, his tone calm. “We are a team. We need to be able to trust one another. Sakura, you have to tell us what you saw, or else, I am going straight to baa-chan and tell her that you held some information back in your report. I don’t care if you get into trouble, and if it makes you finally talk, then I will do it.”

He knew that it was cruel. It wasn’t like he had never held back information before, but he was never hurting anyone by it. Sakura, on the other hand, was hurting herself, and he loved her enough to stop her.

Her face paled. She stared up at him with a look of betrayal, and he felt his heart leap into his throat and he watched as her head dropped. He knew that it was a betrayal of her trust, but on the other hand, she was betraying them by not telling them everything.

Finally, she gave him her decision.

“Fine.” She said. Then, she lifted her head, and he could see that there was no warmth for him, in her eyes. “Do what you have to.”

Turning, she brushed past Sai, who let her go without a fight. She walked past Gaara, and held her head high as she strode out of the field.

Naruto angrily ran his hands through his hair and then tilted his head back and bellowed, “FUCK!”