Naruto best laid plans

_to be clear, this is the sequel to B.O.R.T(which, if anyone is curious, stands for Boar. Ox. Rat. Tiger. basically their ANBU masks. arbitrary but I thought I'd put it out there). It's style is different from B.O.R.T's._**  
**

_You're warned._

* * *

**ASSAULT**

-_on his senses._

It had been a couple of months since she'd first accompanied Squad Eleven on their mission and she'd gone on other missions with them. The last mission had been an exhilarating one involving retrieving sensitive documents and she'd carried the glow of that mission around for a few days.

Naruto and Sasuke hadn't been happy with the fact that she'd been on S-Rank missions without them and once, Naruto had told Sasuke that it was with Squad Eleven, the shit had hit the fan.

Sasuke had been enraged that Itachi had chosen Sakura to be his field medic even though Sakura was already part of Team Kakashi. Sakura also suspected that it was part jealousy; that Itachi had acknowledged Sakura to be strong enough to be part of his squad. It was well understood amongst Team Kakashi that Sasuke adored Itachi and craved nothing more than his acknowledgement.

Naruto had tried appealing to Tsunade to not send Sakura, a Jonin, on missions with the ANBU but Tsunade hadn't relented. She had relented in another form; she'd assigned an S-Rank to Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi and Hinata in her absence and that was why Sakura found herself celebrating her birthday by herself.

Well, as much as you can celebrate when you have a mission beginning at dawn the next day. Ino was out on a mission to Sand as well so Sakura had worked in the hospital all day before returning home to study her mission briefing.

She found it hard to concentrate; her mind slid off the words and to where it always went whenever a mission scroll was delivered to her: Itachi. Initially, Sakura had been flattered that Itachi Uchiha, one of the strongest ninjas in the village, thought her competent enough to be a part of his team; continued exposure to the ninja in question had fanned the flames of gratitude to a crush which played havoc with Sakura's feelings.

She'd tried fighting it, ignoring it but then had come face to face with the fact that she couldn't do anything but deny it(only exacerbated by the time that Itachi had been injured grievously on the mission; Sakura's heartbeat hadn't slowed until every wound on him had been sealed and the poison extracted). She'd lived with the crush but she'd slowly been drawn to the idea of enacting on it.

But there were several obstacles to be overcome – the primary of them being that Itachi Uchiha was the most unemotional shinobi she knew; he had never displayed any sort of romantic attachment to any kunoichi/civilian that she knew of. There had been a rumour spreading that he might play for the other side(one that had made Sasuke turn a deathly pale white) but that hadn't gathered much enthusiasm.

Upon relentless questioning by Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke had finally mumbled something about he was sure that his older brother was one hundred percent not gay. He refused to reveal how he knew it and had gotten that odd gleam in his eye when he'd been pushed so they'd let it drop.

All Sakura would have to do was target Itachi Uchiha and wake up his repressed hormones. This was easier said than done, she admitted, but she had the necessary contact with him and ample amounts of time to work her magic.

Step one was staring her in the face, waiting to be implemented tomorrow but Sakura was having some apprehensions, palpitations and plain ol' worries over it. She sighed and turned back to sharpening the katana that Sasuke had been training her with.

She'd have to just pray that everything worked out to how it was supposed to be.

Sakura met Squad Eleven at dawn. She was on time like always. Genma and Itachi had already assembled at the point and they were just waiting for Shino who was uncharacteristically late.

Sakura landed next to Genma who gave her a welcoming grin and his usually flirty greeting. Sakura deflected him and turned to greet Itachi with a smile. As predicted, Itachi gave her his usual nod and turned away to scout for Shino.

Genma however sidled up next to her and in the process, managed to get a sniff of her perfume.

"That's nice stuff! Very floral and fresh." He exclaimed and leaned in closer to get a sniff of her. Sakura staggered back, a little startled at his closeness.

"Shiranui." Itachi's voice made Genma lean away, grinning sheepishly. Sakura turned to give Itachi a grateful look, only to find him also closer than she expected.

"Is there a problem, Captain?" she asked nervously, biting her lip.

Itachi's eyes narrowed but he didn't say anything. He retreated a few steps and Shino, thankfully, chose that moment to make an entrance.

Sakura's stomach was a nervous knot but the perfume had worked right? Itachi had noticed it and in return, her. Maybe it had worked its effect like Ino's card had told her it would.

"Captain. Genma. Sakura. Apologies for the delay."

Itachi nodded and would have progressed to telling them their formation when Shino's head snapped to Sakura.

"Sakura. Are you wearing perfume?"

Unnerved by everyone's eyes, she nodded uncertainly. Shino lifted his arm and a swarm of bugs alighted to it. He cocked his head as though he was listening to their buzz. All of them stood in silence, watching him converse.

Shino finally looked up to meet Sakura's eyes or so she thought.

"The floral perfume is very potent. It is meant to cloud the senses, arouse emotions and is confusing my bugs as well. If there was any way in which you could-"

Itachi was already swinging into action. He leapt backwards from them and Sakura watched dumbfounded as he flashed through a sequence of seals and created a small, dark cloud above him. She watched his hand and the cloud move in unison and watched it shift until it hovered over her and in one quick second, it broke and soaked her in oil. Thankfully, her eyes had closed in reflex else it would have gotten into them. Genma and Shino had moved so that they wouldn't be hit by the deluge.

She wiped the oil off her face and was ready to confront her Captain (was he mad? It was just a little perfume) but he was already flashing through another sequence of seals. She gasped as he aimed a flood of water at her, soaking her in it thoroughly again.

Sakura dared to open her eyes only after she was sure that Itachi wasn't going to subject her to a torrent of anything else. Genma and Shino were both staring at her and Itachi. Sakura joined them in staring at Itachi, stupefied.

"I trust you know the Fuuton jutsu to dry yourself up, quickly. We are late for our mission." Itachi's cool voice snapped her out of her amazement. His gaze slid to Shino.

"I trust there is a problem, no more."

Shino, though dumbfounded, recovered quickly. "No, it doesn't seem so."

Sakura stood there, still a little wary. Only after a reprimanding '_Haruno', _did Sakura snap into action and dry herself up quickly. She did a poor job but well enough so that she wouldn't fall sick. Her chakra control was impeccable and she could ward off communicable diseases with ease. Once Sakura looked less like a drowned rat, Itachi gave them their instructions and they began their mission.

During the mission, when they'd been fighting wolf summons, Sakura understood why Itachi had reacted as he did; an obvious scent would have landed them into a whole lot of trouble and in retrospect, Sakura admitted that it had been the worst mission possible for her to use the perfume in.

Plus, Ino had understated its influence. The way Shino had said it, it sounded like one of those perfumes used by kunoichis in missions which involved seducing someone or the other.

Sakura wasn't surprised when, at the end of the mission, Itachi pulled her aside to deliver a reprimand. Itachi had merely told her that he expected better from her(especially after perusal of the mission brief which clearly mentioned the wolf summons) and to keep her experimentation aside for her leisure time. To Sakura, it sounded harsher than anything else that he'd ever said to her and that night, in a fit of conscience, she emptied out her bottle of perfume and went to the archives to read.

Midway through a perusal of a scroll on properties of the eye (and a fit of moping, though she wouldn't admit it), Sakura realized that she'd been doing it all wrong. Itachi wasn't like other men, to be appealed to through the senses.

He was an intelligent shinobi who wouldn't succumb to shallow beauty. She'd have to bring her intelligence into play to set herself apart in Itachi's eyes.

Sakura managed to stifle her giggles but she still drew attention from various shinobi in the archive. They dismissed it as due because being the Hokage's apprentice and the team mate of a demon and an Uchiha would surely drive someone mad. Sakura would have been inflicting violence if she'd been aware of some of the thoughts directed at her but she was too busy, wrapped up in her glee. Now, finally, it seemed like the ball had landed in her turf.

Intelligence was something she didn't lack.

Operation: Seduction had taken a setback that but it would be back with a vengeance.

* * *

It had begun with some psychology and tactical problems that she'd managed to hustle up after poring over a ton of books.

While returning from a successful mission, Sakura had posed them to Shino and Genma. She knew fully well that Itachi would be drawn to the conversation and sure enough after about five minutes of discussion, Itachi had jumped in as well, stating his point and breaking up their stale mate. They'd chatted all the way back to Konoha and Itachi had surprisingly joined them for dinner after to continue discussions about the Fire Country politics and economic status.

The step had been implemented over a fragmented period of time seeing as she was still part of Team Kakashi and she was going on missions with them but Sakura was rather pleased with how well it was progressing.

Itachi seemed to have no issue with her approaching for advice on a problem; he directed her to a particular scroll if he had no time else took the patience to puzzle it out to her.

Sakura had no reservations in exploiting this opportunity and not a day went by(when he was in Konoha), when she didn't corner Itachi outside the ANBU headquarters to present to him something that was confounding her or to obtain his input on a point that she was at odds with.

The part of the ANBU exam which focused on tactics and psychology was beginning to seem easier and she surprised Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi with her answers when Kakashi told them the questions that had come up in the exam the year before.

Talking with Itachi had become so much easier ever since this step had been implemented and there were fleeting moments when Itachi was very much at ease with her. Sakura held those moments close to her heart and refused to let them show in her eyes whenever Naruto or Sasuke questioned her camaraderie with Itachi Uchiha.

Ino had been easier to fool and to avoid; with her busy schedule and training, Sakura barely saw Ino around. Fooling Naruto and Sasuke was harder; they'd known her since she was eleven and a fresh faced Genin but they'd accepted her curiosity as part of her that they wouldn't grasp and just accepted her help in studying for the written part.

Sasuke would never ask Itachi for his help outright himself so he was just glad that Sakura was doing it. Even if he did suspect something, a hidden motive, in Sakura's demeanour, he chose not to act like he knew what it was but just sat back to watch the dominos keel over.

Naruto was as oblivious as ever. He was happy to believe that his beloved Sakura-chan just wanted to make sure they were the best ANBU possible so he didn't look for any hidden motives.

The months had sped by until Itachi's birthday loomed just over the horizon; Sakura had divined the date from his medical records and planned a birthday present.

During a mission, she'd learnt that Itachi was particularly interested in history so she'd managed to procure a rare scroll, by a famed traveller, that she knew he was interested in. She planned to present him the scroll along with simple wishes so she loitered around the headquarters after her hospital shift, waiting impatiently.

Shino and Genma passed out before Itachi, both of them greeting Sakura warmly. Sakura only joined in on occasional missions but she enjoyed camaraderie with both of them.

Itachi had appeared only after the sun had set by which time Sakura had nearly finished perusing the scroll that she'd brought along for reading while waiting.

Sakura moved into his path and gave him her most winning smile; Itachi gave her his customary nod and waited for her query.

"I heard it's your birthday, Captain. Happy birthday." Sakura said, handing him the scroll.

Itachi didn't reply but unfurled the scroll to view its contents. Sakura watched the flash of surprise across his face; it was a rare occurrence because Sakura knew Itachi let his expressions show.

Whatever Itachi had been expecting, it had not been this scroll. It had taken her a lot of work and some bribing to find the scroll so she hoped that he appreciated it.

Itachi lowered the scroll, staring at her uncertainly. To her surprise, he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to her.

"I'm sorry, Haruno. But I cannot accept such an expensive present."

"But Captain-"

"Especially seeing as I do not possess the same sentiments as you."

Sakura felt her heart clench. "I-I…Captain, I-"

But Itachi was already turning away. Sakura watched him take a few steps away and then, uprooted herself to rush after him. It was now or never.

"Itachi!" she called, grasping onto the sleeve of his shirt.

Itachi turned to her, his face blank. He took hold of her arm and performed the seals for a familiar technique. They disappeared and appeared in a cloud of smoke in another place that was as familiar to her. The Uchiha training grounds.

Itachi let go of her arm and she staggered back a few steps.

"Why did you bring me here?" she questioned him.

"The street leading to the Hokage Tower is hardly the most private place to have this conversation. You have your reputation to think of."

"I- Itachi, you should know that I-"

But Itachi was cutting across her speech. "Haruno, I must stop you before you dig your hole any deeper. I hope it suffices you to know that I possess no romantic attachments to you but merely view you as a fellow comrade and my brother's team mate."

"B-But I love you!"

Itachi's expression didn't change. "I thank you for the sentiment but my feelings remain unchanged. I apologize if any of my actions led you to believe that I felt differently."

Sakura discovered then that getting a hole put in your gut wasn't the worst feeling in the world.

The worst feeling in the world was watching the one you love remain completely unaffected by the fact that you just confessed that you love them.

Sakura could almost audibly hear her heart break as she watched Itachi make the hand seals for the transportation jutsu and disappear in a burst of smoke.

She staggered backwards until she hit the tree and slid down until she was sitting in the ground, curled up into a ball. She didn't know when the tears began to fall, when she began to sob her heart out, when unrequited love finally hit her and she wasn't sure how much time had passed when she felt a familiar presence, the familiar weight of a team mate's arm on her shoulder-

"-Sakura ? Itachi told me you were here by yourself- what the _hell_ happened?"

Sakura shook her head furiously, wishing he would leave her alone to mourn in peace. She heard a sigh and felt the grass next to her rustle as she cried her silent tears. She was surprised when she found herself being lifted into his lap and was astonished at the gentle hand that pushed away her hair so that he could look into her red rimmed eyes.

"You idiot." Sasuke chided with an almost obvious tone of affection. "I wish you hadn't. I should have warned you but I didn't think you were stupid enough to-"

Sakura closed her eyes and just rested her head on his shoulder. Sasuke stopped talking and was quiet. She was grateful for that. She wished time would just stop or she could rewind it to erase all the events of the day, no months, till before the fateful day she had gone on the mission with Squad Eleven.

When there were no more tears and the pain had lessened, Sakura uncurled herself from Sasuke. He stretched, relieving abused muscles. He helped her up and tugged her in direction of the exit to the grounds.

Sakura trailed him miserably and soon found herself outside her apartment. Sasuke used his spare key to let them in and pushed her inside.

"Clean yourself up." He ordered. Sakura felt a smile threaten to break out, her mood lightened at his bossiness and she followed his orders.

When she was washing her face, she heard Naruto's familiar banging on the door and heard Sasuke's voice join with his in argument and she could almost begin to push back her sadness.

Sakura came out to witness an arm wrestling match that Naruto demanded she be the judge of; it soon turned into a tournament where the winner got to take her on and within the space of half an hour, Sakura found herself laughing furiously.

Naruto seemed to find nothing amiss and Sakura was eternally grateful for that; she didn't think she'd have been able to take his questioning and he'd have been itching to tear off and pick a fight for rejecting his precious '_Sakura-chan'_.

They had ramen at Ichiraku's where they were joined one by one, by all of the Rookie Nine and various associates. They moved to a nearby grill restaurant because they couldn't all fit into Ichiraku and Sakura felt her melancholy lift with all the mirth and the chaos. She saw Sasuke's smirk whenever she laughed and felt a particular burst of affection for him.

At the end of the night, when everyone disappeared and left Naruto saddled with the bill and crying, Sakura found herself being walked back to the apartment by Sasuke.

He'd been quiet ever since they left the little grill restaurant. Sakura just strolled on, feeling the little glow that the night had brought her and the little gloom that the events of the day had sown in her, combat each other.

She was grateful that they weren't stopped by anyone she knew on the path and she was especially grateful that she didn't run across Itachi Uchiha.

"Don't let this get to you, Sakura." Sasuke said, suddenly.

Sakura turned to him confused but he went on. "You're stronger than this. Don't let one rejection keep you down or let emotions rule you and pull you down."

Sakura stayed quiet letting himself work out the concern he felt for her.

"You're a strong, beautiful kunoichi; You're the Hokage's apprentice for gods sakes and one hell of medic nin and Itachi is the one who should regret not being able to-"

Sasuke looked uncomfortable and his cheeks were red; Sakura hadn't heard so many compliments out of him in forever so she decided to take what she got.

She wrapped both her arms around one of his (imitating a fan-girl who'd attempted the same with Sasuke), laughing and pressed an affectionate kiss to his cheek.

"You're an amazing best friend and team mate, Sasuke." She announced.

Sasuke's cheeks turned redder but she saw a smirk slide across his face.

"It's not hard to be the best when the other competitor is the dobe."

"Hey!" Sakura pouted. "You're supposed to say I'm the best team mate ever!"

Sasuke smirked at her. "Not even close."

"Hey!"

She let go of his arm to put both her hands on her hips and huff at him threateningly. Sasuke ignored her and strolled along, shoving his hands into his pockets. Sakura huffed, gave up and ran to him to put her arm through his again.

"Thank you, Sasuke." She told him for the first time that evening.

"I'll let you tell the dobe yourself and mind you, you can't keep it from him forever." Sakura winced, imagining Naruto's reaction. "But whenever you need us, Sakura, we'll be there."

Sakura smiled and leaned against him as they walked through the almost deserted streets of Konoha.

Sun or rain or hail, no matter how deep the controversy extended, no matter the political red tape or the hordes of enemy ninja separating them, they'd be there, yes. They'd be there, just like they'd been there nearly all her life, to protect her and be with her.

Rejection or not, Sakura could still brush herself off, get up with their help and bloom. And with their help, she knew she'd be able to forget Itachi Uchiha for good and move on. One day.

* * *

**References**: Narutopedia and the manga.

The jutsus used were _Suiton: Kokuu no Jutsu_(the one that gushed oil) and_ Suiton: Suihachi_(the gush of water from a hand; Yamato uses it in the anime). There wasnt a lot of fighting in this piece unlike the last but I rather liked this one. I have a lot of free time on my hands at the moment(time which should be spent studying) but instead, I dreamt this out and managed to get it out of my head. This is by no means the last installment. There will be one right after this, I think.

B.O.R.T can stand alone by itself but this and the next installment should be together to present the complete story, I think.

Don't flame Itachi. He cannot return every girl's feelings. Just think about it.

Sakura's birthday: March 28. Itachi's: June 9.

Just to be clear.


End file.
