Naruto 1. Prologue

**Non-Mass**

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**Bruised, Broken &amp; Healed  
**By: Helennnn

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**Prologue**

_Crow,_

_Okay, I know you can probably tell already, but this is not Taka. I think it's a little (very) obvious, to be honest. His writing is much more feminine than mine – I'm often told that I have a doctor's handwriting. Wouldn't surprise me, really. I __am__ a doctor._

_Anyway, you're most likely skimming through that first paragraph, wondering why the hell I'm writing to you instead of your adorable little brother. Long story short, we were on a mission, we kicked ass, got ambushed right at the end when we were on the border and Taka very foolishly overused a certain eye technique and is on strict bed rest. Great. I'm starting to sound like our orange–clad, idiot of a teammate. If you're guessing who I am, yes. I'm the girl with the large forehead._

_I'm rambling, sorry._

_Taka wanted me to inform you that until he can take the bandages off his eyes and his bones are healed, I will be writing to you in his place. He said feel free to stop writing because I'm quite annoying (he's lucky that he's already injured otherwise he'd be going straight through the walls of your lovely home and I know that your mother wouldn't be happy with me for that!), but I can tell that he wants to hear from you._

_In reply to your last letter, aside from his injuries, Taka is doing well. They shouldn't take too long to heal and I'm taking good care of him, although I may end up pummelling him if he continues to grunt "hn" at me instead of actually replying. Your parents are doing well, too, by the way. Your mother hopes that you will be returning soon, as does Taka. Your father doesn't really say much, but I think he misses you, too._

_Again, I'm rambling. I'm sorry! Taka is facing the window, brooding like always and expecting me to somehow read his mind and put pen to paper to tell you what I find. I wish I could read his mind. It would make speaking with him so much easier, instead of talking __at__ him. Really, Crow–san, you should teach your little brother how to be polite the moment you get back! Being around Whiskers (that is what I have dubbed our orange–clad teammate, since I don't know whether or not Taka mentions us and has cool nicknames for us both) is having a bad effect on him._

_It may be best to close up the letter like this. I'm sorry if there was anything you wanted to know about. Include it in your reply and I'll tell you the answers if I have them. Other than that, how are you doing? Are you eating well?_

_Please be safe, Crow–san._

_Cherry._


	2. The Reply

**Chapter 1 – The Reply**

_Cherry,_

_Yes, it was rather obvious the moment I received my letter that it was not Taka who wrote to me. Your handwriting is one I recognise vaguely, but also one that surprised me._

_Adorable? More like foolish. Taka should know better than to strain his eyes in such a way, especially considering that if he continues using it that way, his eyes will begin to deteriorate until he is blind. Keep an eye on him, Cherry–san and do not allow my foolish little brother to do such a thing to himself._

_I am grateful that you have taken up the task of writing to me in Taka's place. Word from home is rare and when my team and I do receive information, or simply gossip, it is vague at best. As you are most likely aware, we can not go into details over these letters, Cherry–san. If they were to fall into the wrong hands, our positions would be given away._

_No, I suppose my mother wouldn't enjoy having a Taka–sized hole through the walls of our home, but she will understand your reasoning. I do not expect my father to say much._

_You should stop apologising so much. There is no need for you to be sorry._

_Also, reading minds could be a very dangerous ability. Would you abuse such a technique? Many others would._

_Teaching Taka manners would be like telling a hungry lion not to devour me. Impossible. Taka is too much like our father. Even when he is wrong, he must be right. Whiskers – it is a fitting name for your friend. Taka usually dubs him as "the idiot", however your name for him is far less insulting. As for you, I believe he called you by "Cherry" also._

_There was not much that Taka needed to reply to. As for myself, I am doing well. My team are currently resting for a day or two at base camp until we receive our next orders. After that, we will set out, so I will be unable to read and reply until we return. There is no telling how long that will take. It could range from a single day to several months._

_Thank you for your concern, Cherry–san, but it is unnecessary._

_I also hope that you do not write your own mission reports as "we kicked ass, got ambushed right at the end when we were on the border and Taka very foolishly overused a certain eye technique" is hardly acceptable, wouldn't you think? Even for a 'long story short', it is rather vague._

_Crow_

* * *

Sakura smiled to herself and set down the letter.

"Was that okay, Sasuke–kun?"

"Hn."

It took everything in her not to scream at him.

Due to being the proud, arrogant, stick–up–the–ass guy that he was, Sasuke demanded that only she should be the one to heal him. He wouldn't even allow Tsunade to heal him! Oh the blonde had looked about ready to tear into him, but Sakura had instead sighed and agreed before she could. It had been late and she hadn't been in the mood for arguments. After taking a soldier pill, Sakura had tried to heal as much of Sasuke's wounds as possible before she collapsed with exhaustion. It had been strange to wake up beside Sasuke, but before she could be startled, he had huffed, muttering about not making it a habit of sharing his bed and that he had only pulled her onto it to sleep because it would be annoying having a pink haired medic passed out on his bedroom floor.

Like their sensei, Sasuke wasn't particularly fond of hospitals, despite the fact that he and Naruto had spent quite a bit of time in them. And no, not all visits were because of missions–gone–wrong. Some were because her teammates were absolute idiots who didn't know when enough was enough. So, instead of being in the hospital like he should be, Sasuke was currently in his own home, with his own personal healer (her) and his own slave (his mother). He was such a mama's boy.

Glancing up at him, Sakura thought about when and how she had realised her love for him was not romantic. They had been at a party and when Sakura noticed that Sasuke wasn't enjoying himself (which didn't surprise her since he hated being crowded and even _she_ had started to feel a little closed in and claustrophobic), she had asked if he would take a walk with her as she had a bit of a headache. Like she had been expecting, Sasuke had hesitated for a moment, wondering which was worse: staying in such a crowded place, or taking a walk with the girl who had a not–so–subtle crush on him.

For a moment she had thought that Sasuke would rather stay at the party. However a moment later, he had nodded once and led the way out. Around an hour later, they were sitting on top of the Hokage monument, comfortable with the silence as they looked out across the village, watching as many lights began to go out when families decided it was time for bed. It hadn't been long until he called her name, prompting her to turn to face him. However instead of seeing Sasuke at least a foot away from her, he was by her side.

And then he was kissing her.

It shocked her, but it didn't take Sakura long to return his kiss. It wasn't until their tongues began to caress one another, however, that they began to feel a little awkward and even uncomfortable. With a frown, Sasuke had pulled back, looking down at her for a moment until he closed his eyes and sighed. Before he could tell her that he didn't feel that way for her, though, Sakura had surprised him by beating Sasuke to it. It seemed to wound his pride a little, but he had given her a genuine smile and nodded.

Thankfully, their kiss had never made things awkward between them and honestly, Sakura was grateful that she had discovered her true feelings at the age of fourteen instead of possibly much later on in her life. At least this way she wasn't wasting her time. In fact, having those feelings sorted out seemed to bring them closer together. Not romantically, but in a friendship way. Sasuke no longer thought that she was an annoyance and Sakura no longer believed that the sun shined out of his ass.

"Oi, Sakura." she blinked in surprise, clearing her thoughts and smiling sheepishly. "What are you thinking about?"

He couldn't see her. His eyes were still covered by bandages to block out the light. Due to how much he had overused his sharingan, even in their usual dark state, his eyes were extremely sensitive. When she had been healing Sasuke the night before, she had noticed that his eyes were bloodshot and he kept squinting. After a while she had had to dim the lights to try and make him more comfortable, but in the end, covering them was the only way to alleviate him of his pain and prevent further damage.

In case he needed help (not that Sasuke would admit to such a thing), she had to stay close by and Mikoto had set up the spare room for Sakura across the hall from his, saying it was the least she could do. Despite being the matriarch of the Uchiha clan and her work being necessary, Sakura thought that the woman worked way too hard. She cooked, cleaned and went to the grocery store. She trained. She went to clan meetings. She dealt with that stubborn, cold husband of hers daily. She had to make difficult decisions whilst wearing a cold, expressionless mask. It was… It was maddening, unfair.

"Nothing." Sakura replied quietly, shifting in her position.

Sasuke was leaning up against the headboard of his bed whilst she was sat by his side, doing the same. To make it more comfortable on their backs, they had propped his pillows against the headboard, leaning back onto them. "You're lying." he huffed and she just knew that he would be rolling his eyes at her. "I don't need to see you to be able to tell."

It was kind of creepy just how well Sasuke knew her. It wasn't only her, either. He knew Naruto like that, too. Perhaps not Kakashi, but he still knew him pretty well, too. More than she or Naruto did. "How?"

"You fidget and when you're lying, you always take a deep breath before speaking. Don't try changing the subject."

He was bored. That much was obvious. It had been a whole week since their mission, but due to healing half–naturally, Sasuke was on strict bed rest. Also, because of the amount of damage his eyes suffered, there was no telling when he would regain his sight. It would definitely (hopefully) come back, but it would take a while and Sasuke would also have to take it easy. If it wasn't for him, however, they would all be dead or even worse, the Kyuubi would have gone on a rampage, so she couldn't complain.

"Honestly, Sasuke–kun, it's nothing. I'm just thinking about your injuries and how long they may take to heal. Mostly, I'm thinking about your sight."

"My sharingan?"

She shook her head, but remembering that he couldn't see her, she sighed. "You strained your eyes pretty badly this time, Sasuke–kun and your eyes are beginning to deteriorate. Itachi–san mentioned that that will happen until you eventually go blind if you continue the way you are." Sasuke nodded once, growing more silent. He had heard what his brother said as she had read the letter out loud to him. "I promise I'll do everything I can to try and prevent it, but you're going to have to cooperate. No more overusing your eyes."

Sasuke sighed. It was much easier said than done. Sometimes, his sharingan activated of its own accord when he grew too angry. It was like it reacted to his negative emotions. Once, it had even activated to a positive reaction, but that was simply because he had subconsciously wanted to make sure he remembered the moment. Despite hating to admit it (even to himself), Sasuke knew that he was emotional. Even though he could hide those emotions, they were still there and they were powerful. People just couldn't see them. Also, because they were on the same team, when he had become jonin, Sasuke had been given the task of being the Kyuubi's watcher. It was up to him to make sure it didn't go on a rampage. Sasuke knew it was never Naruto who did such a thing. Like him with his sharingan, the Kyuubi took advantage of Naruto's emotions.

But if he lost his sight… Who would he be without his eyes? Without his sharingan? Would his father disown him? It seemed a little harsh, but Sasuke could see his father doing such a thing. To abuse the power of their eyes was strictly forbidden. Many in their clan had gone blind from doing such a thing and they were treated like those who never managed to activate their sharingan. They were cast aside and ignored, treated like they were not even a member of the clan. Their eyes, their sharingan, was everything to them. It was who they were.

"How can you prevent this from happening again?"

Sitting up slightly, Sakura stared at his face with unhidden pity. Since he couldn't see her, she wasn't worried about him seeing the look and getting pissed off with her. She worked hard on keeping the pity out of her voice, though. "I want to take a look at your sharingan, but we'll have to wait until your eyes are at least halfway to being healed completely. To try and activate your sharingan now will be like taking a kunai to yours eyes." Sasuke inwardly cringed at just the thought. "Your eyes don't hurt and your headache is gone for the moment because of the numbing effect the healing chakra I used on you to ease you of the pain has, but you'll be in extreme agony if you try anything now. Wait a while and I promise that the moment your eyes are up to handling the strain of the amount of chakra your sharingan uses, I will begin healing them."

His eyebrows mashed together beneath the bandages. "Sakura…"

"I know." she whispered almost inaudibly, but he could hear her clearly. Placing a hand on his arm, she dropped her head to his shoulder. "I'll do everything I can to save your sight, Sasuke–kun. I know how much it means to not only you, but also your clan." He nodded silently by her side, not returning her hold, but not pushing her away, either. It had always been that way with him. "Sasuke–kun, I know that you may not want to tell me, but I know that his eyes are used far much more than yours, does your brother…?"

"I don't know." Sasuke answered truthfully when she trailed off. "Sometimes… Sometimes I see this look in his eyes. It's like they're unfocused, like he's not seeing anything in front of him, but I've seen that look in Kakashi's eyes, too."

ANBU. Unless you genuinely didn't mind the dirty work, then you would be psychologically scarred. There were no ifs or maybes. It was a fact. That was why her team had decided to stick to being jonin. Well, that and the fact that Naruto wanted to be Hokage and not only that, but he told them both that he wanted them there, as his advisers. They couldn't do that if they were out on dangerous missions, risking their lives or worse, dead.

"The job haunts all ANBU agents, I guess." Sakura mumbled. "Kakashi–sensei once told us that once you join ANBU, you never truly get out of it. It's a lifelong commitment." He nodded once. "I wish it wasn't that way. I understand that Kakashi–sensei and Itachi–san are talented shinobi and their skills are often needed, but…"

When she trailed off again, Sasuke sighed. "I know."

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**A/N - During Kakashi's ANBU arc filler, Sarutobi Hiruzen (the third Hokage) stated that he wanted Sasuke to become the Kyuubi's/Naruto's watcher. So I decided to make it happen in this story. Their bond is incredibly strong and if you all remember, the first time team seven reunited, he managed to get into Naruto's mind, to see the Kyuubi himself with the aid of his sharingan. Does that makes sense? Or am I talking a load of crap? Hahaha!**

**Anyways.**

**I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	3. We Need Them!

**Chapter 2 – We Need Them!**

_Crow,_

_Don't think that I didn't pick up on your teasing comment at the end of your letter! Usually, I write the reports for not only myself, but also Whiskers and Dog. I learned not too long after being on the same team as them that neither are to be trusted with writing their own reports. One always manages to spill ramen on it (when he can be bothered to even write one up) whilst the other always hands them in late. One time, Dog managed to hand a report in over three months late!_

_I still don't understand why shishou has not punched a hole through his chest. I can tell she's losing her patience with him. I can also tell that she knows I'm the one writing their reports as it's not that hard to notice the same, scruffy handwriting, but she doesn't question me or bring it up. It makes her life easier, I suppose. I'm glad. I don't know how Whiskers is going to cope when he takes over._

_Don't be that way! I saw a picture of you and Taka when you were both younger. Your mother was showing me the pictures and I have to say, you were both rather adorable!_

_I already grilled him about overusing his abilities and Taka has agreed to start taking it easy. I had to explain to him about the possibility of him going blind. He didn't seem to like that. He went all quiet and broody – more so than usual. I promise I will take care of your brother and like I told Taka, I will do everything I possibly can to prevent him from going blind, but I don't have much information on the technique and Taka doesn't seem entirely comfortable with me asking your father. So until his eyes are healed, we are playing the waiting game. Hopefully the damage caused won't be permanent. I don't think I would be able to tell Taka if it was._

_I'll keep you updated on the latest gossip, Crow–san! I know that that is what you're secretly asking for. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me and luckily for you, my best friend just so happens to be the biggest gossip in the village. Also, Taka warned me already about not going into too much detail, telling me that I could be putting you at risk. Does that include gossip? If so, then poor you. Your heart must be breaking._

_Your mother is a very understanding woman, Crow–san! Of course she would understand if I punch her youngest son through the wall. He's been treating her like she's nothing more than a slave recently! I swear that jerk thinks he's royalty or something of the sort. I told him to quit treating her that way, as she seems rather busy, but your mother would simply smile and accept it! She's a saint, Crow–san. A saint! I would have lost my temper long ago._

_Yeah, I can't help but apologise. It's sort of a habit that I picked up and once I put pen to paper, it's like the words just flow out of me and onto the page. Strange, right?_

_Oh that friend I was just telling you about abuses that particular technique all the time! Just the other day she did it just to give me the details of her latest fling. I think I would abuse the ability, but at the same time, I wouldn't. I want to know what people are thinking about me, even if the truth hurts me, but then again, everybody deserves their privacy. What about you? Would you abuse such a gift?_

_I can see Taka calling Whiskers "the idiot". As for "Cherry"… Well, it's not too hard to guess why he called me that, right? It's partly the reason why I chose the name myself. It's simple and it'd make it easier for you to remember who I am, despite the fact that we have never spoken face–to–face. I don't think that we have, anyway. Unless that one time you answered the door to me counts. Does it? We didn't speak for very long. I'd say ten seconds, really, since Taka appeared and demanded that we left for training._

_It's great to hear that you're well! Make sure you're all well–rested before you set out again. Doctor's orders! Can't have you all getting sick._

_My concern is necessary. I can't help but worry! Years of being on a team with your brother, Whiskers and a sensei who could be on death's door and __still__ refuse to seek medical attention, taught me to be that way._

_Reply as soon as you can, Taka is quite restless. I don't think he likes being on strict bed rest. He likes hearing from you, though. So do I!_

_Be safe._

_Cherry._

* * *

It was strange standing amongst the lovers for the men who were on the same mission as Itachi. They were all clutching their letters tightly to their chests but the moment the chunin who collected the mail reached for their letters, they all but threw them at him, like they were desperate for them to reach their men. That didn't surprise Sakura. There was no telling what day would be your last in their line of work.

Smiling politely, she handed over the letter to the chunin, who returned her smile before he moved onto the next woman.

Due to it being imperative to keep their positions hidden, there were certain times during the week that you could send your letters off. Every Tuesday afternoon. The messenger bird carried letters twice a week (to and from) and was disguised to look like nothing more than an average bird. Only certain shinobi from Konoha can distinguish it and pick it out from the others.

It was crowded in the waiting room at the Hokage tower. All letters were inspected by Tsunade before being sent, to make sure that nothing was revealed if their enemies got their hands on the letters. If that happened they could be in big trouble. Considering that most of the other women were civilians it shouldn't have been necessary, but Sakura could understand. She could also understand why Tsunade had taken it upon herself to inspect the letters instead of ordering the chunin before them to do it.

Letters were personal and sometimes, people found it easier to speak with one another when writing down their feelings. Sometimes, the contents of the letters were not so pure (and the chunin standing not too far from her seemed to be only fourteen). Tsunade knew that feeling of longing and there was no judgement in her eyes. She understood them. What she read, never left her mind. In fact it made her fight harder to protect their village, to protect the love she had once experienced, yet lost all too soon, before she and Dan even had the chance to experience it fully.

Also, Tsunade was always sober when she read the letters. It wasn't until after she had been through them all that she started drinking.

Despite knowing that her shishou wouldn't appreciate it, Sakura couldn't help but pity her. It couldn't be easy going through those letters, of reading about a love she had wanted to keep. Sakura wasn't sure what she would do if she was in Tsunade's place.

Sighing, Sakura left the Hokage tower.

The men who were away on that certain mission have been gone for over seven months now. Sometimes they were allowed a week or so to return home and see their loved ones, but it was a rare thing to happen. They were staying along the border of Fire Country, watching and waiting for enemies.

Lately, things haven't been too good between Konoha and Iwa. At first it had started with small disagreements. However, it wasn't long until things began to heat up and turn deadly. It didn't help that the Tsuchikage and the Hokage were both stubborn, hard–headed people. They refused to stand down or give up – their pride would not allow it. Not to mention that some of the things the Tsuchikage was asking for, were preposterous. He wanted more from them, more than what they could give.

The other hidden villages were not getting involved, although the Kazekage had told them that if they needed his help, he would help from within the shadows. Sakura couldn't blame Gaara for being so cautious as he was still being closely watched. Not many trusted him as Kazekage because not only was he the youngest there had ever been, but he was also the jinchūriki for Shukaku. Over the years he had learned how to control Shukaku, but they were still wary of him, wondering if one day Gaara would snap and go back to his old ways.

There was no telling how long the teams who were sent to the border would be gone for, but there was no helping that. They were some of their best shinobi and Tsunade trusted them with protecting their village, their nation. Sasuke had mentioned to her before that this wasn't the longest Itachi had been away on a mission before (over eighteen months was his longest) but Sakura hadn't failed to notice the twitch between his eyebrows, like they wanted to mash together so that he could scowl.

He missed his brother. It was as simple as that.

Altogether there were seven base camps spread out along the border and according to Sasuke, Itachi's team were staying at base camp four. They were in the dead centre and you would have to be a fool to try and attack there. It had been Shikamaru's strategy. Their enemies would believe that they would put their strongest around the edges, believing that Iwa would try a sneak attack but instead they would ambush base camp four and barge their way into their nation. What Iwa didn't know, however, was that there were three geniuses staying at base camp four. Uchiha Itachi and Shisui as well as Hyuuga Neji.

The only reason Sakura knew about them was because she had been there during the meeting with Tsunade, Shizune and Shikamaru where they were decided. There was also two other teams staying at base camp four, but Sakura only knew four of the shinobi. Their temporary captain, Yamato. A member of ANBU who had filled in for Naruto when he left to train with Jiraiya. His name was Sai. The other two were Izumo and Kotetsu. They were there for official business, like the stuff they helped Tsunade with. She didn't know the rest. They were all male, though. As far as she was aware of, no kunoichi had been sent to the border. She wasn't sure why. Perhaps they weren't needed? It wouldn't be that surprising considering just who the teams were made up of. They were all prodigies and geniuses in their own rights.

It still seemed rather sexist to her. However, given who their Hokage was and the fact that she _hated_ chauvinistic pigs, Sakura knew that it wasn't sexism. Maybe it really was that kunoichi weren't needed? Again, when you look at who had been chosen…

Yeah, they weren't needed.

"Sakura!"

Sakura frowned as she stopped walking and glanced over her shoulder, but then smiled politely when she noticed it was Tenten calling her name, running towards her and waving her hand in the air. They had never really spoken before and on the few times that they had, they had been on a mission, meaning they couldn't stand around chatting. Sakura couldn't see Tenten doing such a thing even if they hadn't been on a mission. Yes, the girl was bubbly when she wanted to be, but she was also fierce and determined – just like her fiancé. Well, he wasn't bubbly. Sakura had to bite back a smirk at the thought of him being _bubbly_.

"What's up?" Sakura smiled when Tenten finally reached her. It didn't take too long.

"I saw you just now, at the Hokage tower?" the younger kunoichi nodded, hearing the small note of doubt in Tenten's voice. "I didn't know you had somebody you know in the teams on the border! Well, besides Kakashi–sensei, but I never would have thought that he was the type to write letters."

"He would if they were about his books." she rolled her eyes before adding, "I've written to Kakashi–sensei a few times, but his replies are always so vague and slow. I still write to him, just not as much. He's quite busy." Like always. "I was actually sending a letter to Itachi–san."

Tenten's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "_Uchiha Itachi_?" she demanded and Sakura nodded slowly. "B–But why _him_?"

It didn't completely surprise Sakura that Tenten was so shocked, as Itachi was well–known in Konoha for being a loner and not only that, but his aura alone was intimidating, scaring off the weaker shinobi who couldn't handle being in his presence. There was only a handful of people who could get passed that aura and it saddened Sakura that it had to be that way for Itachi. Apparently what they say about geniuses was true – they had a hard time interacting with those below them. It wasn't because they believed themselves to be better (even if it did seem that way) it was because they just couldn't be understood. Most geniuses were antisocial. According to what Sasuke had once told her, Itachi was one of those.

Whenever Sakura spotted Itachi around Konoha, he was always alone or with another Uchiha named Shisui. They were both geniuses and from what she had heard, they were best friends, too. An unstoppable team. Rumour had it that many shinobi had given up when they found out they were facing Shisui and Itachi – some even say that the shinobi killed themselves before the Uchiha team could do it. Hopefully those were just rumours. She couldn't even begin to imagine the horror of watching somebody take their own life because they were too scared to fight you. It would make her feel like a monster.

Knowing that Sasuke wouldn't appreciate her telling anybody about his current predicament, Sakura smiled and shrugged. "Itachi–san is nice to talk to, despite what people say about him."

"I see." the brunette frowned.

Before she could ask any more questions, for Sakura could see the suspicion and curiosity in her chocolate brown eyes, she asked, "So how's Neji–san?" He was on Itachi's team. Yet another deadly addition. If the Uchiha men didn't get the opponents, then Neji definitely would. Nobody escaped his eyes, just like nobody escaped an Uchiha's. "You were sending a letter to him?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah!" Tenten smiled, her frown and suspicion disappearing, although not completely. That was fine. Just as long as Tenten didn't try asking any more questions. If she let it slip that Sasuke had damaged his eyes badly, then he would never forgive Sakura. In fact, the moment he was better, he would ask her if she wanted to spar one–on–one before kicking her ass into the ground. "Neji's doing fine. I was informing him on everything Lee has been doing. Gai–sensei, too, before he was also sent to the border. Deep down, I think he misses hanging around with them."

Sakura couldn't help but smile. "He grew up with their…"

"Youthfulness." she groaned. "Just don't say it too loud, Lee might hear you–"

"Tenten, we're–" a loud, unmistakable voice cut off and a bright smile graced his lips. "Sakura–san!"

Wow. Sakura blinked in surprise as Lee literally appeared out of nowhere. Could he really hear when people were talking about youth? It sounded like some sort of creepy, sixth sense or something.

"Lee–san."

"I told you." Tenten said with a knowing look before turning to Lee. "What is it?"

"We have a mission!" he stated, as loud and as energetic as always. Lee was currently hopping from foot to foot, looking impatient to get going. "We're going to base camp four!"

Tenten's eyes widened and her own bright smile graced her lips. "We are? Why?"

"There has been some suspicious activity and they need us!" Lee exclaimed and then looked down at the younger kunoichi. "Sakura–san, Tsunade–sama wishes to see you immediately. She says that it is important."

Important? What, did she lose her sake again? Sighing, Sakura nodded once, said her goodbyes and good lucks, before once again returning to the Hokage tower. It was so strange. Even though she barely knew her, Sakura felt happy for Tenten. She hadn't failed to notice the happiness in her brown eyes when she heard the news. Being in love like she and Neji were had to nice. To her, Neji seemed cold and distant, sometimes downright unapproachable, but maybe he acted differently when alone with Tenten? After all, Sasuke acted differently when with his team. He was more open with them than he was with anyone else.

When she arrived at the Hokage tower, it surprised her to find it so empty. There were no longer women crowding around the waiting area or standing by the entrance and the previous, loud chatter was now replaced with a silence that made her ears feel as though they were ringing. They cleared out pretty fast, didn't they?

Sakura knocked once on the door of Tsunade's office and once given the permission to enter, she did so silently, shutting the door behind her.

"Sakura."

"You wished to see me, shishou?"

The blonde was sat at her desk, the letters for those at the camps piled neatly on one side of the desk. Much to Sakura's surprise, neither Shizune nor Tonton were in sight. It wasn't all that strange, but Sakura hadn't been aware that Shizune had been sent out on a mission. The reason she knew that it was a mission and not work at the hospital was because today Sakura was supposed to be working at the hospital. Shizune was not on today's rota. In fact, she had no shifts for an entire week!

"How are Sasuke's eyes doing?"

Straight to the point like always. Tsunade hadn't even glanced up at her. "They're still highly sensitive to light and need more time to heal. I do what I can, but I don't have enough information on the sharingan to try anything risky." she couldn't take the risk of damaging Sasuke's eyes further. "The most I can do for him is relieve him of the pain and gradually heal the chakra burns."

"I see." Tsunade sighed, finally looking up as she folded her hands and covered her lips with them. "And you have no information on the sharingan at all? Besides the research I already gave you?" Sakura shook her head, feeling a little disappointed with herself because of that fact. If she had more information, if she could somehow talk Fugaku into giving her at least a tiny amount of details, then she could possibly save Sasuke's eyes and any other Uchiha who was experiencing the same thing! "What about Kakashi's sharingan? Have you ever worked on that?" Sakura nodded, but the grimace on her features told Tsunade she didn't have much information. None that was important or anything she didn't already know, anyway. "Damn it."

Sakura winced. "I can keep trying to talk Fugaku–"

"No. That would take far too long." the blonde practically growled as she sat back in her seat. "That bastard is as stubborn as I am and we need information on the sharingan _now_."

There was an urgency to her voice, making Sakura's body tense. "Why the rush?"

"Uchiha Shisui's eyes are deteriorating at a fast pace due to how much he has been using them. As you probably already know, he is one of few Uchiha who possess the Mangekyō sharingan. With this type of sharingan, he can use a certain technique that allows him to control the mind without anybody even realising it."

"And Shisui–san has been using that technique to prevent fights, making the enemy retreat." Tsunade nodded once, gritting her teeth. "How badly are his eyes damaged, shishou?"

"Bad enough that he can barely see a thing when his sharingan is deactivated."

How could he have allowed it to get so bad? Why hadn't Shisui ever informed the Hokage about his damaged eyes? Just as that thought came to mind, so did the reminder that Shisui was an Uchiha. Like other Uchiha, he was too proud to ever admit that he was in pain. He would rather stay there and go blind whilst defending Konoha rather than leaving and eventually going blind. At least, this way, he was doing everything he possibly could to protect their village.

"What about Itachi–san's eyes?" Sakura asked after a moment of silence. "He possesses the Mangekyō too, doesn't he?" she was certain Sasuke had mentioned something about it before.

Tsunade nodded. "According to Itachi and Shisui, one can unlock the Mangekyō when they experience the trauma of losing somebody the care for. For Shisui, it had been his parents. For Itachi, it had been when Orochimaru attacked the village during the chunin exams and attempted to place a cursed seal on Sasuke." There had been no attempting. Orochimaru _had_ put the cursed seal on Sasuke and her teammate had almost abandoned the village, but somehow, not too long afterwards, it had disappeared and he never thought about leaving again. Sakura had no idea how the hell that happened, but she knew that it had had something to do with Itachi and Shisui. Anko, too, surprisingly. "Sakura, I want you to be prepared to get called to base camp four within the next couple of weeks. I would rather we wait for Sasuke to be healed, as I want to send team seven, but if he is not healed in the next fortnight, you will be leaving without him and I will add a temporary member to your team. Is that understood?"

Temporary teammates or teams weren't too bad if she already knew them. When Sai had been on their team for several months, it had been uncomfortable because he and Sasuke didn't get on with one another. Sai had been placed on the team in Naruto's absence, as he had gone to train with Jiraiya for a while and she and Sasuke didn't want to stop going on missions and gaining more experience. That time wasn't particularly nice to remember, as Sasuke had been distant, had been considering taking Orochimaru up on his offer, but thankfully, he never did. Instead he trained with Kakashi and not only him, but also Anko and Itachi every now and then.

However, Sasuke wouldn't be happy to hear that she would be going to base camp four without him.

It seemed these next two weeks, Sakura was going to have to do a lot of digging to try and find whatever information she could.

Great.

"Yes, Tsunade–sama. Is there anything else?"

"Actually, there is." her tone took on a teasing note as Tsunade lifted a certain letter. "Since when were you and Itachi pen pals?"

The smirk on Tsunade's face made Sakura blush as she looked at the ground sheepishly. "You're not supposed to use those letters against people, shishou."

"Oh, I know." the blonde shrugged and her smirk only widened as Sakura continued to blush. "You're simply fun to tease. Almost as much as that Uchiha brat."

Sasuke. Tsunade enjoyed tormenting him, always saying crass things because, in her eyes, he was a prude. Sakura had to admit that it was pretty funny seeing him blush, as not a lot of people could make such a thing happen.

When it became obvious that Sakura was not going to reply, Tsunade sighed. "Don't mention in your next letter that you will be going to base camp four, Sakura. If somebody gets their hands on that letter, then you will be putting the entire camp as well as your team at risk. Do you understand?" Sakura nodded. "For now, I have sent team Gai to base camp four. When they return and fill me in on the extent to how badly Shisui's eyes are damaged, I will make my decision. I would rather wait a month or two, to give you the chance to try and get as much information and research as you possibly can, but we need Shisui and Itachi in top condition, Sakura. They are two of our most powerful shinobi. We cannot allow for either of them to lose their sharingan!"

It was a scary thought knowing that it pretty much all depended on her to make sure she saved their sight. Tsunade couldn't go out to the borders because not only did she need to stay in the village in case of an attack, but it was also far too dangerous for her to go to the borders. The amount of shinobi that had been killed for trying to pass the borders with their mission of assassinating the Hokage, was ridiculous. But they could never trace it back to the Tsuchikage and to accuse him of such a thing outright would cause _a lot_ of trouble.

"I'll speak with Sasuke–kun again and see if he can give me any information, but do I mention anything about Itachi–san and Shisui–san's eyes?"

For a moment, there was silence, telling her that Tsunade was thinking carefully about what to do. On one hand, telling Sasuke that his brother could lose his sight if Sakura didn't get that information, could save a lot of trouble of trying to persuade him. On the other hand, however, there was a chance that Itachi wouldn't want his family to know such a thing, or for anybody to know such a thing. The fact that not only his eyes, but also Shisui's, were deteriorating, meant that they now had a weakness. They probably had a couple that nobody knew about, but now this one was going to dominate all other weaknesses.

Unless Sakura could do her research, there was no doubt in Tsunade's mind that both Uchiha would eventually go blind. Simply overusing the ordinary sharingan, or even the byakugan, caused serious damage and burned out the eyes with chakra. What the hell sort of damage could the Mangekyō do? Tsunade didn't want to know, but it was her job to find out. It was now Sakura's job to find out, too.

She couldn't ask Itachi over their letters. Not only would he most likely ignore her for it, but if the letters got into the wrong hands, then they would have a serious problem. So that ruled out that certain possibility. There was only so much that Sasuke could tell Sakura and they couldn't risk having his clan class him as a traitor for handing over the already gathered research – it would crush Sasuke because his clan meant everything to him. Tsunade knew that Sakura wouldn't even consider doing something as risky as that.

"For now, work with whatever you have." Tsunade sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "I will summon Fugaku and make up a story about how many within his clan are losing their sight and unless we can continue with our research, they will continue to lose their sight until eventually, no Uchiha will be capable of seeing."

Sounded a little dramatic, Sakura thought with an inward grimace. Would Fugaku believe such a lie? "Perhaps you should say those with more advanced sharingan, Tsunade–sama." Sakura told her shishou honestly. "It will be hinting at Shisui–san and Itachi–san, but at the same time, also at himself." After all, Fugaku didn't become head of the clan from simply sitting on his ass all day. No he didn't possess the Mangekyō, but his sharingan was still powerful and not to be underestimated.

"Very well." she nodded. "Now go and see what you can get out of that brat. Come back to me with your results and we'll work from there."

* * *

**A/N – I don't think I have much to say... There was definitely something, but I can't remember now. Ugh. Oh well! If I remember, I'll post it in the next chapter.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	4. You Don't Remember?

**Chapter 3 – You Don't Remember?**

_Cherry,_

_The fact that Whiskers spills ramen on his reports does not surprise me. I cannot say that I am surprised by Dog, either. He has changed since the time we worked together._

_Perhaps it is because Dog is important to our village? He can't be of use if he is dead. The thought of Whiskers taking over is frightening._

_My mother is always showing off the family photographs to anybody who goes by the house. For some reason she believes that people visit because they want to see those pictures._

_Make sure you hold Taka to that promise. If you ask our father, he will most likely tell you no. However, if you look into eye techniques in the library within the district, I believe you will find something. Keep Taka by your side at all times if you go, for if anybody sees you, they will think that you are up to something. Considering the fact that his aren't as advanced as others, I doubt the damage will be permanent, but I am no doctor and I am also not there to examine them. I agree. It would not be easy telling him that he will never see again. He relies on his eyes as much as the rest of us._

_Yes. That is exactly why I continue to reply to your letters – I enjoy gossip. Also, by going into detail, you would not only put me in danger, but also my team and the rest of the camp. Be careful of what you say, but no, that does not include gossip. Lucky me._

_She is a very persistent woman, however, she has a big heart. Taka may be injured, but he should know not to take advantage of our mother – no matter how much of a mother's boy he is. Our mother will allow him to get away with it for a short while, though the moment she realises Taka can move around much more easily, he will be forced to fend for himself. I have heard all about your temper, Cherry–san, and I have to say, your latest record for the distance you have punched Whiskers across the village, is impressive._

_Habits are a hard thing to drop, but I suppose yours could be worse. Taka seems to have started adding the word "usuratonkachi" to the end of almost every sentence. I believe it has more to do with Whiskers rather than my brother calling everybody he encounters a moron. Like Taka, Whiskers also has a word he adds to his sentences. Do you?_

_People say that it is easier to write than to speak, so perhaps it is true._

_So she is a gossiper and can use mind techniques. I know exactly who your friend is already and I didn't even need to think about it. You call her Pig, don't you? The entire village knows of your rivalry and fights. Knowing exactly what people think of you is a tempting thought, but I would rather not. Sometimes it is easier to simply be the bigger person and get over your worry or paranoia. So no, I would not abuse the gift._

_I did not need the name "Cherry" to know who you are. You are the only one Taka would have write these letters. I agree that it is a simple codename, though._

_Aside from that one time where I opened the door to you, we have spoken twice before then, Cherry–san. I am not surprised that you do not remember as you were merely a child back then – around five or six, I would say. You had been separated from your parents during a festival and somehow managed to wander up to one of the training grounds, to the one where I was training at that moment in time. By the time you reached me, you were in tears and frightened because of the, if I recall correctly, "loud bangs". By "loud bangs", you meant fireworks._

_Whenever I tried to take you back to the festival, back to your parents, you would grow hysterical and the only thing that calmed you down had been picking flowers. It was around four hours later that you fell asleep under a tree, allowing me to take you home. The next day, as a thank you for taking care of their daughter as they had been extremely distressed and worried, your parents invited me over for dinner and told me I should bring Taka, too. I believe that is where your crush for him started._

_No, I suppose none of us can risk falling ill. I will make sure my team are well–rested._

_Cherry–san, your entire team is made up of people who could be dying and would still try to tell you they do not need help. Perhaps not so much Whiskers, as he has always been quite dramatic and loud, but definitely Taka and Dog. On some level, even __you__ have done such a thing._

_Despite his personality, Taka has always been energetic and obsessed with his training. I don't doubt that having to stay in bed all day is like torture to him. I enjoy receiving your letters. They are a nice change from the vague letters that seem as though a robot has written them._

_Crow_

* * *

"Robotic?" Sasuke scoffed. "He should be grateful I even write to him."

But Sakura wasn't focusing on Sasuke's annoyance, on the fact that he felt a little offended by what his older brother had said. Her mind was going into overdrive and excitement was coursing through her veins as well as adrenaline. Not long later, a gigantic grin was almost splitting her face in half.

Sensing her barely restrained happiness and the fact that she was suppressing a squeal, Sasuke sighed. If his eyes weren't still bandaged, he would have rolled them at her. He really hoped that his teammate wasn't developing a crush on his older brother. It would just be weird and strange. Perhaps even creepy if he looked at it a certain way. However, knowing his older brother the way he did, Sasuke knew that he would never return Sakura's feelings, so it would be best if he broke it to her now.

"Sakura," his annoyance was even more obvious now, "just because Itachi said he enjoys your letters, it doesn't mean anything other than he likes the change. He would have said the same if it had been Naruto who was writing to him."

She frowned, her happiness fading. "What are you talking about?"

"The fact that you can't even sit still because my brother complimented you."

"Wait, what? You think–" Sakura cut herself off with laughter. "Sasuke–kun, I'm not excited about that! I mean, sure, it's nice that your brother has somewhat acknowledged me, but that's not why I'm so happy."

This time, it was Sasuke who was frowning. "Then why are you?"

"Weren't you listening?" she asked, her voice shaking with a mixture of different emotions. "He gave me permission to go into the Uchiha library so that I can help you!"

Despite his eyes being covered, Sakura knew that they would have been wide with shock. "W–What?"

"As long as I have you by my side to prove to the other members of your clan that I'm not going to try anything or that I'm not delving into forbidden jutsu, then I should be able to do some research! Don't you get it, Sasuke–kun? If I can get the right information, if I can learn how to protect your eyes, I might be able to help you!"

His brother had done that? But… But why? Why was he giving Sakura so much trust? Unless you were a member of their clan (or Kakashi, in case he needed help with his sharingan, although he needed to be watched and allowed entry) then you were not permitted to enter their library. It was filled with Uchiha clan jutsu and the history of their clan. It was supposed to be top–secret! Not even the Hokage was allowed to enter unless she had permission from the head of the clan, from his father. And if this managed to trace back to Itachi, then he would be in so much trouble, especially since he was clan heir. Was he really willing to put so much at risk for him? Because he had been reckless with his eyes?

"What's the matter, Sasuke–kun?" Sakura frowned as she saw the expression on his face. It was close to how he looked when he was brooding, only this seemed a little sadder, yet warmer, at the same time.

It was silent for a few moments as his head continued to stay tilted towards the bed, as though he was staring at it. "Is there really a chance that this could be permanent?"

The breath left Sakura like she had been punched in the gut. Sasuke's voice sounded different. It was quieter, lower and there was a slight shake to it. If she didn't know any better, Sakura would have said that Sasuke sounded close to tears. She had only seen him this way once before and that had been when the Kyuubi had taken control of Naruto's body and began attacking the team. None of them had been prepared for it and Sakura had almost died during the attack as well as Kakashi. It had been up to Sasuke to stop Naruto. When she woke up a day later in the hospital with Naruto in the bed beside her and Kakashi on her other side, Sasuke had acted so out of character that she had been certain that she had died.

"Sasuke–kun, I–"

"Tell me the truth, Sakura."

His sharingan meant everything to him. Even Itachi had more or less admitted to that in his letter. It had taken the younger Uchiha brother so much longer to activate it and it was because of that that Sasuke treasured it. Maybe treasured was a strong word, but it was the truth.

"It… It could be." she whispered, her eyebrows knitting together as she fought back her tears. "I'm doing everything I can, but there's so much damage…" Sakura cleared her throat. "Tsunade–sama told me I need to do more research to be able to help you now." Maybe that was a small lie, but it wasn't entirely untrue. "She already taught me everything she knows about the sharingan. Your clan… They're so secretive about it, Sasuke–kun, so we can't do much without more research. She believes that… that those with more advanced, more powerful eyes, will all go blind if your father continues to deny us this information."

Realisation flooded his features. Well, it was more of a deadpan, but same difference. "Itachi's eyes. Shisui's."

"…Yeah."

Suddenly, he was facing her and his anger was obvious as his upper lip curled. "Is that why you're continuing with your letters to Itachi? Are you using him so you can do your research? There's a reason why my father is so protective of those scrolls, Sakura. They're clan secrets. Not Konoha's. They're _ours_."

"Shut up, will you?" Sakura yelled at him. "I'm not using Itachi–san! I started writing to him because _you asked me to_. You're making it sound as though I'm sleeping with him or seducing him for the information! I'm only trying to help you, Sasuke. If you don't want my help, then tell me. I already know how much trouble I can get into for entering your clan's library and to help not only you, but every other Uchiha who is suffering with the same problem, I'm willing to risk it! Apparently, so is your brother. He knows just how serious this is."

"Sakura–"

A knock on his bedroom door cut him off and both fell deadly silent before Sasuke spoke up. "Come in."

The door opened slowly and once it was fully opened, Sakura tensed ever so slightly when Mikoto entered. Her features were blank, her stance strong. Shit. She had on her matriarch expression (which was how Sakura and Naruto knew not to get on her wrong side). The woman looked serious as she shut the door behind her and stepped fully into the room.

"I couldn't help but overhear your disagreement." she stated and Sakura was biting the inside of her cheek. Saying that it was a disagreement would be a bit of an understatement. Mikoto regarded her son for a few moments before she glanced over at Sakura, who tensed in response. "Was everything you just said true?"

She nodded. "Tsunade–sama believes that those who use their sharingan as much as Sasuke–kun does, or who have more advanced eyes like Itachi–san and Shisui–san do, will go blind. It's not a possibility, it's a fact. It is true that Sasuke–kun shouldn't be having a problem with his eyes from overusing them, but the fact that he is, means that we truly don't know anything about the sharingan." Sakura frowned. "Mikoto–san, how are we supposed to treat your clan if we don't know anything about you? Medics… All we want to do is help. It's our ninja way. We don't want to steal or use the information we learn against you and if you allow me do this research, I swear, I will run everything by you first! You can order somebody in your clan to watch over me. Just please let me help. Our village needs the Uchiha clan. _Naruto_ needs this clan. Sasuke–kun is the only one who can truly get through to him and suppress the Kyuubi without anybody getting hurt."

"Mother," Sasuke spoke up, much to their surprise, "she's right. I understand that these are clan secrets, but Sakura's a medic. I'll take full responsibility. Our clan needs Itachi and Shisui and you know that. Itachi is the clan heir. If anything happens to him, then I'll become clan heir. How can I do that if I'm blind?"

There was silence for a moment as Mikoto continued to watch them both. "I thought that Naruto–kun was in the process of learning how to control the Kyuubi's power?"

"He is, which means he needs my eyes now more than ever." Sasuke told her seriously, his head tilted in the direction his mother's voice was coming from. "The seal is getting weaker and weaker, mother, meaning that soon, the Kyuubi will break free. I won't allow my teammate to die, no matter how much of an idiot he is."

"Your father will never agree to this." she sighed, her blank expression never faltering for a second. "Sasuke, you will not be the one to take responsibility if this information gets out." There was a pause. "I will. And so will Itachi. As matriarch of the clan, it is my duty to do whatever I must to protect every Uchiha belonging to our clan. Not only is it my duty, but it is also Itachi's, since he is the heir to the clan. Sakura–san, Sasuke will accompany you and you are to tell him everything that you are looking into. You have my trust. Do not make me regret giving it to you."

And just like that, before she or Sasuke could say a word, Mikoto left.

Sakura released a shaky sigh of relief.

God that woman could be terrifying at times.

It was silent for a short while until Sasuke spoke up. "You already know that you have my trust, but I also know that you're eager to help out in whatever way you can." turning his head to the side, he looked in her direction with the help of her movements and breathing. "Don't look any further into my clan than you need to, Sakura."

Her eyes widened. "Are… Are you _threatening_ me, Sasuke?"

He shook his head. She didn't understand, did she? "If you betray my mother's trust, my father will have your head. I am simply warning you."

* * *

Sasuke's 'warning' kept replaying in her mind over and over again. At one point, she had even had a nightmare where Fugaku had been chasing her around the village (somehow, he had gotten a hold of Zabuza's executioner's blade), attempting to cut off her head. It was so bizarre. And then acting like everything was normal, Sakura would join the Uchiha family for breakfast. She would stay close to Sasuke's side, acting as his eyes whilst sitting across from none other than Uchiha Fugaku.

Was it just her, or did he look a little bloodthirsty?

Inwardly, Sakura shook her head. This was what happened when somebody didn't get the correct amount of sleep and continued to work their ass off. If she wasn't at the hospital, then she was in the Uchiha library and if she wasn't there, then she was acting as Sasuke's guide.

Most of his injuries were now completely healed, the only thing left to heal being his eyes. It was because of this that Sakura had suggested Sasuke got out of the house at least once a day for two hours. No training (unless he seriously felt up to it and wanted to risk attempting it without his sight), just simply strolling down the streets of their village. To stop any embarrassing or humiliating moments for him (he would kill her for allowing them to happen), she had to keep her arm looped through his, murmuring to him when they would be going up or down steps or when there was anything that could trip him, in front of them. Sakura could tell that Sasuke didn't enjoy having to rely on her so much, but she could also tell that he was grateful for her support. At least this way, he got to leave his bedroom without making a fool of himself because he tripped up or something of the sort.

"Did you sleep well, Sasuke, Sakura–san?" Mikoto asked as she placed their breakfasts in front of them.

After taking his hand and handing him his chopsticks, Sakura moved his hands until they were hovering over his food. She knew he could do the rest by himself. He grunted in reply to his mother. "I did, thank you, Mikoto–san." That was a lie, unless being chased around the village by her apparently psychotic, bloodthirsty husband could count as a good dream. "And yourself?"

Tsunade had already spoken with Fugaku, as had Mikoto. He wasn't happy about it, but once finding out that quite a few Uchiha, including himself, would eventually lose their sight, he reluctantly agreed. Like Sasuke the other night, his mind had also snapped straight to his eldest son. Itachi's eyes were much more powerful than even his own and as clan heir, he _needed_ those eyes, his sight.

"Oh, I slept well." she replied as she sat down beside her husband.

Breakfast was silent, like it always was. This was one of the things Sakura disliked about staying in the Uchiha home. It was always so stiff, so proper and traditional. Don't get her wrong, because Mikoto could be a gentle and warm person. Sakura wasn't sure what it was. It wasn't that Sasuke's parents didn't like her. They were all distant and aloof and nothing like her own parents, who would laugh and joke and argue over breakfast or any other meal. It made their home seem more alive.

Inwardly, Sakura made a note to herself to never allow her family meals to be like these. She wanted her future children to be comfortable around her and their father.

After thanking Mikoto for breakfast and helping her clean the dishes, Sakura looped her arm through Sasuke's and guided him out of the home. It made him a little uncomfortable leaving his home with bandages over his eyes, but reminding himself that the damage was most likely not permanent helped a lot.

"We're leaving the district."

"Yeah," she replied after a moment, "I thought it'd be best to visit Naruto today. We haven't visited him for a while."

"Sakura–"

"He won't make any jokes and if he does, I'll pummel him."

Sasuke smirked. "Hn."

When they didn't find Naruto in his apartment, they went to the next most likely place he would be: Ichiraku's. Only, he wasn't there either. Whilst Sasuke growled with annoyance (feeling _a lot_ of stares on him), Sakura rolled her eyes, dragging him towards the training fields. The paths were a little bumpy and uneven but due to having walked them so many times, Sasuke didn't even need his sight to know where to step and where not to step.

This time, they found Naruto. He was training by himself, but lately, that wasn't too surprising. Everybody else who could spar evenly with him were away on missions or at the border and for now, Sasuke was not capable of sparring to the best of his ability. Sakura knew she would never be able to evenly spar with Naruto, but that no longer bothered her. She was a medic and where would the others be without medics? They depended on her just as much as she depended on them.

Naruto's head snapped up as they entered the clearing, but the moment he saw Sasuke's eyes, he winced, making Sakura narrow her eyes warningly. Due to him currently being in sage mode (something he had learned whilst training with Jiraiya at Mount Myōboku), he could sense chakra, meaning he could also pick up on leftover chakra or, what he was currently sensing, chakra burns.

"Wow. You really messed your eyes up, didn't you?"

Against her arm, Sasuke's fist clenched, much like the other. "Shut up, idiot. It's your fault."

Oh no…

"My fault? I never asked you to get involved! I had everything under control."

Sakura sighed. She should have known they'd start arguing.

"Oh? And the Kyuubi was supposed to make an appearance, was he? You're lucky I managed to suppress his power – you had been losing control _again_!"

That was low, Sakura thought.

Naruto looked angered and his voice was a low growl when he spoke again. "You know why that happened!" he spat. "I was in the middle of training when we were given that mission. The seal was at its weakest."

"As was I." Sasuke retorted. "Because of your training, because of being _your watcher_, I have to be prepared for anything! I have to be there to suppress the Kyuubi's power and stop you from going on a rampage."

It wasn't uncommon for her patients to lash out, to blame others for the state they were in, but Sakura couldn't help but think this was uncalled for. They didn't come here to blame Naruto for the damage done to Sasuke's eyes. They came to see him because they hadn't in a couple of weeks. He'd been busy with his training, whilst she had been busy looking after Sasuke, who had been unable to leave his home until a week ago.

"Stop arguing." Sakura sighed. "And stop picking at each other. It's so tiring." pulling Sasuke forward, she made her way over to Naruto. "We came by to see you, not attack you." Sasuke's head tilted to the side and she knew he would have been giving her a blank look, had the bandages not been in the way. She pretended not to see it, much to Naruto's amusement. "You haven't been by, we missed you!"

This seemed to cheer the blond up as he grinned at her. "Baa–chan gave me a solo mission to Suna. Well, it was more like training. Gaara helped me out a bit, giving me advice on how to control the Kyuubi."

"Did it work?" Sasuke asked, but she could tell he was still annoyed with Naruto.

He grimaced. "Not entirely. I mean, the things he told me have helped me out and that, but even Gaara admitted that our beasts are too different."

"It's true." Sakura murmured as they sat down on the grass together. "I mean, Shukaku's… He still doesn't allow Gaara to sleep, does he?" Naruto shook his head, seeming to feel sorry for his friend. In a way, so did Sakura. It had to be torture being unable to sleep, but did it grow easier over time? Or did it constantly wear him down? "And from what I heard, your beast is much stronger than Gaara's." for a moment, she was in deep thought. "Hey, Shukaku is the Ichibi's name, right?"

"Yes." the Uchiha answered.

"So does that mean the Kyuubi has a name, too?"

"Everything has a name. It doesn't matter if it's a beast or an inanimate object."

Naruto nodded, seeming unsure. "I asked him, but he never tells me."

Glancing down at her hands, Sakura frowned. "…Maybe he's lonely?"

Silence.

"Sakura…"

"You don't feel sorry for the Kyuubi, do you?" Naruto demanded.

She shook her head quickly, glaring at him. "Not entirely, no. But yes, a part of me feels sorry for him. It's the medic in me, Naruto. I feel sorry for a lot of people and animals. It's just who I am."

"You're sentimental." Sasuke told her with a shake of his head, but then he seemed to ponder that thought. "It could be true, though. Perhaps the Kyuubi is lonely. After all, when was the last time he was truly free? Not that _that_ would help with his loneliness, but I can't imagine being locked away inside of somebody's body. To make it worse, it's _yours_. The Kyuubi has probably already lost his mind for having to share a body with you."

Instead of growing angry, Naruto burst into laughter. "He usually doesn't like you, but he's agreeing with you – wait! Oi, teme! Who the hell do you think you are? I didn't exactly have a choice, you know! This is supposed to be _my body_, and I can't even kick him out. And his way of 'paying rent' involves taking over my body and causing pain and destruction!"

Sometimes, Sakura was so tempted to check her best friend out for mental illnesses or instabilities, but right at the last moment, she would refrain from doing so. So what if his mood swings gave quite a few people whiplash? So what if others didn't get his personality? Naruto was happy. No, he didn't enjoy having the Kyuubi reside within him (at least not as far as she was aware of), but other than the obvious problems that were caused, he was happy. How many other jinchūriki could say the same? Gaara sure as hell couldn't before he changed. He had been downright miserable underneath all of that anger and hatred.

Even now, Shukaku still caused him problems and people kept their distance from him. Despite their differences in the past, even Sasuke acting somewhat friendly towards the redhead and by friendly, Sakura meant that he didn't glare at him or release any killing intent. And underneath his cold, distant exterior, Gaara was actually quite a decent guy. His humour was a little twisted and due to Shukaku having a ridiculously high sex drive, Gaara also had a perverted mind (only secretly, for he would never reveal such a weakness). Other than that though, he was a great friend and somebody who you could truly rely on.

Two years ago, she had been his first kiss.

Her team had been over in Suna for Christmas on a mission, so they spent the holidays with the Sand Siblings. It had been great fun! And then a snickering Naruto had appeared out of nowhere, holding a mistletoe between the two of them (her and Gaara, of course) and when he simply stood there, too stunned to do anything, Sakura had rolled her eyes and used her chakra to drag him to her by his collar, planting a sweet and chaste kiss on his lips. He had been wearing his sand armour, but not even a second after he realised Sakura had no killing intent, it slipped away from his lips unsurely, wanting to feel her soft lips moving against his own.

Sakura would not deny that things had heated up the moment they were alone, but they had both known that no real relationship would ever grow between them. It had been lust more than anything and even though people were always moaning and bitching about their ex, saying how they regretted ever being with them, it was never that way between them. Sure, Gaara was more protective of her now, but it was in a friendship way. There had definitely been heat between them (as he had made her feel things she had no idea she could feel), but they simply couldn't fall in love with one another. It was sad, but it had been best that they figured it out sooner rather than later.

People often thought that a girl like her _had_ to be a blushing virgin, she just _had_ to be all innocent and completely oblivious to the sexual world. For crying out loud, Hatake Kakashi had been her sensei! The guy walked around with his smut right in his face, so of course she had gotten her hands on it once or twice when he was unconscious and she was supposed to be watching him. It seemed he knew she had read it though, because when he woke up and reached for his book, he had smirked at the blush on her cheeks and muttered a, "_See? It's not so bad_."

Anyway! She had been thinking about the intimate, short relationship between her and Gaara. No he had not been her first kiss, but he had taken her virginity. Actually, she gave it to him. Willingly. There was no fear that Shukaku may suddenly pop out to surprise her (there never had been on the many times they had been together), as Gaara had him completely under control now. It made him happy to have her trust him so much and it was because of that trust that their friendship had blossomed into something she wouldn't give up for anything. It was different than her friendship with Naruto. Kind of similar to the one with Sasuke, but not enough to make it identical.

Nobody knew of that relationship. Of course it had been rumoured, since Gaara wasn't one to hang around with females unless she was his sister, but they never commented on it to anyone. It was _theirs_. Only six months later, however, and they decided to end things. Not because they were bored (the heat had still been there), but because it wasn't fair to continue seeing each other when neither of them were in love. They loved each other, but they weren't _in love_. Those were two completely different things. She loved her boys (even Kakashi), but she wasn't _in_ love with them.

Sakura wasn't sure if she had ever truly been in love before and that was what told her that no, she had not. It was kind of sad, really, but she accepted this. Not every shinobi got to experience things such as that. Some died just as their love was beginning. All she had ever felt before was a–

Wait.

Something suddenly slammed into her like a punch to the face.

'_The next day, as a thank you for taking care of their daughter as they had been extremely distressed and worried, your parents invited me over for dinner and told me I should bring Taka, too. I believe that is where your crush for him started._'

Even _Uchiha freaking Itachi_, the man who preferred to keep to himself and not get involved with pointless gossip, had known of her crush on Sasuke.

And since he was not one to bring up unnecessary things, he was most likely teasing her about it.

How embarrassing.

Sakura groaned and dropped her head into her hands.

* * *

**A/N – I'm not complaining or bitching (I have a really bad habit of coming across as doing those things), however I **_**do**_** have a question. In a lot of the non–mass ItaSaku stories I've been read, Inuzuka Hana (Kiba's older sister) is always in them. Even if she's not being used as Shisui's girlfriend, she's still somehow connected to Itachi. Did it ever say in the anime/manga that they were friends or teammates? I'm so confused! I can't remember it ever saying that and I can't find anything online about it. Do other writers simply use her because she's female and around the same age?**

**Another thing I've noticed. The whole 'teme' thing. Just so we're all on the same page, in my story, it's an impolite and extremely offensive way to say 'you'. It does not mean bastard. People get mixed up with that all the time, it seems.**

**So, how are you all liking the story so far? Anything in particular you want to see happen? I'm open for suggestions!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	5. They Have Needs

**Chapter 4 – They Have Needs**

_Crow,_

_I hope you know how lucky you are. If you hadn't been all the way over there and was in fact right next to me, I'd be punching __you __across the village and breaking my latest record! Bringing up that silly crush. Seriously? I was twelve years old! Yes, I'm aware it went on a little longer than that, but it couldn't have been that bad._

_Actually, ignore that last sentence. I know how bad it was._

_I never knew that you and Dog worked together! But I don't know why I'm so surprised – you'd be unstoppable! Then again, the balance wouldn't be very even, would it? For us, Whiskers (at first) had no talent at all. Taka was the strongest. I was the smartest. We balanced each other out. Adding Dog to your team, or you to his, wouldn't be very fair to others, would it?_

_Hm. I suppose Dog is important to our village and believe me, I already know of that fear. One time, I had a dream where Whiskers had taken over the village and he made every day "ramen day". I couldn't eat the stuff for about a month. Just the smell made me feel sick!_

_I can't say my parents are any different, although it's more my father than my mother._

_You have my word as a medic that I will not allow Taka to cause any further damage._

_There is good news, though! Your mother heard us arguing and demanded to know what happened and why we were having an argument in the first place. According to her, you, in your own way, gave me permission to help him by going to your library and just in case, your mother has also given me permission. I'm certain I can heal him now, Crow–san! Thank you so much._

_Taka rarely leaves my side at the moment and I can tell it's angering him as the days are passing. He hates having to rely on others, but I think he's glad it's me and not somebody else. I'm his personal medic, apparently. According to shishou, he requested me specifically. I can't even deny that I'm shocked by that._

_Are you being sarcastic, Crow–san?_

_If not, then you're going to want to hear this: a certain heiress with long, dark hair, is working up the courage to finally ask out a certain idiot with blond hair. Can you guess who I'm on about? If not, just think about the most unhealthy obsession you can think of and then his own fan._

_Wait. That sounds so harsh. It's not that I think of her as an annoying fan–girl or anything, because Lavender (as I have dubbed her) is sweet. But it's the truth, isn't it? Whilst every other girl was obsessing over Taka, she obsessed over him. Must be love, though, because back during the Academy, I was ready to throttle him every damn day. I'm used to his personality now, however. It comforts me, in a way. Is that strange?_

_Yes, your mother has already started forcing Taka to do things for himself, but she does let him off every now and then considering he can't prepare his own food or things such as that. I try to tell her to take a break, that I will take care of him because I'm the one who is his medic, after all, but I think she enjoys looking after him. It's in her eyes._

_Shannaro! That's my word. I don't even know why I started yelling that. It's like it simply slips out when I'm seriously angry. Don't even get me started on Taka and his "usuratonkachi". He called __me__ one the other day. Even with his bandages covering a good amount of it, I like to think it was a look of fear on his face when he realised just who the hell he called a moron. Like you said, it's a habit. He's used to adding it to pretty much all of his sentences now because of Whiskers. What about yourself? Do you have a word?_

_I believe it is easier to write than to speak. I mean, I don't think I'd be able to say half of these things to you in person. No, I'm not an incredibly shy girl, but I have my moments._

_Don't let Pig hear you say that! She'd be heartbroken if the, in her eyes, "biggest heartthrob and most eligible bachelor" in our village called her a pig. I don't mind though, so you can continue calling her that. In fact, I kind of like it!_

_That sounds so creepy now that I'm reading it back. I don't mean that I __enjoy__ you calling her a pig, like some sort of pervert but I–_

_Just ignore that part of my letter, okay? Crossing it out would simply make it look messy and already I'm intimidated by your fancy writing._

_I agree with me being the only one Taka would ask to write to you and read your letters. I don't need to go over the fact that our third teammate is Whiskers, right? Honestly, I thought your name would be different, something closer to your actual name, but I prefer Crow, now that I think about it. It suits you._

_That is embarrassing. Did I seriously do that? You must have been so frustrated with me! And I know for a fact that my parents can be overbearing and intense. I'd never really enjoyed fireworks, in all honesty. Well, as a child I didn't. I love them now. I like all the colours and shapes they can create. Even though this was clearly well over ten years ago, when you return, we should go to the festival together and I'll make it up to you! Damn. I must have ruined your night._

_Hang on a second. Training? During a festival? Does that mean you've never been to one?_

_I'm definitely taking you now!_

_We really can't risk any of you getting sick. Not only because we need you, but because you are all people too! Don't push yourselves too hard and please take care._

_I refuse to to comment on your statement about pushing aside my injuries for my team._

_Okay, what the hell? I'm nowhere near as bad as those three idiots! I'm a medic, so I can get away with it because I know I can heal myself. Those three can't! Oh they make me so angry sometimes. Ever wanted to just smash their heads together? I do. __All the time__._

_Yes, I've noticed that. He's no Whiskers, but Taka definitely has a lot of energy._

_Thanks! I enjoy your letters too. I know what you mean about it being a nice change, as lately, my schedule is rather routine and boring. Wake up, help Taka, hospital shift, return to help Taka some more, library, help Taka again, and then sleep. I'm not complaining, though. I like being useful. It's a nice feeling._

_Cherry._

* * *

Glancing up from his most recent letter, Itachi allowed a smirk to grace his lips.

He knew how strange it was for him to continue exchanging letters with a jonin kunoichi – one who was not connected to him in any way, of course. If the look the brunette kunoichi who arrived not long ago meant anything, it definitely was strange. Tenten, he believed her name to be.

Team Gai had arrived not too long ago. It hadn't even been a week. Having Rock Lee around was exhausting, but Itachi couldn't even deny that it was good to have a change up from his usual routine. He had even sparred with him at some point during the week, much to Lee's surprise – and delight. Was it weird that Itachi felt glad that shinobi, despite not being able to use ninjutsu, were not growing as weak as others made them seem? Even though he couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu and relied completely on taijutsu, Lee was a formidable opponent. He wouldn't make it to ANBU with just taijutsu, but he definitely deserved his jonin rank.

A certain Hyuuga was keeping his brown haired fiancée away from the rest of them, but that didn't surprise Itachi in the least. They had all been here for over seven months now, give or take a week or two, with only a rare break every couple of months. He was simply thankful that Neji didn't clump him or Shisui with the rest of the males on camp. They were like starving dogs! One kunoichi arrives and it was like they had never seen a woman before. Pitiful.

In a way, Itachi felt sorry for Tenten. She had to put up with all the heated gazes, the hungry eyes dragging up and down her body. He knew it made her uncomfortable having such attention because she began wearing much baggier clothing, drowning her figure completely. It made him shake his head with disgust. Women should not have to feel as though they needed to cover up because men couldn't control themselves. Had those men no shame? Most of them had lovers back at home, they were _married_ and had _children_!

But then again, they had been here for well over seven months and some of them were like Itachi – never returning to the village. His skills were needed way too much out here, as were Shisui's and Tenzo's as well as several others, so they _had_ to stay at base camp four unless they were running the perimeter. Itachi could not deny that even he had felt that certain need for human contact, for soft, feminine skin against his own. However, he did not show this. To show such a thing was weakness and that was not acceptable out at the border. And neither was making your comrade feel as though they were about to be eaten alive.

Neji did not appreciate any of those glances and just the narrowing of his pale eyes had the other men backing away. He was the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan and he was not against showing it. It seemed Rock Lee also picked up on the tension in the camp, because whenever Neji wasn't close to Tenten, he was. It was as though they were guarding her. Good. Itachi wasn't saying or presuming that some of the men here would force themselves on her, but being out here for so long with the only human contact being fighting or talking amongst themselves, could do strange things to a person. It picked at them. Humans were sociable creatures, after all.

Refolding the letter from Sakura, Itachi slipped it back into its envelope and placed it at the back of the pile, which was in the order of date. Those at the back were the most recent ones.

"You know," an amused voice spoke from the doorway of his cabin, "the guys are going to start thinking she's your lover."

He sat up straight, closing the lid over the box filled with letters. "I save every letter I receive, Shisui. You are aware of this."

"Of course I am." the older Uchiha chuckled as he stepped further into the room and sat down at the small table near the door. "But they're not."

His cabin was basic, but due to him being a captain, Itachi had certain privileges that the others did not. For example, his cabin was larger. It was just as basic as the rest of them, but he definitely had more space and did not need to share. Despite this, Shisui was currently staying in his cabin because he shared one with Neji. There was no telling how long his fiancée would be here for and despite them needing to be on guard, Itachi had decided to have a moment of sentimentality and allow them some privacy. Neji was grateful for this and it showed in the way he smiled at him. Not a smirk and not a simple nod, but a genuine smile. There was no need for that, really. The Hyuuga was reliable and Itachi knew that, despite having his woman with him, he would still be on high alert. If anything, his guards would be even higher just to protect Tenten.

It had to be difficult leaving your other half back in the village. Luckily for him, he didn't have one. Honestly? Itachi couldn't see himself settling down, no matter what his clan said, what his father said. His village needed him too much to do such a selfish thing. But was it really selfish? Most shinobi did not live to see their twenty–first birthday, so never had the chance to marry their other half and have many children together. No, Itachi supposed. It was not entirely selfish, but still, his village needed him too much.

"All they see is letter after letter, where the scent of them are so very obviously female, being sent to you."

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Somebody has been _sniffing_ my mail?"

Shisui burst into laughter and it took him a moment to settle down. "No, not at all. When they're passing by though, the scent is obvious and not even you can deny that. Smells like… fresh apples mixed with something else, but I can never be too sure. It's always a little different every week. However, I know for a fact that little Sasuke–chan's teammate uses that apple scented shampoo, as whenever I walked by her back at home, she always carried that scent with her."

Many had no idea how observant Shisui truly was. He was a genius in his own right, but because of Itachi being the 'prodigy of the Uchiha clan', he often got overlooked. That wasn't fair, in Itachi's honest opinion. Yes, his father had trained him a lot whilst growing up, but so had Shisui. They had always been sparring partners, best friends. When he awakened the Mangekyō with unusual circumstances (no precious person had died), who had been there, guiding him and telling him where to find more information? Shisui.

His Mangekyō was a rarity. Somehow, during Orochimaru's invasion, the mere thought of his younger brother (his so very innocent younger brother who wanted nothing more than to surpass him and impress their father) going with the Sannin had caused him great distress and that distress only multiplied when Itachi discovered Orochimaru had marked Sasuke with a cursed seal. Oh it had made him angry and for the first time in a long time, Itachi _wanted_ to kill. That anger had morphed his sharingan, morphed him, into something entirely new. After defeating Orochimaru, Shisui had helped him with extracting the cursed seal from Sasuke's body. It had taken a while and until Itachi had been capable of doing so, Shisui had had to use his mind controlling technique once they discovered Sasuke planned on leaving (tricking him into believing he wanted a former student of Orochimaru's to train him), but they eventually did it.

There was a minute or two of silence and during that silence, Itachi sat down in the chair opposite of Shisui. "How's Sasuke, then?" Itachi sighed in response. "That bad?"

Nodding, he gave Shisui a serious look. "At first, Sakura–san believed that the damage could be permanent, but thankfully with her most recent research on the sharingan, she has discovered that his eyes will heal, but it will take some time."

"And Sasuke has to rely completely on her." Again, Itachi nodded. "Bet he's hating that. You're brother is much too proud."

"No. I don't think he minds too much." he argued softly. "I will admit that Sasuke's pride is large, but it is also fragile. To save himself humiliation, he will get used to having Sakura–san by his side and guiding him until he can see again."

Once again, there was a moment of silence until Shisui spoke up. "So he can't see at all?"

"No."

He lowered his head and took a deep breath, honestly feeling for the boy. Like them, Sasuke relied completely on his sharingan. "To make things worse, he is Naruto–kun's watcher." Shisui thought aloud. "Considering we are not in the village right now, there is no back up plan. Naruto–kun _needs_ Sasuke's eyes if the Kyuubi tries to break free of his seal."

Itachi shook his head. "I believe Naruto–kun will be smart enough not to continue his training until Sasuke will be able to help him. It is already risky having him learn to wield the Kyuubi's power whilst so close to the village and Naruto–kun knows this. No doubt another member of our clan will currently be watching over him."

"They won't be any good in taming the Kyuubi. You need eyes like ours, genes like Tenzo-san's or a bond like theirs. You know this as well as I do."

"Perhaps. But having some eyes are better than having none."

"You have a point there." Shisui agreed with a shrug. "There is no use in worrying, though. We all know that Jiraiya–sama, despite what the boy thinks, watches him from afar. He will not allow anything to happen to Naruto–kun, or the village. Perhaps they'll even go through with their previous plan of contacting the Raikage and using that remote island where the Hachibi's jinchūriki learned to control his beast."

That did sound possible, but knowing Tsunade, she would not risk sending him away as of yet. She would wait for more information first, would wait to hear back from them and–

"She plans on sending him here."

Shisui frowned in confusion. "What makes you think that?"

"Think about it." he told the older Uchiha. "Sasuke's eyes are deteriorating from overusing them, despite being only the regular sharingan. Our eyes are much more advanced than his. At this moment in time, Sakura–san is researching the sharingan in our clan's library," Itachi ignored Shisui's stunned expression, "and is aware of the fact that our eyes are used much more than Sasuke's, putting us at a higher risk of losing our sight. Tsunade–sama also knows this. I have no doubt that once Sakura–san has finished gathering her research and repaired what she can of Sasuke's eyes, team seven will be sent here, so that she can examine ours."

"Which is why Lee–san and Tenten–san have been sent to us." Shisui stated flatly. "They came to examine our eyes from a distance. It would explain why Rock Lee was so adamant about our spar. He kept saying how my sharingan was much too powerful for him to keep up with, making the spar unfair. I thought at the time that it was strange, since he's almost exactly like Gai–san, and would relish the challenge of a stronger opponent."

Closing his eyes, Itachi sat back in his chair, forcing himself to relax as he sighed. They should not be so surprised. "Our village needs us." Shisui wasn't sure if Itachi was speaking to himself, or to him, but listened anyway. "To aid us in protecting them, they will take care of us in any way possible. Tsunade–sama will no doubt have Sakura–san check over Neji–san's eyes also, when she arrives."

He nodded. "And despite his not being here, somehow, she'll have Kakashi–san dragged over to our camp to also examine his eye."

A smirk pulled at Itachi's lips. "I don't doubt that she will."

In all honesty, Itachi found himself quite looking forward to seeing his younger brother again. That was, of course, if his eyes were healed by the time team seven were sent out. Itachi hoped so. It would be nice to see his brother again. Perhaps a sparring session was in order, as it had been over seven months and he wanted to see how much Sasuke had grown in skill.

They heard rumours from those passing through quite often. Apparently, his younger brother's team was in high demand and almost as infamous as Itachi and Shisui's tag team. It made him feel proud of Sasuke, yet proud of the other two, as well. He was aware of how much struggle Naruto had gone through to earn the respect he has today and he wasn't the only one who had struggled. Sakura had also had her fair share of torment, from what he had heard. She was always being underestimated, being pushed to the sidelines. However, Sakura forced herself to grow stronger and was now one of the strongest kunoichi in their village. With more experience and more training, Itachi knew that she would no doubt surpass Tsunade and take that title as _the_ most powerful kunoichi.

"She wishes to punch me across the village." Itachi suddenly told Shisui, earning him a raised eyebrow. Languidly, the younger Uchiha opened his eyes and regarded the man opposite for a moment, before another smirk graced his lips. "Sakura–san. In her most recent letter, she opened it up with, '_I hope you know how lucky you are. If you hadn't been all the way over there and was in fact right next to me, I'd be punching _you _across the village and breaking my latest record'."_

Like earlier, Shisui burst into laughter. "That would be hilarious to see. What did you say to her?"

His smirk widened for a moment before it simmered down. "I may have brought up her crush on Sasuke."

"You teased her."

At his Shisui's deadpan, Itachi nodded, once again making him laugh.

"At least she's seeing, or reading, that you're just as human as the rest of us." he smirked teasingly. "In your next letter, you should bring up her relationship with none other than the Kazekage."

No matter how hard he tried to hide his shock, it still showed.

The Kazekage? And Sakura?

"She likes powerful men." Shisui told him with a knowing look. "Think she'll like me?"

"Do not turn into those panting, slobbering dogs out there, Shisui." there was a seriousness in Itachi's voice as he spoke, a warning. "It is bad enough that they cannot control themselves. I do not need you, of all people, to suddenly become hormone–crazed. If she is involved with the Kazekage, you cannot touch her."

Much to his surprise, Shisui was once again smirking. "Protective, aren't you? Anyway, according to the rumours, they broke up a while back. I believe it was Ino–san who started all of those rumours and we know that, as Sakura–san's best friend, she is our most reliable source." Itachi deadpanned. Were they really _gossiping_? Were they honestly that bored? "Personally, I believe it was more of an experience–relationship rather than a love–relationship. I've seen them together a couple of times around the village when the Kazekage came by to visit, you know? It's obvious they weren't in love."

Each to their own, Itachi supposed. At one point in their lives, everybody experimented. He was merely surprised by Sakura's choice. Sabaku no Gaara? That was something he had definitely never expected. He wasn't one to listen to gossip, so never took any notice in the latest rumours. It wasn't all too surprising that Sakura was no virgin – it was in the way she held herself. No, Itachi wasn't calling her a whore, but even he had noticed her sensuality. The way her hips swayed as she walked, how just a simple running a hand through her hair seemed like the most–

What was happening to his thoughts?

Itachi had to refrain from rubbing his eyes. He was not a virgin and just like everybody else, he had needs and urges. However, Itachi never gave into those urges. His body was weapon, whether that was through battle or seduction. When he was ready he would settle down and give his wife his body, but until then, he did not sleep around like so many other men. He did what he had to for the sake of a mission or for his village. That was all.

"If she comes here, it's going to be far worse for her than it is for Tenten–san," Shisui stated seriously, his eyes narrowing a fraction, "you _are_ aware of that, right?"

Indeed he was. Like he had thought only moments before, Sakura was sensual and graceful in her movements, whereas Tenten was more of a tomboy. Also unlike Tenten, Sakura did not have a lover (as far as he was aware of) and she wore much more revealing clothing. Itachi was not saying that she had to cover up, because women should be able to wear what they like without having to worry about men being unable to control themselves, but they had to accept the truth here. Right now, the men were barely controlling themselves over _Tenten_ and whilst Itachi did not mean it in an offensive way, she was not much to look at. Yes, she had nice eyes, but she kept her figure drowned in clothing like a wife would. Considering she was going to marry Hyuuga Neji, however, that wasn't surprising.

Sakura was going to have a much more difficult time keeping the other men off of her. They weren't rapists, but they were men who had been starved of the luxury of having a woman's body against their own, moving with theirs. "Her teammates would not allow anything to happen. You have seen and heard of how protective team seven are of one another."

"I suppose." he agreed. "But we should stick close to her just in case. Many of the men here could overpower her if she comes to us weakened. Since Sakura–san will be healing our injuries and examining our eyes, she _will_ be weakened, which means no monstrous strength, which also means no way to protect herself."

"Once Sasuke or Naruto–kun notice the looks she will receive, they will stay by her side and protect her. Neji–san, Lee–san, Tenzo-senpai and Sai-san will also be here and they will not allow anything to happen to her. If not, I am sure that I can trust you in doing the job, can I not?"

The older Uchiha nodded once and a devilish smirk lifted his lips. "I'm sure she'd rather have _you_ 'protecting' her, though."

Itachi rolled his eyes and sighed. "You are thinking with the wrong head, Shisui."

"You can't say that you haven't thought about her like that." he shrugged, not at all shocked by Itachi's rather blunt words. He knew things about Itachi that would shock anyone else and was not surprised to hear such vulgar words. No, the younger Uchiha was most definitely not the type to curse or to speak about sex and whatnot, but he did have his moments. "And if you haven't already, you will. That's just a simple fact. You can try and pretend like you don't feel anything, but I know you do." Just as Itachi was about to argue, Shisui silenced him. "I'm not saying you have feelings for Sakura–san, Itachi, I'm simply saying that like us, you are a man. She's a woman. I don't have to give you 'the talk', do I?"

He wasn't going to lie. Itachi had found quite a few sentences in Sakura's letters that could hold a double meaning, but he refused to think about such things. It was most likely that she hadn't meant it in such a way and hadn't even noticed how it could sound. One of her sentences out of her most recent letter came to mind '_I'm definitely taking you'_ and Itachi couldn't deny that his mind went straight to a different meaning, gave him an image he had no right to be seeing or imagining.

That didn't get rid of those thoughts, though. Knowing that he shouldn't be thinking of somebody he barely even knew in such a way, knowing that it wasn't right, did not keep those thoughts out of his mind. It was easy to push them away during the day whilst he was busy with tasks or giving orders, but late at night, when he collapsed in bed and had nothing left to think about, her letters were where his mind went to and then thinking of her letters made him think of her.

More than anything, Itachi hoped that he wouldn't suddenly become a hormone crazed man, who thought of nothing other than sex. Whilst those certain thoughts of Sakura were, in their own way, pleasant, it was disrespectful of him to think of her like that. A kiss was one thing, but picturing himself inside her, taking her?

Itachi quickly shoved those thoughts out of his mind before they could go any further, like he always did.

No. That was not appropriate. He didn't know her and she was his brother's friend. How many times had he spoken to her? Not many. It was ridiculous!

"You have." Shisui suddenly exclaimed, but quickly lowered his voice and smirked, leaning forward eagerly. "I _knew_ it. So tell me–"

"No."

It seemed Shisui was also feeling that certain craving, although he definitely hid it better than the men outside.

Great.

For some reason, Itachi had a feeling that it would end up as him being the one keeping the other males away from Sakura if her own teammates were unable to do so. In his own subtle way, Shisui would no doubt hit on her, so he would keep an eye on him. At the same time, he would have to stop himself, too. Itachi knew he would be able to do so, as he was no sex–obsessed adolescent, but it seemed his hormones were finally catching up to him at a completely inappropriate time.

* * *

**A/N – I finally found a course at college that I want to do! Hopefully, next week when I go to enrol, they'll accept me into the course. It's no secret that my results aren't too great, but apparently a lot of others (who have more recently taking their exams) are receiving bad results too. If I get into this course, however, I may not be able to update as much as I do. I'll find out next week, anyways!**

**I've never been excited for school or college before. Um...**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	6. One Time

**Chapter 5 – One Time**

_Cherry,_

_It would be amusing to see you try and "punch me across the village". Do not believe that it will be easy for you like when you do that to Whiskers._

_There must always be balance within the team, but considering that it was my first team and I was fairly young, I needed somebody to guide me through the ranks. Dog happened to be that person._

_That does sound like a horrifying dream. I don't particularly care for ramen, so let us hope that Whiskers does not make "every day, ramen day"._

_I'm glad you caught on. Taka should know better than to raise his voice at home – our mother is almost always there and she can hear everything. Be lucky it was not my father who heard you. How is the research coming along?_

_He has always been independent and has always wished to do everything for himself. The only time he ever appreciated help, was when I would offered to train him. Before your team, he wasn't a very good team player. I suppose I am partly to blame for that, as he seems to take after me. Why are you shocked about him asking for you specifically? You are his teammate and somebody he trusts. He knows that he can rely on you._

_Surprisingly, I was being sarcastic._

_I know who you are on about. It will be good if he finally takes notice in her – her crush is almost as obvious as yours had been._

_No, it is not strange that you wished to kill Whiskers during your Academy days. Taka would return home wishing to do the same, almost every day._

_My mother has always enjoyed taking care of us, but mostly Taka as he is a mother's boy. She enjoys coddling him, whereas I have never really allowed that to happen._

_Now that I think about it, I have heard of that expression before. Not through other people, but just as I was walking through our village. You have a loud voice, Cherry–san. Taka should be more careful what he says around his medic. I do not have a word._

_Why would you not be able to say all of these things in person?_

_So her crush on Taka has ended and now she has a crush on me? Great. How do any of you know that I am a bachelor? I could have a lover back in the village, for all you know._

_I did not think that you meant it in that way, but it is amusing that you thought I would._

_You should not be intimidated by my handwriting, Cherry–san. You're a doctor._

_If you are referring to the other animal that would suit me best, then it would be much too obvious who I am. And not very original._

_Yes, you did do that. I was not frustrated with you, though. Taka could also be clingy when he was younger and I had grown used to it. So instead of making you leave, I allowed you to sit by my side and pick flowers until you fell asleep. Your parents love you, but yes, they were a little overwhelming. I can assure you that you did not ruin my night. I would have been at the festival, but I had a mission two days later and had to prepare._

_I will make sure my team rests, Cherry–san. In return I would like for you to also take care of yourself. You are going to wear yourself down at this rate and as a medic, you need to rest._

_At one point, we have all pushed aside our own injuries for our team. It is nothing to be upset or angry about._

_I suppose being of use is a nice feeling._

_Forgive me, Cherry–san, that I could not respond fully to your letter. My team is about to set out and this was the only chance I could get to reply._

_Crow_

* * *

"Is he better?"

Sakura sighed, giving her shishou a worried look. "I haven't had the time to check today. My shift at the hospital ended this morning as somebody asked me to switch with them. So far, though, he's been healing nicely. We don't need to use such heavy bandages now, as his eyes are less sensitive, but we have been keeping them covered just in case."

Nodding, Tsunade sat back in her seat, glancing down at the scroll before her. "I suppose it would be best. If he is anything like his brother, then I know for a fact he will push himself. Speaking of which," she lifted the envelope on the desk up and tossed it to her, "your letter is here. The others have already been to collect theirs, but considering you had a shift, I'm not surprised you weren't here."

She never read the letters being sent to those in the village. There was no need to. Those back at the base camps were either all members of ANBU, or had been taught most of the ways of ANBU, so knew what was okay to say and what wasn't. Besides, what was the point in reading letters that had already arrived?

Holding the envelope in her hands, Sakura's eyes slid to it. She wanted nothing more than to read it _now_. In her last letter, she hadn't been lying when she told Itachi she enjoyed reading his letters. It felt like she was getting to know him, despite only exchanging several of them. So far, Sakura believed that he wasn't as coldhearted as people believed him to be. If he was, he wouldn't have given her permission to go to his clan's library. He wanted her to help Sasuke. Also, he could be pretty sarcastic when he wanted to be. He teased her often, too.

"Sakura."

"Sorry." she blushed, looking back to her shishou, who had a knowing smirk on her face.

"It's fine. Just don't let those letters distract you too much." Sakura nodded quickly. "Team seven will be sent out tomorrow to base camp four. I will give you until the end of today to heal Sasuke's eyes. If that doesn't happen, he will stay here where I will take over his healing."

Sakura couldn't help but grimace. "Tsunade–sama, Sasuke–kun won't let you–"

"Near him. I know. But if he wants his sight back, he will. I've been reading over your research, Sakura, and you're doing a good job so far. It is because of your persistence that we're learning a lot more about the sharingan and since discovering what you have learned, Shizune and I have been able to heal over twenty Uchiha clan members who were suffering from chakra burns to their eyes. As Sasuke's eyes are more severely burned, I know that it will take a while to heal them. The damage won't be permanent though, unless he continuously strains his eyes this way. Make sure he doesn't. Naruto depends on him, as does our village."

Again, Sakura nodded. Was it strange that she didn't like speaking of Sasuke that way? Like he was merely a tool to their village? He was, really. They were all tools. All shinobi were tools for their village.

For a moment there was silence as Tsunade regarded Sakura, her honey–coloured eyes narrowing every now and then as she looked up and down Sakura's body, which was clad in her usual outfit (skirt and a zip up shirt), having changed from her medic uniform back at the hospital. The younger kunoichi was used to this by now. It meant her shishou were analysing her, assessing her. In response Sakura stood up straighter, causing the blonde to hum once and nod to herself.

"I received a letter from Tenten." Tsunade informed her, finally looking away as she grabbed said letter. "Before she and Lee were sent out, I gave them specific orders. In her report, not only did she get back to me on those things, but she also informed me on something else, something about _you_."

Her? Was Tenten still suspicious about her and Itachi's letters? "Me?"

There was a sigh. "Yes. It's not uncommon that, on base camps filled with only men, they are–"

"_Oh_." Sakura quickly cut her off, her eyes widening. "So they–"

"Yes. They're all horny. Incredibly so, if Tenten is not over–exaggerating. Honestly I can't see her doing such a thing, as her teammates are Gai and Lee."

Not for the first time, Sakura grimaced. Going to a base camp where all the men were craving sex, a woman's body, was not an appealing thought. Poor Tenten. She couldn't even imagine what the woman had to put up with. Actually, no. Sakura would know and she was going to find out in a couple of days. If she was going to keep those men away from her, she needed her teammates there. It wasn't that she couldn't look after herself, because Sakura believed she was more than capable of doing so. It was because this was a _male_ base camp. Not a female, not both sexes, but one. She needed her team there to watch her back. Sakura knew she could trust both Naruto and Sasuke not to take advantage of her if they caught sight of her body and it was the same to them, too.

"How bad?"

"Enough that their captains had to step in to make them back off. The girl can't get any peace unless she is around her teammates, Sai, Tenzo or the Uchiha pair. They're the only ones unaffected by this, which isn't all that surprising."

It really wasn't. They were all trained to hide their emotions, to ignore those urges, so that they could put their missions first, their training first. "I guess this means I'll be digging out my official uniform, then."

The blonde's upper lip curled for a moment as she clenched her fists, clearly pissed off. "You shouldn't have to, but yes. Tenten informed me that they can focus more on their orders if they are not distracted by a woman's body. This is ridiculous! They're supposed to be shinobi."

Slipping the letter into her pouch, Sakura pulled a face. "It's not really, if you think about it, shishou. They're men, right? They have wives here, wives who have been around every day, taking care of those needs. Most of them probably haven't ever gone this long without sex since losing their virginities."

"I suppose. Perhaps a rotation is in order. Tomorrow I will call a meeting with the elders about allowing the men who are out there, come home for a couple of weeks. They won't be able to stay too long, as they're needed out there, but hopefully by doing this, they can clear their heads. I agree. I've kept them out there for too damn long."

She was feeling guilty. Sakura could see the guilt clearly on Tsunade's face. There was only a select few who got to see Tsunade with her guard down and as her apprentice, Sakura was one of those. "Tsunade–sama, you shouldn't blame yourself." she said softly. "Some of those men choose not to come back here, putting the village before their needs. We all do it and I know you have too."

"That's different. I'm Hokage."

"Yes, but you're still a person, just like they are. They've been able to ignore those urges so far because no women have been on the camps. They were probably able to focus better before Tenten went there. How long has it been since they felt a woman's body? Or since they experienced _that_ sort of pleasure? It's only natural that they want it."

It was true. As much as she loved him, there had been men after Dan. Not lovers or relationships, but one night stands. They had always been whilst she was drunk, though, and Tsunade had always felt as though she was betraying him in some way. But not once had she ever forgotten how it felt when _he_ caressed her, when he was the one bringing her pleasure. She shut her eyes, willing the sting in them to go away. No matter what, she would never forget him. He was and always will be, the love of her life. No man could compare to him and the sex was always meaningless, a way to release her stress. God she missed Dan. Not only physically, but emotionally, too. He understood her. How many others could she say the same about? Dan had understood her so clearly, had shown her love in such an intense way, that Tsunade knew she would never experience that sort of love again. And it killed her inside. _It killed her_.

Sakura knew that look on Tsunade's face. She knew what her shishou was thinking about. With a gentle smile, Sakura told her, "I'll go and check on Sasuke–kun, Tsunade–sama, and get back to you as soon as I can."

Instead of voicing her approval, Tsunade nodded once and reached for the sake bottle in the drawer of her desk.

* * *

How was she going to say this to him? Sakura chewed her bottom lip, watching out of the corner of her eye as Sasuke sat at the table, peacefully eating the tomatoes she had just cut up for him. His parents were currently away at a clan meeting, so he had been left alone for at least four hours and there was no telling how long a meeting would be. At the moment, she was sitting across from him, holding her cup of tea between both her hands, enjoying the warmth it brought to her.

"Just spit it out, Sakura."

Damn it. He knew her too well.

"Should I even ask how you know?"

"You're tense and haven't taken a sip of your tea for a while. I can hear much more clearly now that I can't rely on my sight." Sasuke told her, tilting his head in her direction and pausing in his eating. "You heard back from Tsunade."

What, was he a psychic now too?

"Don't pull that face."

_What the hell_? How did he know that?

"I'm not pulling a face, Sasuke–kun."

The corner of his mouth twitched, telling her that he was amused. "So you're not currently puffing your cheeks out and scrunching your nose up?"

"…No."

"Liar."

"Okay, maybe I was, but you can't blame me! It's freaky that you know me so well. I mean, you can't even see me, yet you know when I'm pulling a face at you. How the hell is that even possible?" just as he opened his mouth, Sakura cut him off with a roll of her eyes. "I don't even want to know."

He nodded, going silent for a few minutes. "What did she say?"

Words weren't needed for him to pick up on her nervousness, on her uncertainty. The pause before speaking spoke volumes. "Tomorrow. Team seven is being sent to base camp four tomorrow." Sasuke did not reply. "Tonight I want to work on your eyes for as long as I can without causing further damage."

"You'll deplete your chakra." he argued quietly. "It takes too long for you to replenish it fully – you're going to need your chakra whilst travelling."

Sakura shook her head, but remembered a moment later that he couldn't see her. It was true that it took her much longer to replenish her chakra as she continuously drained hers in the hospital and it wasn't all too large to begin unless she counted the chakra stored up in her forehead. She was from a civilian family, after all. Whilst those in a shinobi clan were brought up on a special diet, training before they could even walk properly, Sakura had been brought up as a civilian child. There was no telling if it would have been different for her had her parents been shinobi, but that didn't matter to her. She was simply grateful for her perfect chakra control.

"If I have both you and Naruto there, it won't matter too much." she retorted just as quietly. "Sasuke–kun, if I do this, I will have about half of my chakra back by tomorrow–"

"Which will then be wasted travelling."

"Not entirely it won't be."

"But enough to make you weak and vulnerable. What if we can't get to you, Sakura? What if we get separated and neither Naruto nor I can protect you? This is why you pushed yourself so hard and asked Tsunade if she would take you on as her apprentice. Not to be reckless with your chakra, but to be able to protect yourself and those you care about. I know you too well for you to even attempt at denying that." there was a pause where Sasuke took a deep breath before continuing. "I want my sight back. I do. But what if your efforts go to waste and then because of my selfishness, you get killed?"

Nobody knew how protective Sasuke really was. Only their team knew. When Naruto had left to train with Jiraiya, it had been just them. Kakashi had been busy with back–to–back missions and only sometimes could they join him. Well, Sasuke was pretty much always allowed to join him as long as he could handle it and often trained with him, whilst Sakura trained with Tsunade mostly. Other than that, they sparred together. Sasuke pushed her beyond her limits in order for her to grow stronger and in return, she used her new strength against him, forcing him to become faster to avoid the blows that would kill him. If she ever hit him, she healed him as much as possible immediately.

Over the years, they had gone on many missions together and always had each other's backs. And Naruto realised when he returned just how much he had missed out on. She and Sasuke were already chunin, whilst he was still genin. When Naruto finally reached chunin rank, they were jonin. Now, Naruto was also a jonin. It had taken him a while, much longer than he would ever admit, but he finally made it.

They were like siblings, now. They were each other's family. If one of them was hurting, they were all hurting. That was just how it worked with them.

"I'm a medic, remember? I have my seal."

"Which shortens your lifespan if you use the _Sōzō Saisei_ jutsu. You also haven't been given permission to use that jutsu, yet. Tsunade told you it's for emergencies only. Not something to be used recklessly."

It was no use arguing with Sasuke. He either always had a comeback, or always had a list of 'pros' and 'cons' in his head. "I want you to come with us, Sasuke–kun. Even if I have to knock you out, I'm checking up on your eyes and healing them as much as I can."

She could tell he wanted nothing more than for her to heal them and wanted nothing more than to join her and Naruto. "…Fine."

"Finish your tomatoes. I'll heal your eyes, then."

"No. You need to sleep first. You were at the hospital all night and morning."

Always so stubborn. "Fine." she repeated his earlier agreement. "I'll take a nap. Wake me up in three hours, otherwise I won't be able to sleep tonight. I have no shifts now until we get back from base camp four."

Until _we_ get back. Sasuke couldn't help but give her a small smile. "Fine." he told her once again. "Three hours."

* * *

He had let her sleep for five hours. Whether it was done accidentally or purposely, Sakura would never know as she didn't want to bring it up to him. They both knew she needed to sleep for longer, but also, he couldn't exactly glance at a clock to check the time, could he? Whatever his reasons, she was grateful because whilst she would have preferred to sleep a little longer (despite her earlier words), she was rested enough now to get on with healing his eyes.

Sometimes, Sakura wished that things could be different between them. People often mistook them as a couple because of how close she and Sasuke were. Right now, to wake her up with, he brought her a cup of tea and a bowl of mixed up, cut up fruit. She was sure Mikoto had been the one to prepare them and he was simply bringing them in, but that didn't matter. It was probably to pay her back for all the times she had done the exact same thing for him.

It hurt when people asked how long they had been a couple for. Not because she wanted them to be, but because of how they looked from another's point of view. An old woman from the Uchiha clan (Sakura had later on learned she was Sasuke's aunt) had once told them they would have beautiful children together. Sasuke had blushed – they both had, actually.

It seemed everyone had it in their heads that because of her old crush on him and because of how strong their bond was now, that they were in love. Sakura was certain she had mentioned it before, but there were two different kinds of love. There was being _in love_ and then there was loving somebody. She loved Sasuke, but she wasn't in love with him. And even though he would never vocally admit to it, she knew he loved her too.

Don't get her wrong, because before the kiss that told them both there were no romantic feelings there, that there was no spark, Sakura had wished more than anything that she and Sasuke would be together, that they would have lots and lots of little Uchiha babies together. But that was just the point. It was a childish dream belonging to a teenage girl. Back then, Sakura knew that she would have done anything, _anything_, to make Sasuke notice her and that just wasn't healthy. And it wasn't fair either.

She liked how they were now. She liked that she could be completely comfortable around him without having to worry about her appearance, without having to look her best so that she could impress him. Of course Sakura still took care of her appearance (she was still a girl, a woman, after all), but not to the point of ignoring her training, her duties. And he opened up to her now! Sasuke didn't have to worry about Sakura squealing with happiness if he gave her a simple smile. He didn't have to worry about her taking something the wrong way and getting the wrong idea in her head.

These kinds of thoughts went through her head several times every month, because no matter how many times they told the villagers, denied being romantically involved with each other, they never believed them. They would smirk, giving them a knowing look. It _made_ those thoughts enter Sakura's mind and she knew they went through Sasuke's too. Hell, she once thought about simply being with him just to make everyone shut up, but no. Their bond was too important to her to destroy it. She needed Sasuke. He was her safety. It was because of him that she got to where she was today.

"Thanks." Sakura told Sasuke, accepting the cup of tea and shuffling over so that he could sit by her side on the bed.

This was what she meant by being comfortable with each other. If this was somebody else, another man who she wasn't involved with, Sakura would never be able to let them lay in bed with her. No, Sasuke was not laying down and was in fact now leaning against the headboard of her bed, but that was beside the point. The only other men who got to see her this way, or had once got to see her this way, were the other members of team seven and Gaara. They were the only men she was one hundred percent comfortable around. They had all seen her at her best, but also her worst, and accepted her despite those flaws.

Bowl of fruit still in hand, Sasuke somehow managed to figure out where her lap was after she had sat up and placed the bowl down on it. He nodded once in response to her thanks.

"So when do you want to get started?" she asked after a sip of her tea and a bite into a strawberry. It wasn't a nice combination, but that only vaguely registered in her mind.

"You just woke up." Sakura knew that, had his bandages not been in place, Sasuke would be rolling his eyes.

Nodding to herself, she glanced up at his features. "Fruit?" he shook his head. "Okay. Try taking the bandages off and see how your eyes feel."

As he started to unravel the bandages from around his head, Sakura placed her bowl and cup down on the bedside table and shifted in her position so that she was facing him. After a moment, Sasuke paused, feeling the bed move, and did the same, realising she would want to see his eyes and how they reacted to the light.

He would deny it straight away if anybody asked him about it, but Sasuke found himself feeling nervous and perhaps a little scared. What if revealing his eyes to the light made them worse? What if he took the bandages off and he couldn't see at all?

Sasuke didn't have the chance to continue with his thoughts as he came to the last of the bandage.

"They certainly don't look as bad as they did before." Sakura mumbled to him, gently taking a hold of his face and tilting his head downwards, watching his pupils dilating before going back to their usual size. "Can you see?"

Seeming to be in a state of shock, Sasuke nodded. "Parts of my vision is blurred, but I can see. And my eyes don't hurt, either."

Sakura smiled brightly. "Great! Sometimes, you've just got to let nature take its course. We can't heal everything and sometimes, injuries are better off healing by themselves."

Again, Sasuke only nodded, blinking a couple of times. "Sakura–"

"Don't." she already knew what he was going to ask. "Don't even dare to try and activate your sharingan, Sasuke–kun. I haven't examined your eyes yet and just because they're working almost perfectly now, it doesn't mean your sharingan won't be too much for them." pausing for a moment, Sakura watched as his eyes focused on hers, but also noticed how they squinted for a moment. He was obviously trying to get rid of the blurred parts of his vision. "I've got some good news, though." He raised an eyebrow, silently telling her to continue. "Tsunade–sama and Shizune–san have been able to completely heal over twenty of your clansmen's eyes because of my research. Sure, your eyes are much more powerful than theirs, but I'd like to think this is a good sign. It may take a little longer and it may be a little more difficult for us, but I'm certain I can heal you."

It didn't surprise her when Sasuke smiled at her. When it was just them, or even with the rest of their team, he did it a lot more often than people believed. "Thank you, Sakura."

Giving him a teasing smile, she reached behind her for her bowl of fruit and gave him two light, playful slaps on the cheek once she was turned back around and facing him. "Don't be thanking me yet, Sasuke–kun! I think, for this, I may have to ask a couple of favours from you."

Like she had been hoping, Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "You're my medic."

"And you're my teammate!" she retorted, her teasing smile widening. However, a moment later, she grew serious and seeing this, _actually seeing this_, Sasuke did, too. "This isn't going to be any stupid favour like a foot massage or something like that. This is pretty serious." eyebrows knitting together, he nodded once. Like hell he'd ever touch hers, or anybody else's, feet! "As long as you're comfortable with it, I'm going to take a risk by telling Tsunade–sama tonight that your eyes are healed. To make it seem more believable, I'll tell her that in order to stop them from becoming any more damaged, I'll need to keep a closer eye on you and you won't be able to use your sharingan for extended amounts of time – which is true, anyway."

He rolled his eyes. "Get on with it."

The smile she suddenly gave him was nervous and Sasuke could tell that she was uncomfortable as her eyes suddenly dropped to the bowl of fruit, her hands fidgeting with it. "Tenten–san and Lee–san were sent to base camp four not too long ago. I'd say about just under two weeks, now. Well, a week and a half. Anyway, the men there… They're all giving Tenten–san trouble. Nothing too serious–"

"They're sexually harassing her."

His features were scrunching up with disgust. "Not every man. Your brother and Shisui–san are keeping them away from her, as well as Lee–san and Neji–san, but it's enough to make her uncomfortable, so much so that she actually warned Tsunade–sama."

This time, his face deadpanned. "Warned her about sending _you_ there." Sakura nodded. "And you want me to keep them away from you? What makes you think I'll be able to do that without my sharingan?"

Sakura frowned. "You're still intimidating, Sasuke–kun. Maybe back when we were twelve you wouldn't have been much to scare them off, but… well, you've buffed out now." she bit back a smirk when the back of his neck and the tops of his ears turned pink. "They don't know that you might not be able to use your sharingan. Knowing Naruto, he'll be demanding Neji–san to a rematch and then he'd want to take on the rest of the camp. Yes, he's defensive and protective of me, but he's still an idiot. I mean, come on! He still hasn't noticed that Hinata's in love with him!"

"And has been since the academy." once again, Sasuke was rolling his eyes. It felt so much better being able to do so and have people see him doing it. Although he would secretly miss being able to hide such an expression from his father. "What do you need me to do?"

A grateful smile pulled at her lips. "I'm not saying you have to stay by my side every minute of every day, because I can handle most of them by myself. I just mean that if I'm tired out from healing people or examining the others' eyes, then I'm going to need somebody there."

He knew how much this was angering her. He could tell by the twitching in her eyebrow. Since reaching chunin, Sakura had always hated being treated like a damsel in distress. She would rather protect herself than have somebody else do it. However, she also knew how to ask for help. She knew when she needed it.

"Itachi–san has been keeping the men away from Tenten–san, as has Neji–san, but this camp is an all male camp, Sasuke–kun."

"Meaning one–sex bathrooms and cabins."

"Unisex now, if you think about it."

"You think they'd spy on you?" Sasuke ignored her correction. "They're shinobi. They should know better than to–"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "They may be shinobi, but they're also men who have all gone a long time without that sort of release. I don't think they'll force themselves on me, but what if some of them are like Jiraiya–sama? What if they try peeping on me whilst I'm bathing?"

Not for the first time, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Like Itachi would let that happen. He's traditional, Sakura. And he has honour. Nothing goes unnoticed by him and if he sees somebody attempting to do that, he'll stop them. But if that doesn't happen and he somehow misses it, then fine."

"Thanks. I would've asked Naruto, but I know he'd take advantage of the opportunity and peep on me himself."

"We're teammates." he shrugged. "You've done the same for me before."

And she had. Some of the medics at the hospital were always a little too happy about seeing him there and always told him that it was time for his sponge bath, much to his horror. That was partly where the rumours of them being together came from, because the amount of times Sakura had kicked those fan–girls out, screaming at them to act like medics instead of perverts, was ridiculous.

"I doubt they'll try anything, because most of them have got wives and children, but this is a just in case. We're probably even overreacting and thinking the worst!"

"Or you're being sensible and cautious." Sasuke once again shrugged.

In his honest opinion, Sakura was hard to miss. Like he had, in her words, 'buffed out' since they were twelve, she had filled out. No, she didn't have over–exaggerated curves like most other women, but Sasuke believed that she had the type of figure most men found attractive. Gaara certainly had and the man had been labelled as asexual! Her pastel pink hair had been grown out once more, but Sakura had a habit of growing it, then cutting it, then growing it again. She liked the change. He'd give it another couple of months before she got it cut again.

Also, her almond shaped eyes were most definitely her best feature. He had always thought that (not that he'd ever admit that to her). Sasuke thought it was strange how he could sit there and think about her appearance, but wasn't attracted to her at all. He definitely liked her figure and thought she was beautiful, but… Well, she was Sakura. His friend and teammate. There just weren't any feelings of lust between them.

Maybe there was something wrong with _him_? Not that he'd ever admit to it out loud (just in case that idiot Naruto somehow heard), but Sasuke had never been aroused. At least not to the point where he had to do something about it. Sometimes he woke up with a hard on, but a cold shower soon fixed that. His training was too important to him. He was too busy working hard to please his father. Sasuke didn't have time for relationships and the drama that came with them.

Okay, maybe part of that was a lie. He wasn't a virgin. Nowadays, who was? There were the occasional one night stands, but that was all they were. He was out of their homes the moment he was done with them and didn't ever take them back to his home. Never had Sasuke ever felt attached to anybody in that way. He thought he had once, with Sakura, but their kiss had been awkward. It had felt like he was kissing his sister or something similar to that. They were simply too close for that type of relationship, which was a shame, if he really thought about it. He wouldn't have minded living every day like this. It was simple and as easy as breathing. But that wouldn't be fair to Sakura.

She was a hopeless romantic – everybody knew that. If he went through with that selfish thought, just to please his clan (with children who would no doubt be highly skilled with his abilities and her chakra control) and to save himself the trouble of finding somebody else, it would most likely kill her. Not physically, but emotionally. It would weigh her down and depress her. It would kill her on the inside. And he would never allow something like that to happen.

It wasn't easy though. He had members of his clan approaching him, asking if they were ever going to get married. He had civilians coming up to him when he was going to her house, asking if he loved her. Hell, even the Hokage had once summoned him to her office and gave him 'the talk'. Not about sex. But threatening him, warning him that if he ever hurt Sakura, she would make sure there would be no Uchiha babies coming from him. It had taken him a while to get it into Tsunade's head that they were definitely _not_ together, but she eventually understood and had even seemed relieved. Apparently she also realised how special their bond was and how it would completely destroy their bond if something did happen between him and Sakura and it ended badly.

They had stopped approaching him for a while, however, when the rumours of her being with the Kazekage began. Sasuke had warned her not to tell Ino, even if she did need advice, but the blonde had managed to get it out of her anyway. Of course he already knew. He had seen the look in Gaara's eyes when she kissed him at Christmas. Even Naruto had noticed it! He was into her. And that had been fine with them, just as long as he never hurt her. Physically or emotionally. Not only would he have team seven on his ass faster than he could say 'Shukaku', but he would also destroy the treaty if he ever physically harmed her.

He and Naruto weren't the cliché teammates who scared off all possible suitors (although Naruto often got a little jealous if her attention wasn't on him), but if they genuinely had a problem with the guy trying to court Sakura, then they would tell her once and be done with it. There was no point in trying to get in the way of other people's happiness. It was sick. Like back when she started secretly seeing Gaara, Sasuke had told her to be careful. That was it. There was no hissy fit, demanding to know why the hell she had to be with him. There had been no sulking or trying to get in between them. Team seven simply accepted the relationship. Naruto had even been happy for them both, despite his crush on Sakura.

If they both knew that the guy would treat Sakura well, that he wouldn't mess her about or hurt her, then they were fine. They would stand by her side no matter what, because they knew for a fact that if that man hurt her somehow, she would deal with him herself. Sakura didn't need them to act like possessive, protective older brothers.

For the first night after ending things with Gaara, Sakura had been upset. There was no use in lying about it. But afterwards, she had accepted it. It had been a joint decision and both believed it to be the right thing to do. After that one night of being upset and having a cry, Sakura got back on her feet and got back to work.

She wasn't entirely happy though. Sasuke could see that even now, as she sat eating her fruit and sipping her tea, talking to him about unimportant subjects as she woke up properly. There were times when she would get a certain look in her eyes, a look of loneliness. It wasn't surprising. For a civilian, around this age, they were already settling down and getting married. Their team was aware of how her mother was trying to push her into marrying, but they also knew that Mebuki respected Sakura's profession (but still wanted her to settle down and give her grandchildren).

That eventually got to her, like it would to anybody. Even his father had once asked him when he planned on finding a suitable wife. It got you thinking. Sakura, who had always been a hopeless romantic, wanted to get married. She had even brought it up once before. Not any time soon, of course, but at one point in her life, before she got too old. "_I want to have children not too young, but not too old either – I want to be a youngish mother, who can keep up with her children who will no doubt have a ridiculous amount of energy. And I want my husband to be a caring man, one who will love our children just as much as he loves me_". That had been what she stated one time whilst on a mission. It had stunned him, hearing her speaking about such a personal subject so randomly, but Sasuke had listened, giving the occasional nod and 'hn' to let her know that he was listening.

Sometimes, that was all Sakura wanted. She wanted somebody she could confide in, open up to and tell all of her thoughts without being judged. She simply wanted somebody to listen to her.

One time, just like he knew Naruto had (hell, maybe even Kakashi had when Sakura was of age), Sasuke had wished that he could be that man for Sakura.

Not that he'd ever tell her that.

It had been a random, split second thought. He had just wanted to take away her loneliness. If it had been whilst she had a crush on him, then Sasuke wouldn't have cared. He would have simply ignored her and called her annoying. But they got to know each other better. Their team felt each other's pain as though it was their own. If it was Naruto who was feeling lonely, then they would all do something in their own way to take it away. If Sasuke was feeling particularly broody because of something his father said, then the rest of the team would do what they could to drag him out of that mood. The same went for Kakashi. For Sakura, they gave her whatever love they could and listened to her.

"You're brooding again, Sasuke–kun." Sakura gently bumped into him and gave him a soft smile when he looked down at her. "Penny for your thoughts?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing." seeing that she wasn't convinced, he gave her a small smile. "Really."

Others viewed him as cold and distant, but his clan and team saw different. Sometimes, he could be the exact same as the little boy who would run around the district with a smile on his face. Okay, he wouldn't do that now as it would be a little creepy, but he wasn't as cold as people thought. Close family members such as his parents, Itachi, Shisui and his aunt and uncle at the sweetshop (they were not Shisui's parents, as they had passed away before Sasuke was even born), could get a more vocal reply out of him and a smile, just like his team could. But Sasuke would admit that anyone other than those select few would not get the same reaction or treatment. The only people who could were his precious people. The ones he fought so hard for to impress or protect.

"Okay." Sakura reluctantly accepted his answer and once again set her now empty bowl and cup down on the bedside table. "You ready?"

Nodding once, Sasuke closed his eyes and relaxed as he felt her chakra entering his body, going straight to his eyes.

* * *

**A/N - It took me so much longer to read through this chapter and edit it because I'm currently being pinned down by an overweight cat. I can't push her off, though, because she's ill :-( High temperature, not eating, her balance isn't too great and she keeps randomly purring (which is a sign that she's either ill, in pain or distressed)... We took her to the vets yesterday and they gave her a few injections (anti-inflammatory) I think they said. I hope she's okay, because we've had her since I was like eight, so around ten years she's been in the family. If she's not any better by midday, we have to take her back to the vets!**

**College enrolment day tomorrow! I'm so nervous. Hopefully I'll get in!**

**I think you'll all like next week's chapter! ;-)**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	7. Surprise!

**Chapter 6 – Surprise!**

There was no letter for him today. Well, there was one from his mother and a scroll with recent information on Iwa from the Hokage, but nothing else. That was strange. He always received a letter from Sakura now. Every week. There were multiple reasons why she hadn't replied, but Itachi couldn't think of which one. And he didn't like not knowing.

He was the type of person who preferred to know everything that was going on. No, he was not nosey, but did like to know everything. It was simply who he was. Missing even the smallest piece of information could be fatal. Okay, not receiving a letter from a kunoichi he was not even attached to, was not fatal and actually made him sound like quite the drama queen, but it was still enough to get his mind going.

Had he somehow offended her? Was she on a mission? Did she grow tired of him? Was she putting off replying to him, pegging him as unimportant?

Damn it. Now he sounded as though he was self–conscious. Itachi was not any of those things – he was merely curious. What if he _had_ offended her? It wouldn't have mattered had she not been his brother's teammate, meaning she was quite often at their home, visiting Sasuke. Things would be awkward and Itachi disliked things feeling uncomfortable. He preferred for people to be honest with him. If he did something or said something they found offensive, then Itachi was not above apologising for what he had done if an apology was truly needed.

Once back inside his cabin, Itachi rubbed his eyes tiredly. His mind was working into overdrive due to no sleep these past three days and he knew he had to find some time to sleep soon. But that was just the point. He could not go to sleep. Not because he didn't want to, because Itachi would _really_ like to go to sleep. It was because there had been sightings of Iwa–nin heading in their direction. They would be easily spotted and taken care of, but if they were getting close to Fire Country's border, then it was Itachi's job to make sure that they did not pass it without some form of identification and proof that it was imperative they went through.

Perimeter runs had been doubled in their designated area and Itachi had gotten in contact with the other captains, suggesting that they do the same. Of course, Hatake Kakashi being the genius that he was known as, had already done so, but thanked Itachi for his advice.

If Iwa–nin were finally closing in, then it meant that the war between their villages had begun. Itachi sighed. He and Shisui had done all they could to avoid such a thing happening. Instead of killing their enemies, Shisui had used his sharingan on the captains of the teams, making them believe that there was no need for such violence. Only now did it occur to them that it had been the wrong thing to do. Not only had it not worked, but now, Shisui's eyes had deteriorated badly.

"Itachi–senpai." a calm voice spoke a second after there was a knock.

Unless outside of base camp, they could use their names. On one of the other ANBU teams, they had a shinobi who was a genius with seals and he had sealed their entire area to make sure nothing they said ever got out. Of course they were still wary and used each other's names as little as possible. Itachi himself usually settled with using code names, but he knew the other men preferred being called by their given name. He couldn't blame them for that. It reminded them of who they really were. Not killers, but men. They were people.

"What is it, Tenzo–senpai?"

Tenzo had many different names as far as Itachi was aware of. At first it had been Kinoe, then Tenzo and for a short period of time, it had been Yamato. That had been when he was a temporary captain for team seven. Now, Itachi called him by the name "Tenzo". Back during their earlier days in ANBU, when he had been placed in Kakashi's team, he had discovered that the wood–user preferred that name than the others. It held meaning to him.

"We're running dangerously low on space." he informed Itachi. "And tensions are running high, so some of the men who are still not ANBU are beginning to complain. They haven't been taught like we have, so they don't know when to be quiet and accept it."

In response, Itachi sighed. Great. This was exactly what he needed. Men acting like hormonal women. Yes, Itachi was aware of the tension rising within their camp and he was aware of the uncomfortable feeling in the air. Some of the men wished for their own space so that they could deal with that certain tension in their bodies. Being in a room filled with many other men was not what somebody needed whilst trying to relieve themselves of that frustration.

"I'm beginning to wonder whether any these men will ever be cut out for ANBU." Itachi told Tenzo honestly and tilting his head, he gestured for the wood–user to enter. They had become somewhat friends during their time on Team Ro and Itachi would not deny that he was comfortable around the older man. "Compared to other missions, this should be nothing."

"They're not used to this like we are." the brunet gave a soft shrug, taking a seat opposite the Uchiha captain. "Some of these men haven't been taught like we have, and have only been sent here because of their battle skills. I know, in my temporary team, two of them are just about jonin. The only things they know about ANBU, is that we must be secretive and wary of the things we say. And they only learned those things because of the letters they send their families or friends!"

He shook his head. "That is no excuse for the way they are currently acting."

Tenzo nodded once in agreement. "No, it's not. But they're still men. Itachi–senpai, this may seem rather personal, but unlike you or me, they have wives. Those wives, before these seven or eight months, have always been around them, ready to satisfy those certain needs. It doesn't excuse the way they're behaving, as they should always remember that they're shinobi first, but you shouldn't be so hard on them. They miss their wives."

No, they missed their wives' bodies. Maybe that was harsh but it was true. They hadn't been pining as badly for them until Tenten arrived. This was pathetic! How did any of these men even pass as suitable to come out here? Had nobody informed them that this was what being a shinobi was about? They had to endure it. Sacrifices had to be made. This was nothing compared to what it could be like. So what they had to go a while without sex? They were acting as though this was the worst thing to ever happen to them.

Taking a deep breath, Itachi forced himself to let it go. Like Tenzo had said, they were not ANBU but with the way the were going, like _he_ had said, they would never be cut out for it. His team had gone over eighteen months without sexual contact and they hadn't complained once. Yes, there was the odd morning or night when certain members of his team would sneak off to deal with a certain problem they were having, but that was all. They didn't go on and on about it like whining school girls.

"If it is not a problem, will you build four more cabins?" Itachi asked, reopening his eyes so that he could look at Tenzo. When the man nodded, he then added, "I am sure you know where they should be placed?" Again, another nod. "Nothing extravagant, Tenzo–senpai. Simple cabins built with nothing more than a single room."

"Of course, Itachi–senpai." standing up, Tenzo made his way out the door. "Will you be deciding who stays where, or shall I?"

There was a moment of silence where Itachi thought about it. "Wait until everybody has returned. Gather everybody once they have, as we seem to need to go over certain issues."

Inwardly, Tenzo grimaced.

Uchiha Itachi was not happy with how the others were acting.

The teams were in trouble.

* * *

Glancing around him, Tenzo nodded once. Since the cabins were only basic, it hadn't taken too much of his chakra. In fact, he still had plenty left and if he ate something fairly soon, then he would be back to full.

Instead of there being seven cabins, there were now eleven – twelve if you included the storage cabin where all weaponry and food was stored. It was much larger than other base camps, so now they would have to take extra precautions. The whole point of three ANBU teams being at base camp four, right in the centre, was to surprise any shinobi who believed this camp would be the weakest. From a single glance, without really paying attention, they seemed fairly weak. Which was exactly what they wanted. And they continued surprising their enemies because every time they came, Shisui used his technique and made them forget about who they fought, making them believe they were nothing more than chunin, jonin at best.

All captains (three altogether) had their own cabin. The captains were himself, Uchiha Itachi and another male named Toshi. Altogether, there were four people on one team, besides Uchiha Itachi's team. There were only three of them. Itachi, Shisui and Neji. It was unusual for one team to hold many with eyes such as theirs, but it had been put together by the Hokage for just this mission of watching the border. Really, the teams meant little unless they were doing a perimeter run or battle. In his team were Sai and the two recently–made jonin who usually assisted the Hokage, Izumo and Kotetsu.

Honestly, Tenzo had hoped that he would be given Genma, as the man was extremely talented with weaponry, mostly senbon. He liked to have a mixture of different strengths on his team. Well, he did still have that mixture, but Genma was very handy to have on the battlefield. His relationship with none other than Shizune had taught him a few things on medical ninjutsu, too. However, Genma was one of three who had been selected to guard the Hokage and had been since the Yondaime. Due to there possibly being a war, he wasn't supposed to leave her side unless there was an emergency and he absolutely had to.

"Let me see here." Tenzo mumbled to himself, one of his arms crossing over his middle whilst his other elbow used it to lean on, his hand cupping his chin in thought. "Eleven cabins. Three for the captains. One for Shisui–san and Neji–san. Another for Lee, Sai, Izumo and Kotetsu. Nope, two for those four." Sai apparently made one of them uneasy with his 'need to draw everything that fascinates him'. Childish, if you asked Tenzo. "Six already. Then we have five left over. Hm…"

"Is something wrong, Tenzo–taichou?"

Looking down at the empty voice, Tenzo sighed. Sai. Like him, the boy was former ROOT, but unfortunately, he had not had somebody like Hatake Kakashi there to save him from Danzo. Now that he thought about it, Tenzo owed a lot to the Copy–Nin. Hopefully taking over team seven for a short while was enough to pay off that debt, as Tenzo honestly wasn't sure he could do it again. Naruto and Sasuke's bickering had almost driven him insane! And then add emotionless Sai, who had been a member during Naruto's absence. A big mess, if you asked him. Of course they were all friends now (he wasn't too sure about Sai and Sasuke, though).

"Itachi–senpai asked me to create more cabins, as some of the others are getting uncomfortable with sharing."

"Ridiculous." Sai muttered and glanced over his shoulder at two of the members from his current team. They were lazing about, doing absolutely nothing. In fact, they had been doing that since around the time team Gai arrived. "Are they not aware that, to make ANBU or ROOT, you have to put up with these things? We are shinobi. We do not get five star inns all the time."

"That we don't." Tenzo sighed once more. "But let's not forget that not all of these men have been brought up the way we personally have, Sai. As for those two," he did a discreet head gesture towards the two Sai's words were mostly aimed at, "they're not even used to leaving the village all that often. They were sent with us to help out with information gathering and more official matters."

Sai nodded once. "So things they usually help Hokage–sama with?"

"Indeed."

Turning back to face the new cabins, Sai once again glanced up at Tenzo. "Is there something wrong with the cabins?"

Tenzo shook his head. No, nothing was wrong with them. If there was then that meant there was something wrong with _him_, as wood would always be a part of him. "No. I think there may be a few too many."

"Interrogation cabin." Sai pointed at the cabin in the dead centre. Then, he pointed to another. "Somewhere to eat. I have heard a few complaints about eating outside at this time of year. Bugs are beginning to fly around and are attracted to food. How many are left over?"

That wasn't a bad idea, actually. Tenzo looked thoughtful once more. Even if they went with Sai's idea, they still had three left over. Of course! Two more for the other team, which would mean two to each cabin. One left over. "There's one left over."

"A guest cabin." said another voice from behind them. When they turned, they noticed Neji standing there.

"I don't mind sharing with Lee–san, but he has a habit of waking up much earlier than myself and ends up waking me up, too, meaning I don't get as much sleep as I would like or need." Sai added with a nod.

It was the truth. On several occasions during the past week and a half, quite a few people had complained about Lee's habits. Tenzo had always calmly told them that he was simply doing what he had ever since graduating from the academy, before then even, to which they would snap out a reply such as, "_Can't he take a freaking break? We already wake up early after little sleep, meaning we're not going to be at our maximum should anybody attack_". Again, in Tenzo's eyes, they were being childish. In all honesty, if he could, he would have contacted the Hokage many times by now and asked her to swap around the teams. Their constant complaining and whining was giving him an even bigger headache than the one he had as a temporary captain on team seven! Even Uchiha Itachi was beginning to lose his patience and that was seriously saying something. In all the time he had known the Uchiha, Itachi never lost his temper once. He was always calm and composed. Ready. Patient. Emotionless.

"That sounds like a good idea." Tenzo told both Sai and Neji with a smile. "I'll run it by Itachi–senpai and Toshi–senpai before we decide anything, though." they both nodded once, but just as Sai opened his mouth to say something, Tenzo tensed. His hand was burning. Frowning, the brunet glanced down, but his eyes widened with a mixture of different emotions. Shit! "Neji–san." he kept his voice composed, but there was an obvious urgency to his tone. "Please activate your byakugan and look in the direction of Konoha."

With a momentary frown, Neji nodded before turning to face south and activating his byakugan. A second later Tenzo felt his insides turn cold when Neji narrowed his eyes dangerously and growled. Like Itachi, the Hyuuga was usually very in control of his emotions. "Iwa–nin, all around jonin rank, have managed to get through. Several platoons." looking in a different direction, his fists clenched. "Base camp two is in ruins. They will need medical assistance immediately."

"What about the Iwa–nin?" Tenzo practically demanded, much to their surprise. "Are they in the middle of battle?"

At this, Neji's eyes also widened. "This chakra… Uzumaki Naruto and the rest of his team have confronted them. They are battling as we speak. However, it seems Naruto's seal has weakened considerably. He has been separated from Sakura and Sasuke."

That was all Tenzo needed to know. Of course Neji wouldn't be aware of the fact that Naruto was attempting to control the Kyuubi, which was why his seal was currently so weak. "Neji–san, please stay here and keep focusing on the border around base camp two's area for more Iwa–nin. Sai, go to Itachi–senpai and inform him of what you have just found out and mention three tails. Tell him I need back up."

Sai's eyes widened. "Taichou, you can't–"

"Naruto needs me right now to control the Kyuubi. If his watcher is incapable of doing so, that responsibility falls to myself, Uchiha Itachi or Uchiha Shisui."

With that, he disappeared.

"Shit!" Sai uncharacteristically cursed and immediately darted off to Itachi's cabin.

"Taichou!" Sai called as he stopped at the doorway of Itachi's cabin. "There is a battle. Ten miles south of us. It seems base camp two has been infiltrated and Iwa–nin have now entered Fire Country. Neji–san confirmed that the team being attacked is none other than team seven. Tenzo–taichou has already set out and is preparing himself in case the Kyuubi is released."

So that was why Sakura had not replied.

Wait. What on earth was he thinking? Now wasn't the time for such petty thoughts! A team belonging to their village was under attack. His brother's team.

"What else do you know?" Itachi asked, grabbing his mask from the table in his cabin and placing it over his face. Making his way to the door where the shinobi was currently standing, he slipped on his sandals.

"Three tails. That was all Tenzo–taichou would tell us. Neji–san, however, told us that there are several platoons of Iwa–nin, all of jonin rank or higher and all heading straight to Konoha."

"Alert Shisui and tell him to keep guard here in case any more Iwa–nin try to slip by us. Neji–san and Tenten–san are also to stay here. Sai–san, you and Lee–san will follow after me once you have done these things. The rest will stand guard here."

Itachi was gone before he could say anything more.

* * *

Just as she lunged into the air, ready to dive on her enemy, Sakura saw at the last second the Iwa–nin throwing several kunai at her. He would have to do better than that – this had happened to her before, during the chunin exams! Her arms and legs raised in front of her torso and neck protectively and Sakura held back a grunt of pain as they sliced into her skin, stabbing her, but a second later, she was straightening out and pulling back her fist, chakra enveloping it.

This all happened in the span of three seconds.

And then the area was splitting, crumbling, quaking. Large pieces of earth were being thrown around as a gigantic crater was formed when she slammed the Iwa–nin into the ground, her fist going straight through his chest until it reached hardened soil that was barely covered by grass.

Her eyes were wild yet calculating as she surveyed the area, taking a moment to check on her team. Sasuke wasn't fighting as well as he usually did thanks to his eyes not being one hundred percent healed, but he was surviving. As for Naruto–

Shit.

She quickly ducked, avoiding the kunai that would have no doubt gone straight through her skull had it hit. Hands dropping to the ground, her foot lashed out, hitting her approaching opponent in the jaw and sending him flying through the air and into tree after tree.

A large fire jutsu had Sakura leaping backwards, her eyes widening as she heard Sasuke's grunt of pain. That idiot! He activated his sharingan. Darting forward, Sakura tackled the shinobi who was about to stab her teammate in the back, to the ground, using his own kunai against him as she slit his throat. She didn't waste any time thinking about what she had just done and instead jumped onto her feet, her back brushing against Sasuke's.

"I told you not to activate it!"

"Shut up, Sakura." he growled. His eyes were fucking _burning_! "I need to get to Naruto – he's up to four tails! Focus on your own battle."

That was right! He was Naruto's watcher, so needed to–

"Get down!"

Sasuke quickly knocked her to the ground, shielding her with his own body as many, _many_ kunai were thrown towards them. A catapult? Or had their enemies gotten their hands on scrolls like Tenten's? Luckily, they went right over their heads and missed them completely. Getting back to his feet once the assault was over, Sasuke yanked Sakura to hers, just barely avoiding having her head crushed by a boulder–like fist.

Before the man could even react, Sakura whirled around, gathered as much chakra as she could into her fist, and slammed it into his head. He tried to resist for a moment, his face pushing against her fist, but she merely added more chakra and growled. He didn't stand a chance and a moment later, like the other Iwa–nin, he was being thrown across the clearing, taking a few others with him.

How long had they been fighting? Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes? This was bad. Naruto had seen her take a kunai to the shoulder and lost control. It had never been so easy to get the Kyuubi riled up before! Granted, it had been rather dramatic, what with her gasp/cry of pain (despite her flak jacket stopping it from cutting too deep) and the Iwa–nin all letting out battle screams whilst charging at them. Was there really any need to do that? They were a team of three shinobi. For all they knew, they could have been weak.

Who was she kidding? Everybody had heard of team seven. The Kyuubi taking control of Naruto, her pink hair and the Uchiha emblem on the jonin uniform of Sasuke's shoulder only confirmed their suspicions.

They just kept coming! One platoon of Iwa–nin after another!

"Ambush." Sasuke told her, not even needing to look at her to know what she was thinking.

Once again, his back was against hers as they glared at the shinobi surrounding them.

"Eyes?"

Sasuke grunted.

Not good.

Just as she raised her fists, blue chakra beginning to surround them, two figures dropped to hers and Sasuke's sides, making her eyes widen. Sai! She couldn't tell who the other was, considering he had his ANBU mask on. Another two men suddenly darted passed them, heading in the direction Naruto had gone in. Instantly, Sakura knew it was Lee and Yamato. Or Tenzo. Whatever name he chose to go by these days.

"Hi, Ugly."

Her left eye twitched. "Sai."

The next voice had her body tensing. "Sasuke. Cherry–san."

Cherry–san? He called her 'Cherry–san'! And other than Tsunade and Sasuke, only one other person knew that name. Which could only mean…

It was Itachi!

She couldn't explain the fluttering in her stomach, the one she always got when she received his letters, as he wasn't even looking at her! Neither was Sai, for that matter. All of them had their backs to each other, observing their enemies. Sasuke grunted in acknowledgement to his older brother, but completely ignored Sai, just like Sai ignored him. They had never gotten along.

"You were not given permission to cross our borders." Itachi suddenly spoke to the Iwa–nin surrounding them. It seemed they didn't know who they were standing before, since none of them backed away or gave up with their glaring. "Explain yourselves."

"We don't need to answer to bastards like you!" one Iwa–nin spat.

"Is that so?" Itachi asked smoothly, appearing almost bored. "Not only are you trespassing, but you also attacked one of our teams." Several, if you included the base camp. But Itachi knew better than to accuse another village, one they were already so close to going to war with, of such things. "Rather idiotic, if you asked me."

"Nobody is asking you. We're here for the good for nothing Uchiha scum!"

Sasuke tensed. How could they tell who Itachi was? He was wearing a mask! Unless… He glanced over his shoulder. No, you couldn't see the glow of his sharingan in this type of lighting. At least, Sasuke himself couldn't. That wasn't too surprising. Yes, after she worked on his eyes, they had been much, much better, but it seemed any healing Sakura had once done on his eyes was undone when he activated his sharingan. Whatever the reason, they could tell who Itachi was.

However, when he turned back to look at the Iwa–nin who had spoken, Sasuke saw that they were not glaring at Itachi, but instead _him_.

Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously as she noticed the same thing. "You attacked us to try and either capture my teammate or kill him, right?"

"We don't answer to weak females, Pinky."

Always being underestimated. God it pissed her off so much! Instead of showing that anger in anything other than the tick in her eyebrow and her words, Sakura replied, "Come up with better insults, idiot."

"What the hell did you just call me?" he yelled in response. "I'll kill you, you whore!"

And so the battle resumed.

They had discovered one thing. Iwa wanted either Uchiha Sasuke dead, or the entire clan.

But they needed more information on that first before they sent the latest development to Tsunade.

Using her arm, she blocked the punch that was aimed for her throat and with one, swift movement, she twisted the man's – who had called her not only weak, but also a whore – arm behind his back, using him as a shield to deflect yet another barrage of kunai that had been aiming at her. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

In the back of her mind, Sakura knew that all of these deaths were going to come back to her. Not right now. Her mind was too focused on battle and her body was practically vibrating with adrenaline. But tonight, when she would be laying in bed, hoping to sleep, all the thoughts that were not invading her mind right at this moment in time, were going to jump her. They always did.

Feeling and hearing more than seeing yet another fire jutsu, Sakura grabbed more Iwa–nin and launched them towards it, ignoring their howls of pain as best as she could. From the sheer size of the fireball, she was guessing it was Itachi and not Sasuke.

Two black and white beasts suddenly appeared by her sides, tearing into the shinobi who had been attempting at sneaking up on her. She nodded once to Sai, giving him her thanks silently. There was nothing wrong with accepting help every now and then, just as long as she wasn't being constantly saved, making her appear as weak.

A part of her always got excited for battle. Was that wrong of her? No, she did not enjoy killing, but she enjoyed fighting. She enjoyed the rush it would bring her.

Shockingly blond hair as well as an unmistakably orange and black outfit, suddenly appeared in her line of vision and Sakura couldn't help but sigh in relief when she saw Naruto was once more in control. Yes, it had definitely been their temporary team captain, Yamato. Or Tenzo. The whole thing was confusing to her, really! One moment, he was Yamato, but others would call him Tenzo. Did he willingly change his name over and over again? Why would he do that? It was kind of aggravating, because Sakura had no idea what she was supposed to call him.

An arm wrapped around her middle, yanking her backwards and out of the way of what could only be described as an arm made out of rock. It reminded her of Choji's expansion jutsu, but this arm appeared to be solid like a rock and also had a stone's colouring.

"Watch yourself, Cherry–san." a voice spoke in her ear and Sakura couldn't deny that she gasped and had to hold back a shiver. "This is no time to let your mind wander."

And then Itachi was gone.

Forcing down the blush on her cheeks and ignoring the way his body had felt against hers, Sakura jumped straight back into the battle beside Naruto and a moment later, Sasuke dropped at Naruto's other side.

This was the infamous team seven. If somebody wanted to kill one of their members, they would have to kill them all because there was not a chance in hell that any of them were going to die any time soon. It was childish to think such a way, they all knew that, but it was the truth. Nobody threatened their team. Nobody spoke so boldly of wishing to kill their teammates, their friends, unless they had a death wish.

Once again, Sasuke activated his sharingan, shoving the burning he felt out of his mind as he glared murderously at the shinobi before them. Outside of battle, he was cool and distant, preferring to appear as emotionless unless he was with his precious people. In battle, he was harsh, ruthless and unforgiving and definitely not somebody you wanted to get on the wrong side of.

Naruto crouched into an almost animalistic fighting stance, ready to pounce. He did not like killing people. It was plain and simple. However, these shinobi were threatening his home, his friends. They had hurt Sakura. One day, he was definitely going to be Hokage, so he needed to be able to protect his friends!

Watching them with narrowed eyes, Sakura tugged at one of her gloves, summoning her chakra for the final round. The group of four behind them had dispatched of the other Iwa–nin, keeping the leader of the teams alive and under a paralysing genjutsu so that they could interrogate him.

Eyes snapping up to the shinobi before her once again, Sakura settled her features into a determined mask. She would not let a single one of them capture or kill Sasuke. Or anybody else belonging to the Uchiha clan.

It was with that thought that the three darted forward, each of them prepared to finally end this already prolonged battle.

* * *

The journey back to base camp four was long and tiring, mostly because they had to go to base camp two, first. It had been utterly destroyed, but thankfully, there were no deaths. Many had been wounded and with the basic medical knowledge all ANBU knew, Sai, Tenzo and Itachi got to stitching and bandaging up the ones Sakura did not heal. She focused more on the serious injuries, the ones who needed her chakra to save them. Even Naruto and Sasuke had helped out, assisting her whenever she needed help. Tenzo also rebuilt the cabins for them.

That had taken around four or five hours and during that time, Sai sent an emergency message to Tsunade, informing her of what had happened. No doubt when the blonde received his message, she would growl, yell and curse. And then perhaps start throwing things.

Once they finally arrived at base camp four, Sakura was utterly exhausted and just barely capable of walking without having to use Naruto to lean on. Also, whilst he didn't mention anything, she knew that Sasuke's eyes were hurting him. It was in the way he had focused extremely hard whilst they had been running through the trees.

She felt so guilty. What if they became even more damaged? Sakura was aware that it wasn't entirely her fault, for she had warned him about activating his sharingan, but it had been her who so desperately wanted Sasuke to join her and Naruto. Not only because he would enjoy seeing his older brother for the first time in months, but also because–

Already, Sakura could understand what Tenten had been warning Tsunade of.

It appeared as though everybody was outside, sitting around a camp fire as they conversed with one another. They were all on high alert though and it only confirmed her suspicions when all men suddenly turned towards them, their eyes lingering on her much longer than they did the rest.

Naruto growled warningly.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

In front of her, Sakura heard Itachi sigh with what she presumed as annoyance (you could never really tell) whilst Sai gave them all a blank look, as though he was silently questioning if the men were really attempting to have eye sex with her, especially whilst she was surrounded by her teammates and so very obviously worn out.

Sitting beside Neji, Tenten gave her an understanding look, but Sakura also noticed how the brunette sighed with relief when all attention was ripped away from her and focused solely on Sakura.

However, instead of showing her anger, Sakura merely took a deep breath and gave them all a serious look. At the last second, she thought better than to ask 'does anybody require healing', as more than likely, they would all say they would. Rolling her eyes, she glanced at those who had been in battle with her earlier that day. "Do you need healing at all, Lee–san, Uchiha–taichou, Yamato–taichou, Sai?"

"No." they replied rather simply, earning them a shrug. Well, Lee had smiled brightly and exclaimed, "No thank you, Sakura–san!" but same difference.

"Sakura," Tenzo gave her a smile, "Yamato was a code name. Call me Tenzo instead."

"Okay, taichou. You two," she looked at her teammates, "no arguments. You're being healed." Sasuke was a hell of a lot more injured than Naruto (his eyes), but she knew better than to say such a thing in front of everyone. "Uchiha–taichou, is there somewhere I can examine them?"

He was silent for a moment, thinking it over. "There should be a spare cabin near the back. Tenzo–senpai will guide you to it."

"Thank you."

And with that, they were heading off in the direction of the cabin, Sakura inwardly growling as she felt the eyes lingering on her ass.

"Sakura–chan," Naruto mumbled, glancing over his shoulder and frowning at the heated looks she was receiving. He shifted his position so he was behind her, as though shielding her from their eyes, "they're all staring at you like they want to eat you."

"You will have to excuse them." Tenzo sighed and it was obvious that he was annoyed. "It appears as though most of the men here have come down with a sudden need for sexual contact. Do not worry, however, Sakura. They have all been warned before, when Tenten first arrived, that they are not to try anything unless either of you are one hundred percent willing."

This time, it was outwardly that she growled. "Tenzo–taichou, most of them are married!"

Again, he sighed. "I know."

Once shown to the cabin, which Tenzo had informed them was their cabin, Sakura wasted no time in healing her teammates and herself of their wounds and once they were out of the way, she focused completely on Sasuke's eyes. After grabbing a clean set of clothes with the intention of using the shower, on his way there, Naruto closed the curtains (yes, curtains! He had been so surprised to see them there) and lit a single candle, already knowing how sensitive Sasuke's eyes were going to be.

"I'm sorry." she told him, her chakra soothing and comforting as it worked through clearing his chakra pathways in his eyes. They were much thinner than the ones around his body, so Sakura knew she had to be a hell of a lot more delicate, as one wrong move and she could blind him or damage his sharingan permanently. "I should never have lied to–"

"I don't blame you, Sakura." if his eyes hadn't been closed, he would have rolled them. "You gave me instructions to follow and I didn't follow them."

"We're both to blame then." she couldn't let him take the blame for this. It had been her pushing that had Sasuke coming out here with them. "For tonight, try to rest your eyes. I've cleared the chakra pathways leading to your eyes as much as I can, but right now my chakra is too low and I can't risk damaging your eyes further. Once I've eaten and taken a nap, I can–"

He cut her off with a smirk. "Go and take a shower, first. You stink. In the morning you can heal my eyes."

"Shower? I can't–"

Remembering the looks she had received and understanding why she was uncomfortable, he once again interrupted her. "I'll stand at the entrance and keep others out."

If they reacted to her in such a way whilst she was wearing a standard issue Konoha shinobi's uniform, how would they react to stumbling upon her in the shower? Sasuke dreaded to think. No, he was not overprotective of his teammate as she could protect herself, but he could tell she would find it mortifying if anybody other than their team saw her naked. At one point, they had all seen each other naked as there were times when the team visited unisex baths, not able to stop anywhere else. It occurred to them after a while, however, that it was always Naruto who pointed out those certain bathhouses and by that time, they were all too worn out to argue.

Her uniform was nothing special. The pants were formfitting, as was the sweatshirt that was currently hidden beneath her flak jacket, but that was because she disliked loosely fitted clothes. They were easier to grab onto and even Ino agreed with her on that. Then again, the blonde was known for her revealing outfits.

Sighing, Sakura extracted her chakra and stood up, picking up her bag to take to the showers with her. Hopefully it wouldn't be an outdoor type, where there were only stalls and a shower head. If it was, she was going to need something like a very strong genjutsu to stop the men from spying on her.

Like when arriving, the men watched her as she and Sasuke walked by them.

Fortunately for them both, Tenten seemed to understand what they were doing as she recognised the direction they were heading in. She climbed to her feet quickly and chased after them.

"Sakura, Sasuke!"

They paused, turning to face the brunette. "Is something wrong, Tenten–san?"

She shook her head at Sakura's question, giving her a small smile. "I'd like to think that, if our roles were reversed, you'd do this for me, too. Sasuke, instead of you watching out for those guys, I'll watch over her. There's a cubicle further away from the door and there's not a chance of anybody seeing her if I'm standing in front of it." they both seemed wary, so she gave them more of a reassuring smile. "I promise, Sakura, I won't let any guys through. This will save you both so much time, this way. You can both shower."

After only a mere second of thinking, Sakura nodded gratefully. "Thanks for this, Tenten. If you ever need me to do the same, just ask."

Waving a dismissive hand, Tenten shrugged. "You don't need to thank me, but I'll definitely be cashing in for that offer. The men around here are like animals! Lee keeps challenging them all to sparring matches, trying to keep them away from me. It's so stupid!"

Indeed it was. "They haven't given you too much trouble, have they?"

"No. They're harmless really, but it's _that_ look, you know?"

Of course. All women knew 'that look'. Unless you wanted to receive it, it was completely unwelcome and in some cases, utterly terrifying.

"What look?" Sasuke asked.

The two kunoichi exchanged glances, Tenten blushing ever so slightly when Sakura turned her head to the side and, rather bluntly, told him, "The look that tells you you're about to have your clothes ripped off before you're ravished."

Used to her blunt speech by now, Sasuke rolled his eyes. It wasn't only women who received such looks! He himself had received them many times. They made him extremely uncomfortable, but Sasuke had learned to somewhat ignore them. Still, it had to be quite scary for a woman to be given such a look. And when said woman was weaker than that man, so could not even defend herself?

As they reached the area holding showers (thankfully, Tenzo had put up a couple of walls as well as a roof when Tenten arrived to give her some privacy), Sasuke placed his bag onto one of the benches and pulled his shirt over his head, pausing for a moment as he heard Sakura stop in her movements. When he looked up, he saw that she was hesitating. Tenten was in front of her, still walking forward, but she had stopped.

Only very few knew this, but Sakura had body issues. The only men to see her naked were her team and Gaara. Other than that, only Ino and Tsunade had seen her naked, the latter because she was Sakura's medic and the former because… Well, Sasuke didn't know why. He didn't want to know, either. All he knew was that girls did weird crap together like comparing body parts. Completely insane, if you asked him. Although Sasuke had to admit that once, _once_, Naruto had almost goaded him into comparing sizes of… Well…

Shoving those vile thoughts from his mind, he gave Sakura a serious look and nodded once, silently assuring her that he'd keep an eye on the entrance whilst also showering. There was no real door, so anybody could walk in or out, so he chose the cubicle a few down from Sakura's, giving him a clear view of the entrance as well as the top of Sakura's head.

She smiled gratefully before going over to where Tenten was patiently waiting and once undressed, she slipped into the shower, the brunette turning her back on Sakura. She folded her arms over her chest, her expression serious. If somebody somehow managed to get by Sasuke, she would see to it that that particular man would not be walking out of there any time soon.

* * *

**A/N - Oh I'm heartbroken. I was watching Death Note and just... No. I'm on episode thirty three now and I'm upset with what they did.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	8. Only When I'm Gone

**Chapter 7 – Only When I'm Gone**

Like she had thought, Neji put up no fight with having her examine his eyes. He told her everything she asked about and thankfully, other than mild eye strain, he was perfectly healthy. Sakura was no optician, so she could do nothing about mere eye strain other than giving him some eye drops. She had none. And the base camp was hardly a place to create some, as it was not sterile enough, especially not for eyes. So instead Sakura wrote it down, making a note of needing eye drops.

Then, she went on to examine Shisui. He had been a little difficult, trying to tell her that his eyes weren't all that serious. Neji had rolled his eyes, saying he should just get it over with before leaving to go and find Lee and Tenten. When they had been left alone, Shisui told her that he didn't want to be sent back to the village because of his carelessness. After all, despite all his hard efforts to keep unnecessary fights from breaking out, they still did.

"Please, Shisui–san." Sakura said softly, watching him as he stood nearer to the wall than to her. She had had difficult patients before. At least she knew for a fact that Uchiha Shisui would not get violent with her. Well she hoped he wouldn't. "I can heal whatever damage there is to yours eyes–"

"They are too severely damaged, Sakura–san." he replied patiently. "I am being blinded because of my sharingan. You cannot stop that."

"But I can try."

Finally she had caught his attention. The reason why he was there at all was because Shisui would rather have this conversation with her in private instead of having it in front of the camp. That would simply be humiliating. "And how would you do that, may I ask? The Mangekyō is not the same as Sasuke's sharingan and you cannot tell me that you have researched it. You need eyes like mine, Itachi's or even Sasuke's, to do so."

Shisui was not insinuating that Sasuke was weak. Quite the opposite, actually. In a way he was acknowledging the younger Uchiha's eye prowess by suggesting he could read the research she could not. Sakura was getting the idea that, unless your eyes were powerful, you would not be able to decipher the scroll he was talking about. "I can take a look at your eyes, see how badly damaged they are and if I need to, I will stay longer to do several healing sessions. You're forgetting that my former sensei, Hatake Kakashi, also has the Mangekyō."

Which was incredibly strange. He said that he has no idea how he received it, but Sakura could see in his eyes that he knew perfectly well when it happened. He just didn't want to talk about it. And she wouldn't force him to. It would be heartless of her, as his pain was obviously great, so Sakura instead settled on going along with it and doing everything she could.

"I've prevented his blindness so far, eradicating all chakra build up. I will admit, however, that I haven't been able to completely cure his eye. Maybe now, after learning what I have about the sharingan, I may be able to."

"And how many other Uchiha have had their eyes repaired because of your research?"

"Last I heard from Tsunade-sama before we left, over thirty of your clansmen."

Silence.

Taking that as a good sign, she continued. "After being given permission to research your eyes in your clan's library, I have learned so much that none of us knew before – not even Tsunade–sama! We're able to save many of your clansmen's eyes now. Tsunade–sama herself will be healing Fugaku–san's eyes some time soon if she hasn't already."

"And what about Mikoto–san? Is she also having her eyes healed?"

"Mikoto–san's eyes are not as powerful as her husband's and she does not use them nearly as much, but yes, Tsunade–sama will also be healing hers."

It felt like hours had passed when Shisui finally agreed and stepped towards his bed, sitting down on it and crossing his legs. Sakura sat down opposite him, also folding her legs and leaning forward. "My chakra is foreign to you, so please don't push me out, Shisui–san. The eye is incredibly sensitive and by such a forceful exit, you could end up doing more damage." he nodded once, closing his eyes and relaxing. "I'll begin now."

The moment she had summoned her chakra, placed her hands on his face and began to examine Shisui's eyes, Sakura found herself unable to reach them. That was not Shisui's doing. The chakra build up was great and because of that, she could not get through. Luckily for them, she was persistent. "You're lucky you can use your sharingan at all, Shisui–san." she told him seriously, her eyebrows knitting together over her closed eyes. "But I'm guessing you force it to activate, right?"

"…Correct."

She sighed. "You Uchiha men are all the same! Seriously, I tell Sasuke–kun _not_ to activate his sharingan, as it will do more bad than good and what does he go and do?"

"Activates it?" there was a smirk on his lips, but she couldn't see it due to her eyes being closed.

"Yes! And then he told me to wait until today to heal his eyes, only when I got up to do so, he was out doing a perimeter run with Itachi–san and Tenzo–taichou." she paused for a moment, cracking one eye open. Shisui's eyes were still closed. "Oi, Shisui–san?" he hummed. "What do I call Itachi–san?"

A frown graced his features, but he knew better than to open his eyes whilst she was healing them. It would be disorientating and the light would no doubt give him a headache. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she sighed again, "yesterday, when he, Sai, Lee–san and Tenzo–taichou came to back us up, he called me 'Cherry–san', like in our letters. But I don't know whether to call him Crow–san, Uchiha–san, Uchiha–_taichou_, _Itachi–san_ or _Itachi–taichou_! It's so frustrating."

Once again, Shisui was smirking. "Why don't you call him Itachi–_kun_?"

It took everything in Sakura not to clench her fists it as it could have messed up her chakra pattern, meaning she would change the consistency in healing his eyes. Instead, she scoffed. "Do you really believe he would appreciate me calling him that in front of the others?"

"You call Sasuke that."

"That's because I've always called Sasuke, 'Sasuke–kun'. It's more like a habit now. I drop the '–kun' suffix when I'm mad at him or deadly serious."

His smirk widened. "Scary."

"Absolutely terrifying." she agreed sarcastically. "It's how he knows something is up and that I'm not joking around. Dropping the suffix has actually saved us many times whilst out on missions! If I notice something he's somehow missed, that's how I let him know, which then leads to him searching for what I'm pointing out. You get the rest, don't you?"

Shisui nodded. "That is quite smart, actually."

"And it was all my idea! If you asked Sasuke–kun, though, he'd probably say it was his."

"If you don't mind my asking, is it true that you and Sasuke–"

"You're on about those stupid rumours, right?" Sakura sighed when she felt Shisui nod his head once. "No. We're not in a relationship, secretly planning on eloping and I am not knocked up with his bastard child." he gave a throaty chuckle. "It's not funny! At least once a week, somebody will come up to one of us with a new rumour. Last I heard, we were seen exiting the training grounds looking as though we did a little more than sparring."

He raised a curious eyebrow. "And did you?"

"No!" Sakura snapped. "For crying out loud, Naruto was behind us!"

"Threesome." he shrugged. "Maybe that will be the new rumour."

A dejected sigh tore from her. "Don't even joke about that."

For a couple of moments, there was silence and the only sound that filled it was the sound of Sakura's chakra. By now she had cleared a couple of his passageways, picking at the built up chakra and once it was loose, her own chakra enveloped it, causing it to break up further before fading away.

"Are you bothered by those rumours?"

"We both are." she answered him quietly, shifting in her position. "It's not easy, you know? People come up to us, even members of your clan, asking when he plans on proposing. They tell us we'd have adorable children and…"

His eyebrows furrowed at the new tone in her voice. It was clear that she was hurting and even though his eyes were closed, he could guess her expression. "And, what?"

"And I want those things. Not with Sasuke–kun, of course. But one day I want to get married and have children, but with these rumours, everybody is avoiding me like I have the plague. Nobody wants to 'step into Uchiha territory', which is a load of crap!" taking a deep breath, Sakura forced herself to calm down. "Neither Sasuke–kun nor Naruto have ever done anything to sabotage or intimidate any man I've been with, but despite this, only one man has attempted courting me. I just… It makes me feel a little useless, you know? Like I'm not even a woman."

She was surprised when his hand gently cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing away the tear she hadn't known was there. "Don't be upset about such things, Sakura–san. You are very obviously a woman and just the reaction the others had to your arrival tells you that! I know that, one day, you will have those things. Maybe not with who you planned on having them with, but you will be happy nonetheless. I'm sure he would not have it any other way."

A shaky chuckle escaped Sakura. "I'm sorry for burdening you like this."

He smiled at her and because she had recently opened her eyes, she could see the expression. Slowly, as to not offend her, his hand dropped from her cheek. "Not at all, Sakura–san."

"…Thank you, Shisui–san. For listening to me, I mean."

"Any time."

* * *

Healing Shisui's eyes had taken a lot out of her and they weren't even one hundred percent healed, yet! There was still so much work left to do on them, but today, Sakura could only do so much. She still needed to examine Itachi's eyes and then save enough chakra to heal them, too. Stubborn Uchiha! Sakura hoped Itachi knew better than to try and talk her out of healing his eyes like Shisui had tried to.

What the hell was she thinking? If he was anything like Sasuke (and he had even said once that Sasuke _takes after_ him!), then he will try and tell her that it's not necessary.

From what she had learned from Shisui, right now, Itachi was interrogating the leader of the Iwa–nin who had attacked them yesterday. Sasuke was also there, as were Sai and Tenzo. Also, from what she had gathered earlier that day, Naruto was sparring with Lee, which was where Neji had disappeared to after she had examined his eyes. No doubt Tenten was there, too. Damn it! She had wanted something to eat but they're all going to–

What? The other shinobi were going to what? Jump her? She may be low on chakra, but Sakura knew that she had enough to land several decent chakra enhanced punches, should they try anything. She couldn't rely on men to save her from men! That made her look weak and pathetic. What these horny men needed, was a woman to tell them to back the hell off, to remind them of their families back at home. Did they honestly believe that this wouldn't all somehow get back to those women? Not from her, obviously, but she wasn't the only female who was aware of this harassment.

Honestly, Sakura had done what she could to stay out of their way. She had eaten her breakfast with team Gai and Naruto and then gotten straight to examining Neji's and Shisui's eyes. Last night after her shower she had gone straight to bed.

"Sakura–chan!" Izumo greeted her with a grin. "Long time no see."

"How's Tsunade–sama coping without us?"

Inwardly grimacing, she tightened her hold on her food and accepted their offer for her to join them. At least she knew these two wouldn't (hopefully) try something with her. They had known Sakura since she was around thirteen years old. "Horribly." she sighed dramatically. "She misses you both like you wouldn't even believe."

Actually, Tsunade only missed having them there so she could boss them around and force them to do her paperwork, as well as smuggle in some sake. But Shizune had taken notice of what they had been doing and started keeping a closer eye on them both.

"I knew it." Kotetsu sighed with mock sadness. "Our Hokage just cannot live without us, Izumo!"

"I didn't think she would be able to." Izumo added with the same mock sadness. Raising a hand to his chest, he lowered his eyes to the table between them. "If I was with her now, I would hold her and never let her go!"

Sakura blinked. Well, that was a first. Usually these two tried avoiding her as much as possible. "She'd break you in half and you know it!" she laughed. Hopefully, they were in fact only joking about holding Tsunade, because the woman didn't take too kindly to things like that. The only signs of affection she had given Sakura was a pat on the head or a ruffling of the hair, whilst Naruto received a kiss on the forehead. Anything else was just a big no–no to her. "Besides, you guys were always trying to avoid her back in Konoha–"

"Things change, Sakura–chan." Kotetsu told her with a shrug. "Being out here for nearly eight months makes you appreciate the things you had and how easy they were."

Izumo nodded in agreement. "We're not even official jonin! Hell, we never usually leave Konoha unless it's an absolute emergency. Now that I think about it, the longest we've ever been away from home is about two months."

That had been the first thing Sakura had thought of when she heard the two had been sent out. They were not even jonin. Everyone else here was jonin or higher. Even Naruto was a jonin! She felt so sorry for them. Like they had said, they usually sat behind a desk, answering to every one of Tsunade's calls. They were her assistants just as much as Shizune was. Maybe not exactly the same, but to an extent.

They were homesick, she realised sadly.

"Having you here kind of makes us feel better, though. You're like a miniature Tsunade–sama!"

Her left eye twitched.

"Yeah! All you need now are her large br–"

Just as she opened her mouth, about to start screaming at them, a much calmer voice spoke up. "Izumo–san, I don't think neither Hokage–sama nor Haruno–san would appreciate your words."

Izumo paled.

Sakura jumped up on her feet, not caring if she hadn't finished all of her food. "Uchiha–taichou! Are you free?" he nodded once. "I've already examined everyone else. You're next."

"Very well."

The walk to his cabin was silent and to Sakura, it felt awkward. Why was it so much easier speaking to him over letters? Was he feeling just as unsure as she was? They had exchanged only a few letters, but he had already proven two things wrong about those rumours that had been spread about him. First of all, Itachi _was_ human (experienced emotions). Second of all, he _did_ have a sense of humour. It was a little hard to understand and sometimes wasn't all that funny, but it was definitely there.

Now… Now she felt as though she had absolutely nothing to say and as Itachi opened the door to his cabin, holding it for her, Sakura couldn't even deny that she blushed when his eyes met hers. Damn it! Why was she so nervous? Wiping her hands on her pants, inwardly screaming at herself to calm down, she glanced around his cabin. It was larger than the one team seven was currently staying in as well as Shisui and Neji's, but not by much. It was also just as basic.

"Why are you nervous?"

Her eyes snapped to his and suddenly, Sakura felt like Hinata. No words would form on her lips and yet another blush graced her cheeks. Poor Hinata! Was this how she felt all of the time? It had to be the most aggravating feeling ever! And was Itachi seriously smirking down at her? Who the hell did he think he was? It was his fault that she–

"You did not respond to my letter, Sakura–san."

Was it wrong of her to enjoy the way her name sounded when he said it? Oh no. She was turning into those animals outside! It _had_ been a while since she had last been with a man, after all.

"That's because I didn't see the point." Sakura answered eventually, her inner finally taking control and (mentally) beating her ass. Thank God! For a moment there, she had felt very out of character! "However," she smiled brightly, "I _did_ write a reply."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then where is it?"

"You're not having it."

"Then what was the point in writing it?"

"Because I'm going to give it to you."

Was this how Sasuke felt when he would answer him cryptically? Itachi would admit that he did it partly to annoy his younger brother, as it was always amusing seeing him puff out his cheeks like he used to as a child. It was only him who could get such a response from Sasuke.

Seeing his deadpan, Sakura's smile widened. "Before I leave. I will give you my reply before I leave."

"Is there any particular reason as to why?" he questioned, taking a seat in his chair once he had turned it in a different direction.

Grabbing the other, she lifted and brought it closer to Itachi's, gently placing it in front of him. Then, sighing with mock dejection, she gave him a look of fake sympathy. "It's because you enjoy gossip too much, Itachi–san. One day, if you're not careful, you may end up like my friend, Ino, and we already have one of her. I don't need another."

Much to her surprise, he chuckled. It was a low and throaty sound and for some reason, it was all she could focus on for a second or two. This wouldn't be the first time, though. When she had heard Sasuke, Kakashi and Gaara laugh or chuckle for the first time, or anybody else who was usually so aloof and serious, it had also caused her to stop and listen to the sound, storing it away in her memory. Those were the things she liked to think about the most. If Sakura had an awful feeling in her gut that something had gone wrong, or had a bad dream about them where something had happened, she would remember their laughs and it would soothe her. She would picture them sitting by her side. Not always chuckling, as it would be rather creepy and unusual. But they were happy. She liked to think of them being happy.

"Sakura–san?"

"Sorry." she mumbled with embarrassment and raised her hands. "I got lost in my thoughts for a moment."

"I am sure I have heard that excuse somewhere before." he told her teasingly and even though his features and voice were blank, his eyes were warm with amusement.

It took her a moment to think of where, before her features became angry. "Oi! I didn't steal that off Kakashi–sensei! I'm nothing like that man. He's always late and reads smut! His excuses are terrible, too, whereas mine wasn't even an excuse! I was telling the truth."

Itachi smirked at her frustration. Who knew it would be so easy to wind her up? It seemed all members of team seven were hotheads. No explanation was needed for Uzumaki Naruto. His brother had his moments where he lost his temper and allowed his rage to control him. And now, it seemed the third and final teammate, Haruno Sakura, also had a temper. Itachi had heard of it a few times and had even once seen a screaming Naruto flying high over his head across the village, but had never seen her anger for himself before.

"Do you often get 'lost on the road to life' whilst reading those books, too?"

Her cheeks puffed out, making her nose scrunch up as her eyebrows knitted together over fiery, apple green eyes. There was a faint blush on her cheeks, as though he had caught her out with something.

His eyes widened.

She _had_ read _those_ books! "I never would have guessed you were one for such… erotic novels."

"They're not as bad as people think they are." she muttered quietly, her eyes falling to the ground on her right.

"Of course."

"Have _you_ read them before?"

"No."

"Then you can't insinuate that they're all about sex!" Sakura snapped, but then groaned with annoyance. "Damn it. I'm starting to sound like Kakashi–sensei and here we all thought that _Sasuke–kun_ would be the one to take after him."

Well, that was news to him. Sasuke, taking after Hatake Kakashi? No offence to the older man, but Itachi hoped that _that_ would never happen. For starters, it would mean all of his teammates were dead, one by his own hand (although not purposely), he would join ANBU and become known as the 'Cold Blooded Killer', develop an obsession for Jiraiya's smutty books, and–

Need Itachi really go on with the list? It wasn't that he didn't admire the Copy–Nin, because he did. Kakashi had been his first ANBU captain, so had his respect.

Sighing, Itachi glanced down at her. "Perhaps we should change the subject, for fear of you suddenly donning a mask and your hair turning–"

"Don't you dare!" she looked absolutely horrified at the thought of having grey hair.

* * *

Itachi's eyes were no better than Shisui's, but the latter's were definitely worse. It seemed they relied mostly on Shisui's, for only he could use the mind controlling jutsu, _Kotoamatsukami_. Sakura still wasn't entirely sure how that worked, but felt as though she would be asking too much if she asked him to explain it to her.

As she healed his eyes, a more relaxed conversation had gone on during the entire session until Sakura had grown too tired to continue. When he noticed, Itachi had offered to escort her to dinner, much to her delight. If anybody could keep the other men away, it would definitely be Uchiha Itachi! And whilst he went to collect their dinner, Sakura took a quick shower after finding Tenten and asking her to watch over again.

On her way back to Itachi's cabin, however, something happened that had her finally snapping.

Whilst walking by the camp fire that was once again filled with shinobi, she noticed how they were all staring at her much more heatedly than before. No doubt it was because she was fresh from her shower. The looks, Sakura could somewhat deal with. What she couldn't deal with was the hand that shot out and grabbed her ass. Even Tenten had seemed stunned, as they had never done that to her before. But then again she was engaged to Hyuuga Neji.

It was safe to say that that man would not be waking for a few hours after she had used _him_ to break her latest record. Unfortunately, due to many, many trees being in the way, he didn't go too far.

"I'm a woman, not a piece of meat!" she yelled at the men before her.

"Sakura–chan, relax–"

"No!" Sakura snapped, interrupting Naruto, who was sat beside Lee. The two of them seemed just as stunned by what had happened. "If I don't say this now, then I won't be able to relax for even a second whilst here! I'm surprised Tenten hasn't skewered you all for the way you look at her. Damn it! You all have wives back at home," they all instantly felt guilty, a pained look flitting through their eyes, "and I met your wives, your lovers. They're some of the nicest people I have ever spoken to! And what happens? I turn up here and some of you _hit on me_! You're married, start acting like faithful husbands! If you're really feeling sexually frustrated, then hold onto that feeling." their heads snapped up, eyebrows furrowing in confusion and seeing she had their full attention, Sakura smirked, placing a hand on her hip. "You want to know what us women find _really_ attractive in men? When you build up all of that tension, return home and pin us against a wall, _showing_ us just how much you missed us."

It had been that way between her and Gaara, after all.

"Don't cheat on your wives, because I know they would never forgive any of you. I also know that if you continue allowing that sexual tension to build, the sex you have when returning will be explosive, mind blowing."

They looked at her like she was a God.

And Sakura smiled brightly.

Suddenly, however, all men paled and when she looked over her shoulder, Sakura saw it was because not only Tenzo and Shisui, but also Itachi were standing behind her. They were not pleased, _at all_.

"Tenzo–senpai, please deal with Toshi–senpai when he awakes. I will be informing Hokage–sama of this incident and will be asking for a replacement captain to be sent for his team."

"Yes, sir."

Shisui narrowed his eyes dangerously. "The looks are one thing, but daring to touch a woman who so very obviously does not want to be touched in such a way?"

"Tsunade–sama's apprentice, no less?" Tenzo shook his head as though incredibly disappointed. He was.

Looking down at her, Itachi sighed. "Please forgive Toshi–senpai for his inappropriate behaviour. I can assure you that it will not be happening again."

Folding her arms over her chest haughtily, Sakura smirked. "Oh, I know it won't. Look at them, you guys." they did so and it took a moment to realise none of them were staring at Sakura as heatedly as before. It was not because they were there. "I simply told them the truth."

"You did more than that, Sakura–chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. "You scared the shit out of them and then gave them _sex advice_!"

Tenzo blushed.

Shisui smirked.

Itachi deadpanned.

"It wasn't sex advice–"

"You told them to pin their wives against the wall and–"

"Okay, okay!" her eyes were wide with shock, a blush staining her cheeks. Did Naruto really have to make it sound as though she had acted everything out? "I _may_ have told them that they should save all the frustration they were feeling for when they returned to their wives, but nothing else!" then, her features became annoyed. "Why don't you go and check on Sasuke–kun instead of sitting around here doing nothing? I bet you haven't even seen him all day, have you?"

Naruto pouted, but she could see that he was falling for it. "Neither have you, Sakura–chan. You've been too busy with everybody else to spend time with us!"

Oh. Right in the feelings. Grimacing for a second, Sakura groaned with annoyance. "Look, I'll eat my dinner with Itachi–san, and _then_ I will come and see you both. Okay?" Naruto grinned and quickly nodded. "Do you want me to read you a bedtime story, too?"

Abruptly, his nodding stopped and he screamed in outrage when those behind him chuckled. "_Ah_! Sakura–chan, you're always so mean to me! I even let it go that you said you're having dinner with that bastard's even more of a bastard brother!" Shisui couldn't help but smirk, much to Itachi's annoyance. "I mean, seriously, why do you want to do that? Eat your dinner with me! I'll make you laugh. I always do! Even _Gaara_ makes you laugh more than Itachi ever could!"

Silence.

Shisui was stunned to see Itachi's emotions as he fiercely held back the glare that was fighting to the surface. It was with that flicker of crimson in his eyes that Shisui knew his friend did not appreciate the comment. There may be no feelings such as love between Itachi and Sakura, but that didn't change the fact that Naruto had said, quite plainly, that another male was better at doing something to Sakura or making her do something. Sure, it had only been about making her laugh, but how had Gaara managed to do that? As a lover, or as a friend?

"How about we both go and see Sasuke together?" he exclaimed excitedly, not noticing the glower that was about to be directed on him. "He makes you laugh more than Itachi, too! At least he can keep going with–"

Before the blond idiot had Itachi lunging forward and attacking him, Shisui patted his shoulder. "Naruto–kun, how about a spar?"

Naruto frowned, glancing up at Shisui suspiciously. "Now? Don't you need to guard the camp?"

"I'm sure Tenzo–san can handle ten minutes whilst I beat you into the ground."

Once again, an outraged look was on Naruto's face as he pointed at Shisui, his finger almost poking the Uchiha in the eye. "Like hell I'd let you do that! I'll kick your ass before you even have the chance."

With that, Naruto spun around and walked off. Well, when Sakura said 'walked off', she really meant that he did that strange walk of his whenever he was feeling incredibly annoyed, or wishing to do something dramatic. Both his elbows and knees were bent and despite the fact that he was walking forward, his walk could have passed for how a crab walked.

Sighing, Shisui nodded once to Itachi and raised his hands, smirking at the younger Uchiha before disappearing.

Not sure how to react about what had just transpired, Sakura looked up at Itachi as the group of men behind her fell into conversation once more with Tenten joining them and Tenzo going over to deal with Toshi. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving! Dinner?"

He nodded once, leading the way back to his cabin.

* * *

"I was once jealous of Ino." Sakura admitted after swallowing a bite of her food.

Glancing over at her from his seat, Itachi couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

She shrugged. Really? Because Ino had always been so brave and confident. Back during the first year of the academy, she had shown more confidence than any of the other girls. Not to mention she had a normal sized forehead. Sakura sighed. Back then, to Sakura, the blonde had everything. Looks, personality, sassiness. She never backed down from a single challenge and had even took on Sakura's bullies until she had been capable of doing so herself. Of course, none of this would ever leave her lips. So Sakura settled for a, "She's confident."

"And are you not?"

"Not as much as Ino is. I'll admit, she does have her moments where she's unsure and there have been a few times where she didn't know if she could do something, but they're rare. I have regrets and second thoughts about quite a lot of things. I'm the type of person who takes a while to come to a decision, change my mind, and then repeat."

"Jealousy is a dangerous emotion." Itachi murmured. "Those who experience jealousy allow it to consume them, meaning it takes away their self–confidence and their ability to grow as a person. Those who have people envying them, become arrogant. They allow others' compliments and jealousy to get to their head."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, looking at Itachi out of the corner of her eyes. There was a playfulness in them, but he could also tell she was serious. "Are you saying I'm consumed by jealousy?"

"Not at all."

"Then what _are_ you saying?"

"I was merely stating facts, Sakura–san. There is no need to be upset by what I say."

She pouted and turned her head away childishly. "I'm not upset."

He smiled softly. "Of course."

"You know, I'm starting to think that you have multiple personalities. That or somebody is just completely delusional." Itachi raised an eyebrow at her, silently telling her to continue. "I don't mean it in an offensive way – quite the opposite, actually. I'm saying that you're nothing like how they say you are. The villagers seem to believe that you're cold, distant and intimidating. I'll admit that you can be quite intimidating and perhaps a little distant, but you're definitely not cold or downright unapproachable!"

There was silence for a moment as Itachi processed what she was trying to tell him. Was she stating that he was acting out of character? "That is because the villagers do not know me as a person, Sakura–san. They are going by what they have heard or seen. They also say that you are vicious and violent, yet also passionate and determined."

Her hand tightened its hold on her chopsticks. "And what do you think?"

Just as he opened his mouth to reply, something cut him off, much to her disappointment.

"_Sakura–chan_!"

At the loud and familiar voice, Sakura growled with annoyance and gave Itachi an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I'll be just a moment."

"If you don't mind," he told her, standing up at the same time as she did, "I would like to accompany you. Naruto–kun sounds panicked."

Just as they both left his cabin, they came to a stop at the look on Naruto's face. He was pale, his eyes wide with fear and uncertainty. "Sakura–chan!"

"What happened?" Itachi asked.

"I–It's Sasuke!" he quickly blurted out. "He needs you _now_."

And then she was running towards their cabin at a fast pace, just barely missing the group of men, who landed roughly onto the ground when she knocked them out of the way. Sakura could hear them grumbling after her, but also a murmured apology. Itachi was following her! No shock there. Sasuke was his younger brother.

All but ripping the door open, Sakura stepped into the room with Itachi right behind her, but they both froze at the sight before them.

"Sasuke–"

"I can't see." Sasuke's voice was quicker than it usually was, a little panicked. "Sakura. _I can't see_."

* * *

**A/N - Kind of slow this chapter, but it'll get better, I promise!**

**First day of college today and I've already made a few friends! They're so much nicer there than my last college. I don't get my official timetable until Friday, so I'll try to sort something out with updates and when I'll be posting new chapters!**

**I'm really in the mood for meat feast pizza now...**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	9. Somebody Wants To Meet You

**Chapter 8 – Somebody Wants To Meet You**

His panic had to be serious if he couldn't even sense that Itachi was beside Sakura and Naruto was at her other side. Itachi's eyes widened slightly and he felt his breath leave him, Naruto ran a hand through his hair, his eyes still wide and just as unsure as earlier, whilst Sakura quickly slipped into medic mode, sitting down carefully on Sasuke's bed. He jumped when she reached out for him.

"It's me." she told him gently, trying her best to keep her voice calm. "Breathe calmly, Sasuke–kun. I'm here." he nodded and keeping a hold of his hands, she shifted closer before placing them on her cheeks. "If it helps, you can touch my face. Some say that it _does_ help. You know my features pretty well, right?" again, Sasuke nodded, but Sakura didn't fail to notice the minute tremble in his hands. "Just keep focusing on my movements as much as you can – don't think about anything else. Clear your mind. I'm going to examine your eyes now."

Closing her eyes, Sakura cupped his face, her hands sliding to the sides and soon enough, her chakra began to glow a soft green. What she saw as she examined him made it difficult for Sakura to hold back a wince or grimace, as he was distracting himself by feeling out her features. Just like she had presumed, using his sharingan so soon after his sight returned had damaging effects. She did her best to clear the pathways of chakra, cleaning them the best she could with her own, but the burns were serious and she was low on chakra due to healing the others' eyes.

As she worked, Sasuke busied himself with studying her face, forcing the panic out of himself by tracing her features. If this had been her twelve year old self, Sakura would have–

No. This was way too serious. Not even that version of herself would take advantage or be excited about something like this.

"Naruto." Sasuke snapped after a moment. "Stay still and shut up."

Until that moment, the blond had been pacing and chewing his thumb nail, occasionally letting out a sigh of worry. It was definitely annoying, even Sakura had to admit that. Her eyebrows knitted together.

"Sasuke–kun, I need your brother to help me out a moment. Is that okay?"

He tensed. "…Itachi is here?"

"Yes." Itachi answered, but didn't move forward. "It is my responsibility as not only your superior, but also your older brother, to make sure you are well. As for not sensing my chakra, you will not be able to. Nobody other than those with the byakugan can. My chakra is masked to keep our enemies believing that this is a weakened camp."

In his own way, Itachi was trying to make Sasuke feel better about not being able to sense him. Opening her eyes, she gave him a grateful smile before turning back to the younger Uchiha. "He knows so much more about the sharingan than I do."

Slowly, Sasuke nodded and Itachi approached them, kneeling down at his brother's side. "Can you activate your sharingan, Sasuke?"

He tried, really he did. After a couple of moments though, Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek, his eyebrows mashing together as he shook his head.

"It's activated, Sasuke–kun." Sakura told him softly. "And I think I know what's wrong with your eyes. Naruto, grab my backpack and bring it here. Also, I need you to go to Kakashi–sensei's camp. Ask him for the spare eye drops I created for him a while back. I will create more for him as soon as possible."

"But, Sakura–chan! That camp is over five hours away even if I run at a dead sprint! What if something happens? Why can't you just make the eye–drops?"

Knowing what she was up to, Itachi sighed. "Naruto–kun, Sakura–san does not have the correct supplies or the sterilized working environment she needs to create the eyedrops. The eye is already incredibly sensitive, but the sharingan, or even the byakugan, makes it so much more so. For your teammate and friend, Sakura–san is asking you to help her out. Tell Neji–san, Tenzo–senpai and Sai–san that they are to accompany you."

Naruto nodded quickly, sending Sasuke one last worried glance, before darting through their cabin, handing Sakura her backpack, and then disappearing to the other base camp with Neji, Tenzo and Sai by his side.

"My eyes…?"

Sakura sighed, the green light emitting from her palms slowly fading away. "Again, it's not permanent." his relief was so great that Sasuke couldn't even stop himself from dropping his forehead to her shoulder, muttering a 'thank you' in her ear. "But I'm being serious this time, Sasuke. If you strain your eyes in such a way again, the effects _will_ be permanent. Kakashi–sensei once suffered from this. It's the only reason I knew what was wrong." the youngest Uchiha leaned back, his unfocused eyes directed on her nose. She didn't have the heart to tell him to raise his eyes just a little bit more. "Right now, you've burned your eyes so severely that you can't even feel the pain. It's rare that such a thing happens, but it's not impossible. As you know, Kakashi–sensei's sharingan cannot be deactivated but despite this, he believed at one point it had been because he couldn't feel it or see out of it. Apparently, it felt just like his original eye had, minus the sight."

Glancing down at Sakura, Itachi asked, "When will Sasuke's sight return?"

Even though he was trying his best to hide it, because of how close they were, Sakura could feel how much having Itachi around relaxed Sasuke. She couldn't help but inwardly smile at that. Having an older sibling must be great at times, when they made you feel safe and protected, comforted and reassured. "It's hard to say. The last time it took around a month, give or take a few days. Due to the severity, I'd say this time it could take double the amount, quite possibly triple." suddenly, Sakura was sighing, looking away from Sasuke's features and up into Itachi's. "Feel free to refuse to answer my question, but as a medic, as _Sasuke's_ medic, I need to know this. I know it's personal and impolite to ask, but–"

"Just ask the question, Sakura." Sasuke grunted.

"I know that, in your clan, you choose to marry another Uchiha, which means inbreeding." the hands that had previously slipped from her cheeks and were now holding her own, tensed. "Do you know if there's a chance your mother is related to your father? Even if it's distantly related."

It was obvious the question made them uncomfortable, although it was a hell of a lot harder to notice in Itachi. "Our parents, I'm not sure about, but further back in the family tree, it is a possibility." Itachi answered after a moment. "As you said, it is impolite to ask, so despite our suspicions, neither of us have asked them. It is a possibility, however. As head of the clan only the best of the Uchiha women would do for our father, so it is possible he could be related to our mother, or our grandmother to our grandfather."

Sakura nodded. It didn't surprise her that it made the two brothers uncomfortable. If she found out her parents or grandparents were related in any way, it would also make her uncomfortable. Incest was not unheard of, but it also wasn't something to encourage, either. It could lead to multiple illnesses. "Sasuke–kun, I'm not sure if you remember this, but when we were fifteen years old and I was officially made your medic, I tested you. Remember?" he nodded, his unseeing eyes narrowing a fraction. "I checked you over for abnormalities or illnesses – not only physical ones. Psychological, too." this time, Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. "I found nothing too serious, but that was long before these problems with your eyes began. Perhaps this is an effect from your parents creating you, if they are in fact related. Itachi–san, have you also been checked out?"

Nodding once, a slight frown graced his features as he gazed over at Sasuke before turning back to Sakura. "When Tsunade–sama became Hokage, I was in the hospital for my routine check up. It was she who examined me, for everybody else was busy and she apparently wished to meet me. During the examination, she found a rare illness that had been slowly eating away at my organs and told me that, had she found it any later, it would have killed me."

By her side, since she had turned to face Itachi, Sasuke tensed and she heard his breath leave him. "You're well now, though, right?" she couldn't even deny that she felt worried, that her stomach was twisting uneasily. "Tsunade–shishou healed you."

Itachi gave her a small smile. "Of course. It took several treatments, but she managed to remove all traces of the illness from my body."

"When was this?" Sasuke's voice was strained.

"When I was eighteen."

It felt like she was intruding, badly. "And if she hadn't found the illness?"

There was a sigh as Itachi closed his eyes. "I would have been dead by my twentieth birthday, my twenty–first at the latest if I forcibly prolonged my life with medication."

"Sakura." Sasuke's voice was still strained and it hurt her so much to hear it. "Check him over."

Itachi's eyes snapped open. "Sasuke–"

"No. I don't believe you. I want Sakura to examine you and tell me that you're okay, that you're not going to just drop dead one day. She can't lie to me. She never has and never will be able to. I know I can trust her."

Tears threatened to fill Sakura's eyes and she wasn't the only one to pick up on the slight beg in the younger Uchiha's voice.

"If it will put your mind at rest, fine." Itachi sighed, tilting his head to the side to regard Sakura for a moment. It didn't surprise her that he was uncertain about having her examine him, as apparently, Tsunade was the only one to do so. He had been a little uncomfortable earlier, too. "Sakura–san, I–"

"You can trust me." she told him with a serious look in her eyes despite the smile on her lips.

"Very well."

Shifting closer to him, Sakura placed Sasuke's hand on her knee, feeling the tension in his body increasing when she had been about to let him go completely. That was not uncommon. When people lose their sight, they become dependent on others and feel vulnerable, they feel disorientated. Due to her being someone Sasuke knew for a fact he could trust, she was the person he was seeking that feeling of safety from. Many patients at the hospital had latched onto her before, frightened that, if she left, something bad would happen to them. Most of them were sufferers of post traumatic stress, though. This was most likely so startling for Sasuke because of the fact they weren't in the village. They were incredibly vulnerable at the camp.

Placing her hands over Itachi's chest, she closed her eyes. "Try to relax. Since my chakra is still quite foreign to you, yours is going to try and automatically shove me out, like it tried to earlier."

Not telling her that he already knew that, Itachi calmed his chakra flow and watched as the green glow once again filled the cabin. It was soothing and nothing like Tsunade's chakra, he noticed once again as she pushed her chakra into his body, examining him. Tsunade's chakra often left a bitter feeling and she had reluctantly informed him one time after he had asked about it, that it was because of the amount of sake she drank. Sakura's chakra wasn't like that. He didn't know how to explain it, really.

And then she was extracting it much too soon and Itachi was inwardly startled by the fact his body _missed_ the feeling of her chakra, of her hands on his chest.

Damn hormones.

"There's no illness, Sasuke–kun." she told him gently. "Like Itachi–san told you, Tsunade–sama healed him."

"But you know that it was there."

"I didn't earlier today whilst healing his eyes, but after examining his organs thoroughly just now, yes. As a medic I can tell what's been healed and the repairs that have been done. There's no life threatening illnesses residing in your brother."

There had been tension though. Sakura had felt it right at the last moment. Usually medics could not pick up on such a thing, but she was skilled in perfect chakra control and just as she had began extracting hers, she felt Itachi's trying to drag it back. It had given her a fright at first, she wasn't going to lie. However, to not cause any awkwardness, she decided to just let it drop. He was human, just like the other men who had watched her as though she was a piece of meat. Although Itachi hid it better. It was actually pretty flattering.

He still wasn't happy. It was in the way Sasuke's jaw was clenched and his eyebrows twitching as though trying to mash together. He was trying to keep up his indifferent mask in front of Itachi, even though there was no point in doing such a thing. Itachi did not mind seeing his younger brother's emotions. It told him everything Sasuke would not and helped him understand his brother better.

"What is it, Sasuke?"

It surprised her that Sasuke didn't even seem annoyed that Itachi could tell he was still wanting more information. "Do our parents…?"

"No." he answered after a moment of tense silence. "I was already eighteen by that time and in Konoha, we do not need to consult our parents with things such as doctor's appointments after the age of fourteen. The only people other than Tsunade–sama to know about my illness, are Shizune–san and Shisui. The latter because somebody had to keep a close eye on me to make sure I did not overexert myself between the healing sessions."

"Why didn't you tell me?" his eyebrows _did_ mash together this time.

"Perhaps you would like me to give you some privacy?" Sakura offered quietly.

Itachi shook his head. "That will not be necessary as there is nothing more to discuss. My illness was my own problem, Sasuke. You were just a child at the time so did not need burdening with such a thing."

But that didn't make it any better. Sasuke had always looked up to Itachi. _Always_. No matter what rivalry was between them, no matter how many times Sasuke had cursed his brother in a fit of rage, it was still obvious they cared for each other. They were brothers.

"But–"

"You did not inform me on your psychological exam and how your results were 'nothing too serious', as I recall Sakura–san saying."

"That's different!"

"How?"

Sakura bit her lip, looking warily between them both.

Sasuke did not reply.

"May I ask what your mental illness is?"

This time, Sasuke's head tilted in Sakura's direction, silently telling Itachi to ask _her_, since she was the doctor. Damn it! She hated being the one to explain bad news. No, it wasn't too bad, but it was still kind of serious. "Like you, Itachi–san, Sasuke–kun chose not to inform your parents. He didn't want them to look down on him, even though I told him they wouldn't."

Itachi's eyes narrowed a fraction, obviously not liking that his brother had thought or did think such a thing. "Father may be a cold man at times, Sasuke, but he would never think badly of you for something you cannot help. As for mother, she would only want to help you in any way she could."

Again, Sasuke made no sign of replying, so Sakura continued. "It's nothing too serious, like I said, but there _are_ a few imbalances of chemicals in his brain. The chemicals responsible for controlling the functions of the brain are called neurotransmitters, examples of which include norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine. If there's an imbalance in the levels of one or more neurotransmitters, it may cause the symptoms of bipolar disorder. The triggers of that certain mental illness are physical, sexual or emotional abuse." once again, Itachi's eyes narrowed, knowing that it was possible his brother had been emotionally abused by their own father, although not to the point of it being so traumatizing that it would cause an illness. "The breakdown of a relationship or the death of a loved one are also triggers.

"So I watched him for a while without telling Sasuke–kun, wanting him to act like he usually did and not feel as though he had to be or act a certain way. As I suspected, he showed multiple signs of trouble controlling his emotions and mood swings, but upon further inspection, no. Sasuke–kun does not have bipolar disorder. Whilst he had a few, he did not show the signs of somebody suffering from it. So I continued with my research, only this time, I told him about it. It took a while for Sasuke–kun to feel comfortable opening up about such things, since he has never been one to talk about feelings and emotions, but eventually he did and it made diagnosing him so much easier, despite that I am no psychiatrist."

"And your diagnostic?"

"There is no diagnostic. Sasuke–kun does not have any serious mental illnesses. Yes, he has problems with controlling his emotions, but that is mostly anger. Sasuke–kun has anger issues, but nothing more."

"And the chemical imbalances?"

Sakura gave him a soft smile. "Nobody is perfect, Itachi–san. Just like nobody is one hundred percent 'okay' or 'sane'. I myself have unbalanced chemicals in my brain–"

Sasuke finally spoke up, a small smirk on his lips. "Everybody knows about _that_."

Watching as she glared at him, Itachi held back a frown. "Knows about what?"

"Her 'inner' self." Sasuke replied. "Completely insane, too. Think of a rabid, screaming Naruto and multiply it by ten with anger."

Her jaw clenched. "Sasuke, I don't care if you can't see right now, if you carry on, I'm going to kick your ass all the way back to Konoha!"

"Since training under Tsunade, her inner–self has been appearing more often as you can probably tell. Sakura had never been as violent until–"

"_Sasuke_!"

"An inner–persona?" Itachi repeated before glancing down at her and Sakura was stunned to see curiosity in his eyes. "Would you mind if I looked?"

Shock was written all over her face from the widening of her eyes to her jaw dropping. "You can read my mind? I thought you said in your letter that you couldn't do that!"

"I cannot read your mind." he assured her. "I can, however, enter it with my sharingan."

Hearing what he meant, Sasuke scowled. "You can't use _Tsukuyomi_ on my teammate, nii–san."

Sakura blanched at just the thought of that happening. _Tsukuyomi_ was a jutsu people spoke about in fear. There were no positive things said about it. It was utterly terrifying and part of the reason why so many people avoided Itachi. They were scared of him, of his sharingan. They didn't trust it.

"It is not only used for battle or interrogation." Itachi told them both. "And it only leaves a devastating effect if I allow it to. The only times people have been psychologically damaged by _Tsukuyomi_, is when I must gather information. All forms of interrogation causes psychological damage."

It _did_ sound intriguing, experiencing one of the most feared jutsu for herself. "And it won't mentally screw me up?"

"Sakura–"

"Not at all."

"I don't like this." Sasuke grumbled.

"You don't have to." Itachi replied smoothly. "If Sakura–san allows this, on the outside, only a second will pass."

She stared up at him with awe. "And inside my head?"

Itachi allowed a smirk to pull at his lips. It wasn't every day that somebody spoke of his most feared jutsu like it was a grand prize. Even whilst he was laid back about it, Shisui was also wary. He knew how badly something like _Tsukuyomi_ could mess with your head and knew not to screw around with it. "As much time as I allow. Seconds, minutes, hours or days."

The biting of her lower lip instantly caught his attention, but Itachi was quick to look back into her eyes and was grateful that she hadn't noticed, too busy staring at the ground uncertainly. "What's the longest you've kept going?" hearing the double meaning to her words, even though she was most likely the only one to hear it, she quickly fixed her sentence. "With _Tsukuyomi_. How long have you kept somebody trapped in your world of _Tsukuyomi_?"

It took everything in him not to smirk more widely, also hearing the double meaning to her words. "Seventy–two hours."

"Okay." she smiled brightly. "Don't keep me there for that long, but I want to try this."

"Sakura–"

"I'll be fine, Sasuke–kun." Sakura told him, giving him a pat on the knee. "I trust your brother."

Something that looked oddly like shock showed on Itachi's features, but she didn't take too much notice, inwardly preparing herself for what was about to come. Already she could feel her inner–persona getting excited about finally having company after being ignored for so long. Over the years, under Tsunade's tutelage, they had been merging more and more often, but there were still times when her inner would rear her unwanted head, yelling and screaming suggestions Sakura did not want to hear.

"You sure you can handle her?" Sakura smirked and hearing her, Sasuke also smirked.

"I am confident that I will be able to."

Sasuke's smirk widened. "Good luck, nii–san."

The time he had seen Sakura's inner–persona had left him disturbed. Twelve year old Sakura was like an angel, a saint, compared to her inner. Her inner was… There were no words to describe her. Sasuke knew that even his brother would be stunned. Perhaps not disturbed like he had been, but it would definitely be something he wouldn't be forgetting any time soon. Shifting his position, Sasuke prepared himself for when Sakura would be released from _Tsukuyomi_, when she would no doubt collapse. There was no denying that his heart was beating incredibly fast, that he was worried for her. _Tsukuyomi_ was used for interrogation and torture, but Sasuke trusted his brother. If he said that there would be no permanent damage…

Well, Sasuke simply hoped he was right.

Glancing at his brother's features a final time, hearing the mockery in his tone, Itachi turned back to Sakura, his sharingan activating and surprising Sakura as it morphed into a pin wheel design, the _Mangekyō_. She leaned closer, admiring the sight, but was soon ripped from reality as Itachi activated his jutsu.

"_Tsukuyomi_."

She gasped as the world shifted, as colours ran until the sky bled red and the ground turned black, leaving Sakura stunned. The clouds appeared to be an even bloodier red than the sky, moving along it quickly and the trees surrounding them were as black as the ground. So this was _Tsukuyomi_. Sakura could understand why it could drive a person insane, why it could cause so much psychological trauma. Just the colours alone were disorientating.

"You will remain here for one hour," a voice spoke although Sakura couldn't tell if it was in her head or surrounding her. Spinning, she tried to find Itachi and sighed with relief when she spotted him only a couple of feet away from her, "unless you wish to stay for longer?"

Sakura shook her head with a nervous chuckle. "An hour is long enough."

"_Sakura_!"

The new voice had her tensing, her eyes widening. It was her inner–persona. And she sounded absolutely pissed. That thought was confirmed when she suddenly appeared before Sakura, grabbing the collar of her shirt roughly and shaking her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Itachi's eyes widen a fraction.

"You left me here alone!" she spat, her grip tightening. "Ignoring me like I'm some kind of annoyance. Cha! I should rip you to pieces right here, _right now_!"

Sakura winced at the loud voice before giving a small smile. "I brought you somebody who wants to meet you. Call him a peace offering."

Inner–Sakura tensed, a slow smirk pulling at her lips. "_Him_? Did you bring me Sasuke–kun again? The last time he visited, he left early and I haven't seen him since, unless I'm looking through _your_ eyes, but that's useless. You don't see him the same way as I do anymore." suddenly, inner's eyes widened and she pulled Sakura closer. "Or is it Gaara–kun? The shock on his face had been hilarious! He thought he was the only one with a voice whispering in his ear, didn't he? We showed him. Ha! And then afterwards, the sex–"

Oh God. The thought of her inner saying anything more made Sakura's cheeks burn with a blush and slap a hand over her mouth, silencing her with a serious look. "You really need to learn to keep your big mouth shut." the smile on Sakura's face may have been friendly, but the look in her eyes was deadly, unforgiving. "This person wanted to meet you himself. Can't you tell already? This isn't my mind."

Rolling her eyes, her inner–self batted away Sakura's hands. "Don't be ridiculous, Sakura. This _is_ our mind. The genjutsu used on us is simply changing how we view things to make it more disorientating. If this wasn't our mind, how would we be driven insane? Fuck, Sakura. You're originally a genjutsu type, but it seems you've been letting your skills slip!"

Being scolded by her inner was humiliating, Sakura thought with annoyance.

"I heard that, you brat!" Inner spat.

Great.

"Show me to our guest." her inner–persona stated arrogantly, waving Sakura off dismissively with her hand.

Sakura gritted her teeth and looked over Inner–Sakura's shoulder, sighing as she met Itachi's eyes. He was stunned, like he didn't even know what to say. "Itachi–san, this is my inner–"

Her words were cut off as her inner all but threw her to the ground, spinning wildly and grinning like a cat as she spotted Itachi. Itachi froze, unsure of what he should do. How did one defend himself against an inner–persona? That tension in his body only increased as Inner–Sakura shot forward and latched herself onto him.

"You're _so_ forgiven, Sakura. This guy is a sex God! Why haven't you ever brought him to me before?" a moan tore from her inner's lips, making Sakura feel absolutely mortified. "_Itachi–kun_. The older brother of Sasuke–kun! Cha. Who cares about Sasuke when you have _this_ guy? No wonder you gave up on Sasuke, Sakura."

Deep breaths. It wasn't possible to kill your inner–persona.

Watching her inner press herself up against Itachi had a darker blush gracing Sakura's cheeks and she sent him an apologetic look when he gazed down at her in stunned silence. There was no emotion on his features, but she could tell Itachi was shocked. None of his fan–girls had ever tried touching him before. Yes, some dared to follow him around the village and tried to talk to him, but never touch. Nobody dared to touch Itachi other than his family and Sakura when she had been healing him.

The face of her inner, despite her colours being inverted, was obviously one of pleasure. That expression only increased as she pressed her cheek against Itachi's, grabbing his hand and putting it on her body. Sakura was certain she was about to have a nosebleed. "Don't crowd Itachi–san like that!" she finally snapped. "He's too polite to tell you to back off!"

Pouting, she ignored Sakura's orders and instead pulled his body flush against hers. "She's just jealous that our roles aren't reversed." Inner–Sakura whispered into Itachi's ear, forcing him to hold back a shiver. "You're in our inappropriate thoughts, after all."

"Sakura–san, this–"

"Don't pay any attention to her." her inner whispered huskily. "She always gets the attention! Now it's my turn."

Sakura felt so bad for Itachi. Not even Ino, who was a genius when it came to the mind, could fight with Inner–Sakura. In fact, during the chunin exams, Ino had lost against Inner–Sakura when she tried to take over Sakura's mind and force her to forfeit. And Sakura had gone and thrown him to her inner like he was a piece of meat.

"Oi, let go of him! You're making us look trashy."

Her inner scoffed. "_Please_. You've done much worse than this. Need I remind you of the time in Gaara–kun's office?"

Yet another heavy blush flooded her face. The memory was a pleasant one, there was no denying that, but she wished her inner would stop bringing such stuff up around Itachi. He was a traditional man and most likely would not appreciate hearing about her sexual endeavours. By now, her inner was in front of Itachi with her arms around his neck and she was currently arching into him.

But then a certain thought hit her.

"Itachi–san, I thought you were in control of _Tsukuyomi_?"

"There are weaknesses in all jutsu, Sakura–san." his voice was even, like there wasn't somebody pressing kisses against his neck. His self–control was amazing. "She is _your_ inner–persona and I am guessing that she is also the reason as to why you are originally a genjutsu type. She has come to your defence, to make sure I do not trap you."

It was the truth, but it still angered her.

Stomping forward, Sakura growled as she grabbed the back of her inner's shirt, throwing her to the ground. "Leave him alone!" she ordered with her annoyance obvious. "Clearly, he's not affected by the way you're touching him! Stop making me look like a whore, damn it."

Her inner also growled, suddenly increasing her size and making both Sakura and Itachi look like bugs compared to her. "_Cha_!" her voice boomed around them and it honestly startled Sakura. This wasn't new to her, as it had also happened to Ino when the blonde tried to get into her mind and take control, but her inner had never turned against _herself_. "Let me have my fun! It's not like you're going to let Itachi–kun fuck us!"

Behind her, Itachi tensed. Sakura couldn't turn around. It would be too mortifying. Oh God. _Holy fucking shit_. Why the hell did she have to scream _that_?

"You're too much of a prude, Sakura!" she continued, glaring down at her angrily.

She took a deep breath. "Itachi–san… Perhaps it would be best to end _Tsukuyomi_ now?"

He nodded.

"Wait–"

They were gone and once more, Inner–Sakura was left alone.

When Sakura suddenly slumped forward, Sasuke quickly caught her, feeling the shift. He couldn't see her expression or Itachi's, but considering the fact it was silent, that Sakura hadn't moved yet, he was guessing she was unconscious. Sighing, Sasuke pulled her backwards so that she was leaning against him. Part of him wondered what exactly had happened. When he had been there, it was safe to say that he had more or less been molested by Sakura's inner–persona. He had tried fighting against her, but the only way to make her stop was to end the genjutsu.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked after a couple of moments.

It surprised him when Sakura chuckled sheepishly. How was she awake? Wait. Was she simply being lazy, or did she need to use him as something to lean on? It had better be the latter otherwise she was about to find herself shoved off his bed and face down on the ground. Listening to her breathing, however, Sasuke guessed she did need him as support, especially when her weight suddenly increased against him.

"She has a pretty big mouth." Sakura told Itachi awkwardly, not meeting his eyes.

"I noticed." his voice wasn't as composed as it usually was, telling them of his surprise. "Is she always–"

"No." she shook her head quickly, but then paused. "Actually, twice. With Sasuke–kun and Gaara. The stuff she told Sasuke–kun had him blushing for weeks!"

And at her words, Sasuke blushed. The things Inner–Sakura had said had been vulgar, crass. It had literally been nothing more than dirty talk and for an entire month, Sasuke hadn't been able to look Sakura in the eye. Add the _petting_ to the words…

"I see." Itachi murmured, sounding thoughtful, yet still surprised. It annoyed Sasuke that he couldn't see his brother's expression. He'd give anything to see the shock!

There was a moment of silence, one that felt incredibly awkward to Sakura. But then her eyes met Itachi's and she couldn't help but blush, looking away quickly. "I'm really sorry about what she did to you. I, uh…" she looked down at her legs, squirming uncomfortably. "And I'm sorry about the stuff she said to you, too."

Sasuke raised his head. Sorry? What had Sakura's inner–persona said and done to Itachi to make her sound so… He couldn't describe Sakura's voice. She had apologised to him after he had the misfortune of meeting her inner, but she hadn't sounded as embarrassed as she did now. Was it because they had known each other quite well by that time?

Deciding to lighten the tension, Sasuke smirked, "Not so confident now, right, nii–san?"

In truth, no, Itachi was not. He was still unable to form coherent thoughts. At least, the male side of him was unable to. The side where he thought of things that were not very appropriate. His mind was not allowing him to forget the way Sakura's inner–self had felt pressed up against him, or the low moan of his name she had breathed into his ear. Yes, it had been her inner–self, but what was she made of? The person Sakura was inside, the person she was denying. Not always, of course, but most of the time, that was what an inner–persona was. But… Would that mean Sakura wanted him?

Shoving those thoughts from his mind, Itachi glanced down at the still–blushing Sakura. "Do not be embarrassed about what she said, Sakura–san."

"But the stuff about–"

"None of it will ever be repeated."

How much trouble could Sakura get into if it was found out that there had actually been a sexual relationship between herself and the Kazekage, that it hadn't only been a rumour? No, it wasn't uncommon for shinobi to sleep together, but they had been in a relationship and she was a Konoha shinobi whilst he was Kazekage. How did he know? Because with each sentence her inner–self had uttered, flashbacks and thoughts came to his mind from her subconscious, since _Tsukuyomi_ was used for interrogation. Those flashbacks had been unwelcome. Itachi did not wish to see the sight of Sabaku no Gaara with Sakura intimately. The worst had been when he had angled their bodies so they could see how they connected, meaning Itachi had also seen. And now those images of Sakura were stuck, burned, into his mind. As was her supposedly '_little kiss_' with Sasuke.

It irked him for some strange reason. Not the fact that she had been with men, but the fact she and Gaara had not loved each other. No, it didn't make him see her badly. It was quite the opposite. Itachi found himself feeling saddened for Sakura. Her thoughts had been depressed. All she had wanted was to feel loved and accepted, happy. Yes, she had been happy and felt accepted, but Sakura had foolishly believed that, over time, she and Gaara would fall in love and be together. It was so wrong of her to think that way, though! Sex did not create feelings that were not there. At least, not love. Yes, Sakura felt something for Gaara, but it wasn't love.

And now Itachi also felt like he knew way too much about her. He wasn't sure if Sakura was even aware of how much he now knew and it felt like he was invading. But surely she had known that _Tsukuyomi_ was an interrogation type of genjutsu? It put him in complete control of her mind.

He had felt everything Sakura had as though they were his own feelings, but whilst he wasn't too sure on just how much he had learned, Itachi also enjoyed knowing her just that little bit better. Of course he still didn't know much, but he knew of her past relationships. That was a side he never knew he would see, at least not so early into their friendship. And Itachi also knew that she experienced lust whilst looking at _him_. It explained why she had been so nervous earlier that day.

The way Sakura smiled at him, a small, slightly shaky smile that looked more like a twitch of her lips, told Itachi that yes, she was aware of how much he now knew. It shouldn't have surprised him. Sakura was an intelligent girl, after all.

"…Thanks."

* * *

**A/N - We had to choose an extra class in my college and I chose Japanese! I can now say "My name is Helen" in Japanese, even though I'm certain I sound a little ridiculous. _Watashi wa Helen desu_. Woo. Go me! Oh and there are other Naruto fans there. I AM NOT ALONE. There was a big fan-girling session hahaha, though I don't think I'll be telling any of them about my fanfiction account.**

**Hm. Was there anything else I needed to say? I'm not too sure.**

**OH! For those of you who are waiting for the sequel to _They Never Knew_, which is called _Until It Was Too Late_, I will be posting it at the end of next month, around Halloween. I want to get settled at college before I start posting another story!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	10. Love, Lust, Faith & Dreams

**Chapter 9 – Love, Lust, Faith &amp; Dreams**

_His hands fell to her hips, dragging her back against his muscular chest. Just when she was about to yell at whoever it was who dared to interrupt her shower, his lips pressed against her ear, his voice low and making her stomach pool with warmth with one simple word, one simple name._

"_Cherry–san."_

_Her legs felt like jelly and no matter how hard Sakura tried to hide how he effected her, she couldn't help but lean back into him. The feeling of his hands moving across her body, caressing her, had her releasing an uneven breath. She couldn't speak. Couldn't move. Hell, she couldn't even think! His warmth enveloped her, bringing her a sense of safety as he held her._

_They stayed that way for a few minutes. Why? Sakura didn't know. Itachi simply stayed still, seeming content with holding her and caressing her. But then one of his strong hands moved upwards, cupping her breast so tenderly that Sakura couldn't help but smile softly. That smile slipped away as her mouth fell open to let out a gasp, however, when his other hand slipped down her body, stroking her with firm fingers._

_Moving her hips backwards, Sakura bit back a moan as she felt Itachi was also naked. That shouldn't have been a surprise considering they were in the shower. But the feeling of his wet body pressed so intimately against her own was so very arousing. That feeling of arousal only increased with the way he continued his ministrations._

_She reached behind her to grasp the back of his head, enjoying the sudden kisses he was littering along her shoulder and neck. Then, when he slipped a finger within her folds, inside of her, Sakura finally let out a quiet moan, her hips rocking in time with the movements of that finger until he added another. Tightening her hold on his hair, her back arched, eyes falling closed at the pleasure Itachi was bringing her._

_At his silent order, she parted her legs further, allowing him easier access. However, she did so distractedly, as the feeling of his erection pressing into her back caught her attention, making Sakura bite her lip. She wanted to feel more of him, more than what he was currently giving her. Was that selfish or greedy? Who cares? This may never happen again._

_It seemed Itachi understood her because he let out a low sounding chuckle, one that had her whimpering. Why did his voice have to sound so damn good? The deepness of it, the tenor, sent shivers up her spine and a shock of pleasure through her entire body. _

"_Patience, Cherry–san." he murmured as he moved his kisses up to her jaw. "Allow me to take my time with you." he then nipped her earlobe. "I want to worship your body, to cherish you. I wish to make you mine." another whimper left her lips and it soon became a moan as he increased the pace of his fingers. "May I?"_

"_Yes." she breathed. "Yours. Make me _yours_."_

* * *

Sakura's eyes shot open.

_What the hell_ had _that_ been about?

In the back of her mind, she heard Inner–Sakura snickering and immediately, she knew the dream was because of her. No doubt she didn't like being ditched the way she had been yesterday. But seriously? She could have come up with something a little steamier than that. Perhaps more than simply being fingered–

Wait, what?

Taking a deep breath, Sakura threw her covers back, sighing at the cold that hit her. It was cooling her body down, which was unfortunately quite hot after that dream.

"Sakura?"

Oh no. "…Yeah?"

"What're you doing?"

He sounded exhausted. Sighing, she got up and moved over to Sasuke's bed. Tenzo had created bed frames for everybody, so they wouldn't have to sleep on the floor. Since this was a guest cabin, however, there were no mattresses as of yet. It wasn't too bad, in all honesty, and they didn't mind. It was simply like a block of wood. No headboard or foot board, either. On their first night in the cabin, they had rolled out their sleeping bags and placed them on top of the blocks of wood. Tenzo had told them that hopefully, new beds would arrive soon in a scroll with the next delivery of letters.

"I can't sleep." she admitted sheepishly, sitting down beside him. Sasuke looked as though he hadn't been asleep all night, even though he was tired. "Can you not sleep either?" he shook his head, deciding to remain laying down. The look on his face, even though Sakura was certain he didn't mean for it to be there, was breaking her heart. He seemed so lost. Clearly he had been brooding before she woke up and hadn't had the chance to reign in those thoughts and emotions. "Sasuke–"

"I'm useless." he told her, his eyebrows knitting together angrily. "Everybody here is doing something and all I can do is lay here like an invalid."

Laying down beside him, Sakura slipped into his sleeping bag and pulled Sasuke to her even though he seemed unsure about the contact. She didn't let go. And a minute later, he was holding her just as tightly, like he couldn't even stop himself. "You're not useless, Sasuke–kun. You will _never_ be useless. Where would I be without you? If it wasn't for you pushing me so hard, I wouldn't be where I am today. If it wasn't for you teasing him constantly, Naruto wouldn't have felt the need to surpass you so badly." he released a shaky breath. "And what about all the times you saved our lives, huh?"

Shifting her position so that she was face to face with him instead of face to neck, Sakura gave him a smile even though he couldn't see it. "Don't call yourself useless, Sasuke–kun. Trust me when I say it gets you absolutely nowhere." she wrapped an arm around his shoulders, holding him against her in a loving embrace. "This isn't permanent. I'm going to make sure that when you next get your sight back, it's definitely not going to leave you again."

He was silent for a moment before nodding. "Sakura?"

"Mm?" her eyes were closed, tiredness washing over her.

"Why were you dreaming about my brother?"

Oh no.

Sakura's eyes snapped open, her breath leaving her like somebody had gone and punched her in the stomach. "Uh…"

His features twisted awkwardly for a moment, telling her that he was uncomfortable. "Are you interested in him that way?"

"I…" she grimaced, letting go of him but taking Sasuke's hand when she felt him tense for a split second, clearly not liking the sudden loss of contact. It was obvious the feeling annoyed him, too, for he scowled to himself. "I've only spoken to Itachi–san a few times, Sasuke–kun. This… You can kind of say it's my inner's way of getting back at me for snatching him away."

"You're blaming your inner–persona for your dirty dreams?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "How do you know it was a dirty dream?"

"You were moaning 'make me yours, Itachi' over and over again."

"Oh God." she groaned, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

To add to her humiliation, Sasuke smirked. "You said that, too."

"Sasuke–kun! This isn't funny."

He chuckled and was grateful that Sakura was now awake. Not only because Sasuke had felt uncomfortable hearing her moan his brother's name, but also because she relaxed him. It was strange. Sakura had never made him feel relaxed until she became his personal medic. That was his own fault, really – why the were so close, he meant. Some considered having another's chakra invading your body as fairly intimate, which was why they often stuck to one medic if it was possible. Sakura had been healing Sasuke for many years now. No, things were not and would never be romantic between them, it was…

Inwardly, Sasuke grimaced. He wasn't sure how to explain their relationship, really. Explaining his and Naruto's was simple – he thought of the idiot as his best friend, possibly even his brother depending on how good his mood was. With Sakura, it was different. He trusted her like he trusted no one else. She told him everything and he would listen to her, knowing that sometimes, that was all Sakura wanted. Somebody to pay attention to her, to listen. Her parents never truly listened to her. It was obvious they loved her dearly, but they never truly saw her, if that made any sense. Sakura was lonely.

"Sakura," Sasuke lowered his voice further when he heard Naruto shift in his bed, mumbling something about ramen, "if anything happens between you and my brother, don't screw around with him."

She frowned and moved her hands away from her face to look at him. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the dark, she could see his features more clearly. It also helped that morning was coming, meaning the sun was due to rise soon. "What?"

"Like with Gaara. My brother isn't one for one–night stands or flings such as those. They're meaningless, meaning he won't waste his time on them. If he's going into something, it's for keeps. You have to understand that. Don't be with him just because." once again, his eyebrows were knitting together. "In the end, it'll only end up hurting the both of you."

Why was he saying these things?

It was like he could read her mind. "Not being able to do anything but lay here makes you think about things. Makes you wonder. Things like that." he gave her a lazy smirk. "Itachi… My mother always says that he's a gentle person, a man wise beyond his years or something of the sort. He's traditional, yet not overwhelming with it. What I'm trying to say is that… even though he _is_ the kind of man who would stop if you needed help, he isn't the kind to pursue relationships or friendships unless he knows they're going somewhere." there was a pause. "Why do you think he has so few friends, Sakura?"

His words made her think. Truly think. She chuckled quietly. "My inner jumped him."

Sasuke also chuckled, his face looking so much younger than it had moments before, making a warm smile pull at her lips. She liked this Sasuke. The one who didn't mind spending time with her or opening up to her. "What did he do?"

"Nothing!" she grinned, pressing a hand to her mouth to try and keep quiet, just in case they woke Naruto up. "It was like he couldn't do anything. Itachi–san looked at me with this expression and it felt like I was dying inside! I didn't know whether to laugh or have a nosebleed or faint from embarrassment."

It had been difficult for the both of them when Naruto had left. Well, perhaps not extremely difficult, but enough so that it brought them closer together. There was no overly cheerful and loud blond bouncing around, making them smile (or in Sasuke's case, reluctantly smirk). In their team, it was like Naruto was the glue. When he left, she and Sasuke had had to cling together just to keep team seven a team (even though he would never admit such a thing if you confronted him about it). Kakashi was rarely around, Naruto was gone. It was just them. They were all they had. So the inevitable happened. They became close friends. And when Sakura got over her crush for him, they grew even closer and Sasuke proved how much he trusted her by asking, demanding, that Sakura become his personal medic.

Then Kakashi started hanging around more and more often. He trained Sasuke whilst she was being trained by Tsunade and the three of them went on missions together. It was a little odd without Naruto around, but they got used to the change. And then their teammate returned, all grown up and even more of an idiot than ever! The glue was back, but as harsh as it sounded, they no longer needed that. They didn't need Naruto to be the glue anymore. They wanted him around as their friend, their family. He was _their_ idiot.

"You know," Sakura said after a couple of minutes of silence, eyeing Sasuke's features, "you've never really spoken about my relationship with Gaara before. Well, you grunted at me and said 'whatever', but tonight's the first time you brought it up."

The scowl on Sasuke's face amused her greatly. "Why do you want my opinion?"

"I don't." she stated simply with a shrug.

"If things had worked out," he sighed with annoyance and Sakura grinned. No matter how distant and cold he tried to act, nowadays, Sakura always got answers out of Sasuke, "you would have left. Moved to Suna. And then there would be no more team seven because you would be gone."

The sincerity of his words caused her to smile softly. People thought Sasuke was some coldhearted man who cared about nothing, but they couldn't be more wrong. You simply had to be persistent and continue to pick at him. If he trusted you, Sasuke would eventually let his guards down. It was all about being patient with him. "Gaara and I both knew deep down that we'd never fall in love with each other, Sasuke–kun."

Gaara had told her one day, when he had been feeling low, that he wasn't sure if they should continue being with one another in such a way any longer. He could sense her feelings, her want to settle down and part of him felt guilty for not being able to give her that. Sabaku no Gaara was a broken man and unfortunately, Sakura had not been the woman to fix the broken pieces of his heart. She had tried. Oh God, Sakura had tried so hard for him, to try and make things work because she hated seeing anybody suffering and over time, he became a dear friend to her, so every time she saw that haunted, broken look in his eyes, it broke her. It felt as though it had been killing her inside. And he had felt guilty for that, for causing her pain.

One time, Gaara had told her that he didn't want children. He didn't want a wife. He didn't want a family. He had his siblings and his people and they were enough for him. That day had been rather emotional for, surprisingly, the both of them. Due to being the vessel for Shukaku, Gaara had awful mood swings and even though he tried not to take them out on her, he had his moments.

"Then why?" he didn't understand. Sakura was a hopeless romantic. She cried at stupid love scenes in stupid romance movies and books. Why would she be in a relationship when she knew it had no future?

Sasuke knew everything about her, but when it came to Sakura's relationships, he kept his distance and allowed her some privacy. It didn't surprise her that he couldn't understand. "We were both lonely. I know… that it sounds trashy and wrong of me to be with him _that way_ because I felt lonely, but… I don't know. I'm not sure how to explain it. It's just… being connected with somebody in such an intimate way took away the loneliness, even if it was for only a short while."

Sometimes, all Sakura needed was a friend to listen to her. Sasuke had always known that about his teammate.

"Sometimes I miss him, you know? The day we decided that it'd be best not to continue our relationship, I was scared. S–Scared," her lower lip trembled, "of feeling lonely again. Having you guys around helps but… no offence, but none of you are the guys I want to pursue a relationship with. You and Naruto are like my brothers and Kakashi–sensei is… Well, do I really need to give an explanation?" Sasuke shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing at the raw pain he could hear so clearly in her voice. "I'm glad I have you three, though. I really don't know where I'd be without you."

Suddenly, a sleeping bag was being laid down behind her, Sasuke's was being opened and somebody else joined them, making Sakura jump in shock and with her, Sasuke tensed.

"Don't feel that way, Sakura–chan." Naruto mumbled sleepily into her ear as he threw his sleeping bag over himself and Sakura, his arms wrapping around her waist. Both she and Sasuke relaxed when he spoke up and she leaned back into his arms. "We're here."

Even though he tensed, Sakura pulled Sasuke towards them, smiling to herself when he gave up with trying to resist and allowed her to hug him whilst Naruto was hugging her.

"You know, if you're really horny, I bet we could–"

"Don't even continue with that sentence, Naruto." Sakura hissed, knowing by the tone of his voice just what he had been about to propose. Sasuke smirked. "No threesomes."

He sighed. "Fine." and then, just as they were about to fall asleep, he whispered with his amusement obvious, "Did you really have a wet dream about Itachi?"

"_Naruto_!"

* * *

They were teasing her.

So many people were teasing her!

First, it had been Shisui, although he had been teasing the entire team when he and Itachi came by early in the morning to check on Sasuke and see how he was doing. Usually, the younger Uchiha would be awake by the time they came to visit, but due to not having any sleep during the night, when he finally fell asleep, he slept like a baby. Literally. When Itachi and Shisui came by, Sasuke had been sleeping in Sakura's arms like a child, with his face pressed into her neck. To add to their embarrassment, Naruto had been right behind her, holding onto Sakura just as tightly with _his_ face buried into her hair, tickling her scalp and neck every time he breathed.

"_We're a close team_." Sakura had whispered sheepishly to them.

It hadn't looked good, she was aware of that. Not all teams shared beds or held each other like they had been doing. But so what? Team seven would never be like other teams. That was what made them so different, so much better! They had strong, unbreakable bonds. In his own way, last night, Sasuke had given his approval for her to pursue a relationship with Itachi. Sakura had no idea why, as Itachi had shown little to no interest in her, but it didn't matter. Itachi was Sasuke's most precious person. If he was giving her his approval, it was not something to take lightly.

Once they had left she had punched Naruto over the head, for his morning 'happiness' was digging into her ass and it wasn't welcome at all. Sasuke had grumbled for them to shut up and be quiet whilst he slept, nuzzling closer to what he had probably thought was his pillow, only to freeze when he felt Sakura's body against his own. His eyes had snapped open, but any feelings he had felt towards their position had been replaced by his revelation.

"Sakura," he had spoken slowly, like he wasn't sure on what to think, "can you check my eyes?"

"Of course." had he even needed to ask?

It surprised her greatly when he had filled her in on the progress, telling her that he could see a difference already. Nothing major, but enough to bring her best friend hope. It was so good seeing that smile. It was a vulnerable smile, one that she knew only people he truly trusted got to see. The healing session the night before had done some good. Already Sasuke could tell the difference between light and dark. He told her it was still disorientating if he kept his eyes open, for everything was incredibly blurred and looked more like fuzzy blobs, but he could now tell when it was light and when it was dark. That was enough to give him hope.

Naruto had whooped loudly, effectively earning him a growl of warning from Sasuke. In response he had grinned sheepishly and ran outside to tell Itachi the news. The older Uchiha had arrived not too long afterwards, filling Sakura in on anything she needed to know about the sharingan.

Once certain that Sasuke's headache was gone, she had given Itachi and Sasuke some privacy so that they could catch up properly. Whilst Itachi had gone to collect their breakfast, however, she had warned the younger Uchiha that if he uttered a single word about that dream she had the night before, he would regret it. Sasuke smirked and grunted his infamous, "hn".

Since then, it had all gone downhill. Well, it wasn't as bad as Sakura made it sound, but being constantly teased by not only her teammates (for her dream the night before) but also Shisui (about the position he had found team seven in this morning) was not pleasant. In fact, it made her angry. So to blow off some steam, Sakura sparred with Lee for a while. It was a nice change. They hadn't sparred together in a while. He was one of very few people who dared to go up against her monstrous strength (he said he enjoyed the challenge). That had only lasted a short while, though. They couldn't go all out here. Base camp four was supposed to be a weakened camp.

"_They're here_!" somebody yelled.

"What are here?" Sakura asked Lee as they made their way back to the camp. The training grounds were about two minutes away from camp if you run, but if you walked, then it was around ten minutes. Really it simply depended on how fast you were.

Lee was silent until he realised what it was. "Letters, Sakura–san. Today must be delivery day."

Don't get Sakura wrong, she loved all versions of Lee for he was a great friend to have and always had her back, but she preferred this version secretly. He was quieter, wasn't as loud. They could talk without everybody who was within a mile hearing them. Sure, there were moments when Lee would get excited and say something enthusiastically, but in moments like these, those were rare to happen. It seemed over the years Lee had picked up on when was best to speak with an 'indoor' voice and when was best to speak with an 'outdoor' voice.

"But I thought they were delivered on the day we arrived? That was like… three days ago, right?"

He nodded. "Tenten once told me that, when Tsunade–sama needs to get into contact with a base camp, she allows those with loved ones here to send anything they may have forgotten to include in their letter." glancing down at her, he added, "It does not happen all too often, but there are occasions when it does."

"I see."

That meant her team would be receiving mattresses today. Sakura was a little grateful for that. Whilst she had been, and still was, okay with using her sleeping bag, she wanted Sasuke to be more comfortable. He would be staying in bed most of the time now as he didn't want to humiliate himself in front of the others. That was partly why Itachi was spending the morning with him. Not only to catch up, but to make sure his younger brother didn't get lonely.

"Aren't you going to see if you got anything, Lee–san?" Sakura asked when she realised he was heading straight for the showers. It was mean of her, but she was kind of glad that he was. Lee had a little bit of a stink following him around. It was from all of his hard training because whilst they couldn't use full strength and go all out, he still pushed himself. Lee merely doubled the amount of push ups or whatever he did.

"No." he told her with a smile. "Nobody knows that this is where Tenten and I are. Neji is already here and Gai–sensei has been placed on the same base camp as Kakashi–sensei."

Poor Kakashi. "Oh. When you're done in the showers, you should come and find me. We can have lunch together, if you want."

His smile grew into a flashy, toothy grin. "Of course! I would be honoured to eat my lunch with you, Sakura–san!"

And he was back to practically yelling right down her ear.

But she was fine with that. It was just who Lee was. "Good! I'll be in my cabin when you're ready."

* * *

After collecting the scrolls with the beds and extra supplies, Sakura made her way to the cabin, knocking twice to let Itachi and Sasuke know that she was there. When she entered, however, Sakura couldn't help but smile at the sight that greeted her. There was a warm look in Itachi's eyes and Sasuke was smirking. No, he was smiling. Sometimes Sakura wished more than anything that she had a brother. Not a sister, because then the brat would be stealing all of her clothes. But a brother would have been nice growing up with. She wouldn't have been as lonely.

Handing the scroll to Itachi to release the seal on it (as he was in charge of base camp four), Sakura took a step back, smiling brightly when three single mattresses appeared along with bed sheets and pillows. _Pillows_! No more stiff necks.

"Here, Sasuke–kun." Sakura took his hand, helping him to his feet before guiding Sasuke out of the way so that he didn't get hit with the mattress. "I'll make your bed first."

He nodded his thanks.

However, once she had turned around to get to work, the mattresses were already on the blocks that were being used as bed frames. Actually now that she thought about it, they looked more like divans. Only, they were made out of wood. "You didn't need to do that, Itachi–san." she smiled politely, grabbing one of the three sheets for Sasuke's bed. "But thank you for your help. I appreciate it."

There was a simple smile in response.

And then he did yet another thing that surprised Sakura.

Itachi helped her make Sasuke's bed and once she guided the younger Uchiha back to his bed, Itachi then went on to help her make the other two, despite Sasuke rolling his eyes and muttering that there was no point in making Naruto's. The way he slept made it pointless. With all his twisting and turning, he pulled at the sheets until most of them were on the ground or at the bottom of his bed.

"Just this once, Sasuke–kun." Sakura told him cheerfully. "After this he can make it himself."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You're in a good mood."

"I am?"

"Yes." he stated. "Why?"

"Is it really so strange for Sakura–san to be in a good mood, Sasuke?" Itachi asked his younger brother as he sat down on the end of Sasuke's bed, watching Sakura out of the corner of his eye. She was moving around the room, putting away other supplies that had been sent for their cabin. There was a nice breeze coming in from the open door, since she had forgotten to close it, but Itachi didn't mind. It was getting a little stuffy in the cabin.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed further, his head tilting in the direction he could hear her coming from. After a minute or so, however, it annoyed him, having to turn his head every couple of seconds so he settled on fixing his gaze in front of him, staring sightlessly down at the bed. His vision had not improved since this morning, but he could still tell that it was light outside if he turned towards the window or opened door.

"No." Sasuke muttered. "But it's unnerving."

Sakura laughed and once certain she had sorted everything out that needed to be done, she smiled brightly. "I'm not sure why, but I like it here. It's different."

It was. Here, she didn't have people approaching her and asking about her relationship status. No, here, Sakura was treated like she was a simple kunoichi. That was all she had ever wanted. For people to respect her. They respected her here! Sure, maybe it had a little something to do with what had happened not too long ago, but still. Sakura had always enjoyed travelling. Call her a gypsy, but she loved the change of scenery. It was partly why she wanted to become a kunoichi in the first place. If she had stayed civilian, Sakura knew her parents would have had her married by now and possibly even pregnant. Whilst she wanted to have a family, she didn't want it to be forced or feel as though she was trapped.

"_Here_?" Sasuke repeated with a scoff. "Why would you like it here? You can't even shower without Tenten having to stand guard."

"I can't help being irresistible, Sasuke–kun!" she sighed jokingly, flopping down on her bed. It wasn't even a second later that she was sitting up. "And they're not so bad now. Yeah, the looks make me a little uneasy, but… I don't know."

"You're restless." Itachi told her. "Most shinobi dislike staying in their village for too long."

"Do you?"

He thought about Sakura's question for a moment, watching both hers and Sasuke's features through his peripheral vision. Whilst she was curious, Sasuke was… anxious? Perhaps it was because his younger brother had grown used to having him around the house, even though the past seven/eight months should have changed that for him. Not only that, but also the other missions Itachi had been on. Sometimes, he was gone for at least a year!

"It is rare that I am actually in Konoha for longer than a week." he murmured after a couple of minutes. "I have mixed feelings. Whilst I enjoy being home, there are moments when I wish I was still away and out of the village."

It made him feel free.

Sakura smiled understandingly. "I'm nearly always stuck in the hospital." she shrugged, her smile slipping away slowly. "So it's nice to get away for a while on a mission."

Sasuke didn't like this conversation. It made his stomach feel strange. Was it because it sounded as though they wanted to leave Konoha? No, they didn't. But they were talking about enjoying being out of the village. There was the rare occasion where Sasuke felt restless, too – but that was the point! Those were rare occasions. Mostly because of Naruto's constant complaining about not going on any missions, so when they do get one, it's like a relief.

"It's so quiet here." Sakura continued. "You'd think, what with it being a base camp filled with shinobi, that it'd be louder."

"Like you said, it is a base camp." he smirked. "We must be prepared and have our guards up at all times."

She rolled her eyes and let out a soft sounding chuckle. "I forgot that guys can't multi–task like us women can."

Both Uchiha men raised an eyebrow, one looking a little annoyed whilst the other was amused. "What has given you the impression that we cannot multi–task?" Itachi questioned, his smirk widening for a moment before it simmered down. "Are you underestimating us?"

Okay, Sasuke didn't like this conversation either. There was a tone he had never heard before to his brother's voice and despite what he had told Sakura earlier that day, he didn't want to hear anything about their (possible) relationship. It sounded as though they were flirting, but because he couldn't see their features, Sasuke couldn't tell if they seriously were flirting or not. Itachi was still sat on the foot of his bed and from what he could tell, his brother was relaxed. There was no tension or annoyance coming from him – then again, Itachi hid his emotions and reactions well. As for Sakura, she was… Oh God. She was feeling playful. Sasuke could tell by the simple feeling in the air. It was like a strange charge. No, he wouldn't say it was that cheesy electricity Sakura sometimes nagged about. It was… He wasn't sure how to explain. Whatever the hell was happening, they were teasing each other and he did not like it.

That's not even bringing up the fact that it was like they were excluding him from the conversation!

"Definitely not." Sakura murmured, leaning back on her elbows and smirking. "I know not to underestimate either of you, I'm simply saying that you can't multi–task. It's a known fact that men are distracted one way or another."

He could barely even hear her as his eyes scanned the length of her long, creamy legs (Itachi was surprised that Sakura dared to wear such a short skirt around them all, considering what had happened not too long ago). To stop too much from being revealed, she had one of her thighs over the other, blocking his view of her most intimate area.

Damn she was such a tease.

Inwardly, Itachi shook his head.

Apparently Sakura was right – men were distracted one way or another. However, he could argue that it had been such a long time since he was last with a woman. It was his body's natural reaction. That could not be helped.

"Anyway," Sakura pushed off the bed until she was sitting up straight, stretching her arms over her head and arching her back, inwardly grinning when she noticed Itachi's eyes lingering on her body. It seemed even the great Uchiha Itachi could feel sexually frustrated every now and again. She stood up and turned her back on the two Uchiha (one staring at her, the other clueless as to how badly she was teasing his older brother), zipping up her flak jacket, "I suppose I should–"

Oh no.

When she cut off from her sentence, Sasuke scowled. "What is it?"

"Uh…" Sakura turned back around and made her way over to the bed with slow movements, "I need your help with something."

* * *

Naruto sighed happily. There was nothing like sitting beside a campfire with your friends after a sparring session, eating ramen! Of course, cup ramen was not as good as Ichiraku's, but whatever. It still tasted good – it simply was not the best.

He was avoiding the cabin for a short while at Sakura's request (order). Apparently, Itachi and Sasuke had a lot of catching up to do or something of the sort. It didn't matter to Naruto, really. If they needed privacy, they could have it. He was happy enough sitting with the others, laughing distractedly at some of the jokes being told over the fire between the other shinobi. On one of his sides were Neji and Tenten, on the other, was Sai and Tenzo.

So into his ramen, Naruto did not notice how the shinobi suddenly stopped everything and tensed, their heads snapping in the direction of team seven's cabin. The door was open, meaning they could hear what was being said if those inside were being loud. For the entire day, the others had merely been tuning out anything that was heard (but since Itachi spoke quietly and Sasuke kept his voice lowered, they didn't need to tune anything out until Sakura entered and left the door open).

"_Harder, Sasuke–kun_!" they all heard her groan with annoyance. "_You need to be a little rougher_."

There was a sound of a grunt. "_I'm going to hurt you if I do_."

Izumo and Kotetsu tugged at their collars, their cheeks burning. Many others copied.

Something made the sound of a thud in the cabin, like something heavy had been dropped, making Naruto pause and lift his head away from his cup ramen, eyes narrowing in confusion. "What's happening?

Somebody covered his mouth, forcing him to shut up. And almost choke on his food.

"_Sasuke–kun_!" she sounded breathless.

Naruto's face flushed red from lack of oxygen and he batted the hand away from his mouth. "They're not having sex." he muttered with disgust, rolling his eyes and turning back to his food. "You're all as bad as ero–sennin!"

But then Sakura released a noise that was a mixture of a grunt, a cry and a gasp all into one.

"_Itachi–san_," she whined, "_will you try and finish–"_

Ramen was suddenly spat out as Naruto coughed almost violently.

"_Of course_." his voice was nothing but a murmur and there was the sound of a bed shifting, of clothing turning this way and that. "_Which way–_"

"_Any_!" Sakura whimpered. "_I feel like I'm about to lose my mind_!"

"What?" Naruto practically yelled, throwing his cup of ramen to the ground and stomping over to the open–doored cabin. "What the hell is going on in here? Are you guys having a–"

He cut himself off.

And then he began laughing. Loudly.

Sasuke was kneeling on his bed, looking rather annoyed whilst Itachi was standing in front of Sakura, his features blank and hers were twisted into a pained grimace. Following the older Uchiha's hands, Naruto blinked in surprise when he saw what their problem was.

Somehow, Sakura had managed to get not only her hair, but also her sweatshirt, caught into the zip of her flak jacket and with every movement, it tugged harshly on her hair.

Clutching his stomach tightly, Naruto continued to laugh, practically trembling with it.

But then something hit him on the head, knocking him back out of the door.

"Shut the hell up, you idiot!" Sakura yelled angrily. "Do you – ow, ow, _ow_! Itachi–san!"

"Forgive me, Sakura–san." he murmured, once more trying to loosen the zip's hold on her hair and sweatshirt, but it was no use. "It seems you will have to cut your hair." noticing the upset look on her face, Itachi gave her a small smile. "Not by much – only an inch or so. How exactly did your hair and sweatshirt get stuck in your zip in the first place?"

She groaned and not long after, she was pouting. "I don't know."

It must have been when she was teasing him.

And Itachi knew that.

Pulling a kunai out of his pouch, he lifted it, about to cut her hair free, but a hand suddenly grabbed his.

"What do you think you're doing?" Naruto demanded, looking startled. "You can't cut Sakura–chan's hair!"

"And why is that?"

"It looks better long!" the blond told him with a surprisingly serious look, ignoring the vicious glare he was now receiving. "Yeah, short hair suits her too, but I like it better long."

Secretly, Sasuke agreed. Longer hair (the way Sakura had it styled) suited her better. "Stop being so dramatic, Naruto." the younger Uchiha rolled his eyes. "Itachi said it'll only be an inch or two."

Shaking his head in a rare show of disbelief, Itachi gently lifted his hand to Sakura's hair, firmly holding it so that it did not slip too much and ending in him taking too much length off. He had no idea how she would react to such a thing. And then he cut it, causing her to release a groan of relief as the harsh tugging finally stopped. It was wordlessly that Itachi evened out the length, but she appreciated it greatly and once done, she had no problem with forcibly tearing her sweatshirt out of the zip. She had spares.

"Just so you all know," Shisui smirked and when they glanced up, they saw him leaning against the doorway, "the entire camp believes that you three," he gestured to Sasuke, Sakura and Itachi, "are having a threesome."

"But Itachi–san and Sasuke–kun are brothers!" Sakura exclaimed in disgust before stomping over to the door and sticking her head out of it, glaring over at the camp fire. "You bunch of perverts!"

Quite a few of them paled.

"Allow them to make their assumptions." Itachi sighed, replacing his kunai. "Sakura–san, what–"

"Here." she smiled, cupping her hands and accepting the hair. Thankfully, he hadn't let it all drop onto the floor as it would be dangerous for Sasuke. "Do you mind using a fire jutsu to burn it?" Shisui blinked in surprise, although the other two members of team seven seemed to understand. He and Itachi did not, however and seeing their shock, Sakura sighed. "I'd rather not leave parts of my DNA lying around, even if it's here."

Understandable.

It took all of three seconds to incinerate the hair in her hands and inwardly, Sakura sighed with relief at the fact her hands were not also burned.

"Itachi, there's a scroll for you from Tsunade–sama."

He nodded once, saying a polite goodbye, before he left with Shisui, leaving team seven by themselves.

Naruto glanced at Sakura and Sasuke. "You know–"

"Don't." Sasuke snapped, cutting the blond off harshly.

He pouted.

* * *

With a sigh, Sakura peeled the clothes from her body, glancing over her shoulder for a moment to make sure that Tenten was keeping watch. It may have been better to cut back on taking so many showers, but she couldn't do that. Maybe it was her medic side, maybe just her womanly side. But Sakura could not go a day without finding some way to wash herself. Even whilst travelling, she always found a way to bathe or at least change her clothes.

Some kunoichi, right?

Naruto once told her that he believed being a shinobi meant you endured. Endured what? Anything life throws at you. Most of the time Sakura could agree. She just had to be clean. It was a simple fact. Even Sasuke agreed with her – Kakashi, too. The latter could go a two or three days without showering, however. She and Sasuke could not. Naruto… It wasn't a surprise he could go a while without cleaning himself. The guy was a pig.

Once completely undressed, Sakura stepped into the shower stall and reached for the start button, but just as she did a noise stopped her.

"Do you hear that?" Sakura asked, quickly moving out of the stall and wrapping her towel around her body.

Glancing over her shoulder at her, Tenten frowned. "Hurry up and shower, Sakura. I can't hear a thing."

Eyebrows knitting together in confusion, she moved back into the shower stall and whilst keeping her towel wrapped around her, reached for the dial once more.

But then she heard it again.

The sound of crying.

A _child_ crying.

Before Tenten could even stop her, Sakura was shoving on her underwear and rushing passed her, towel still wrapped firmly around her as she did so. In response to her urgency, many paused in their movements and watched with narrowed eyes, but with one nod, Itachi, Naruto and Neji quickly followed after her, Tenten only a minute behind them.

"Sakura–chan?" Naruto called, matching her pace with ease. "What's wrong?"

"Can't you hear that?" she demanded angrily, not even feeling the roughness of stones and sticks digging into her bare feet. If there was a child in need of her help, she would give it to them! When silence greeted Sakura, she scowled. "Crying. I can hear a child crying!"

Neji quickly activated his byakugan. "Stop."

Itachi narrowed his eyes and turned his head in the direction of north. "I can hear the child."

Also picking up on the sob, Naruto sniffed the air, stiffening as he did so. "Blood." he mumbled. "Lots of it." she must have looked desperate, because he suddenly darted in a different direction, grabbing her hand and dragging her with him. "This way. Not too far…"

The sight that greeted them shattered Sakura's heart.

Slumped against the base of a large tree, panting for breath and sobbing, was a child who looked no more than eight years old. The ends of her blonde hair were red with her blood, her warm brown eyes hazy and lidded with exhaustion and pain. It was obvious that she had been trying desperately to get up, as there were claw marks in the ground, ones that were deepened when her small fingers went over them again and again as she writhed in agony.

Instantly, Sakura fell to her knees beside the young girl, startling her. "It's okay, I'm a medic." she told her softly. "I'm going to heal you, make you better."

More tears fell from her eyes. "P–Please…"

It broke her heart how so very young she sounded, her child–like voice begging her to help. "Try to relax. My name's Sakura. What's yours?"

"Aiko." she gasped.

"Aiko–chan," Sakura smiled softly, summoning her chakra until her palms were glowing green, "that's a pretty name. It means 'beloved', doesn't it?"

She trembled, a cry of pain escaping her clenched teeth.

"Focus on me, Aiko–chan." Sakura murmured, lifting her left hand and gently cupping the girl's cheek. "Can you count backwards from ten?" she nodded quickly. "Can you do that for me now?"

"T–Ten…" Aiko whimpered.

The chakra in Sakura's palm suddenly changed and instead of only healing Aiko, it was now putting her to sleep and numbing the pain. It would make healing the child so much easier.

"Nine."

Cradling the back of the blonde's head, Sakura leaned forward and lowered her slowly and gently onto the ground.

"…Eight." her voice was now a whisper, her eyes becoming unfocused.

Neji, using his byakugan, searched the area for the ones who had attacked the girl, but found no one. All he could see was a building that had been completely destroyed and was burned to the ground. The others were all on high alert.

"Se…"

And then Aiko was asleep.

There wasn't much she could do out here, so Sakura stopped the bleeding and closed the wounds that were most fatal. It sickened her that there were several of them. Clearly this child was no ordinary child, though, if she lasted as long as she had.

"We need to take her back to camp." she told them.

"Sakura–"

"I'm not leaving her behind." Sakura interrupted Neji as she brushed the blonde hair out of the young girl's eyes. "And I still need to heal her."

Itachi gave her a blank look. "Sakura–san, this is not the type of place to bring a child."

She closed her eyes, never stopping the soothing movement on the girl's face as it seemed to calm her slightly. Even in sleep, Aiko was tense and obviously frightened. "I can't leave her behind. It's my duty as a medic–nin to protect _everyone_ if I can. She won't survive out here alone and she's between our camps and the border, meaning she'll be caught up in the battles."

"And if there is a battle at the base camp? I'll contact Sai and have him–"

"No." Sakura argued, cutting off Tenten. "If we send her now, she'll die. I need to heal her wounds as soon as I can and it will only take two minutes to get back to camp. From there, I will protect her. She can share my food and anything else she may need."

There was a sound of a sigh a moment before Itachi was kneeling down beside her, silently watching the young girl until he turned to Sakura. "She is not a pet. You cannot claim responsibility of a child, especially not out here. You are not the one who is in charge of camp four, Sakura–san. I am. If anything happens, it will come back to me and I cannot risk the lives of many others because of your need to take care of one child."

No matter how hard she tried, there was no denying that Sakura was close to tears. "Itachi–san," her eyes snapped up to his, "Itachi–san, _please_. She's just an innocent little girl caught up in _our_ wars. Look at her! She's no older than eight – just a child. She is _just a child_!"

"What if this is some sort of trap?" Itachi questioned. "How would you feel if this girl turns out to be an Iwa–nin's child–"

"They wouldn't–"

"You do not know what clans do, Sakura–san." his voice was firmer now, much more serious. It made her shut up immediately, for there was also a hard edge to it. That wasn't even bringing up the fact that Neji's eyes hardened, like he was silently agreeing with Itachi. "Many children who are classed as prodigies or geniuses are used this way. What makes this child any different? You cannot tell, putting us all at risk. As your superior I demand that you–"

Closing her eyes, Sakura took a deep breath, once again cutting him off. "Please, Itachi." she whispered, her voice broken. The lack of suffix immediately caught his attention. "You're right, I don't know what happens within clans or to children labelled as prodigies, but what I do know, is that this girl is just a child and she is seriously injured. No parent could inflict such a wound on their child." opening her eyes, she gazed up at him sadly, yet with determination. "If it turns out that she's a spy, or is being used the way you said she could be, I will deal with that myself."

Neji's narrowed eyes narrowed even further. "And how will you do that? We all know you won't kill her."

Even Tenten looked startled at Neji's words. "Neji, you can't seriously expect somebody to kill an innocent child!" the brunette argued in disbelief. "Look at her! She's completely defenceless and terrified."

Sakura kept her eyes locked with Itachi's. "I'll never be able to forgive myself if we don't at least try."

Itachi sighed and stood up. "Naruto–kun, please carry Aiko–chan back to the camp." Sakura quickly climbed to her feet, smiling gratefully at him. "She will be staying with your team, Sakura, meaning that she will be _your_ responsibility. Not Sasuke's and not Naruto–kun's. _Yours_. Is that understood?"

"Understood! Thank you, Itachi. I promise that you won't regret it."

He hoped so, because even though Itachi had told her Aiko was her responsibility, the entire camp was his. If something went wrong, he would have to face the consequences. Not her.

* * *

**A/N - Got my next tattoo booked! This time, it's going on my right wrist and saying 'passion', so when I put my wrists together, it'll say 'passion' and 'love'.**

**Ugh. Got that Wiggle song by Jason Derulo stuck in my head. And it's only like two lines, as well. I just keep repeating over and over again "you know what to do with that big, fat butt. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle!"**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	11. We Won't Hurt You

**Chapter 10 – We Won't Hurt You**

The next couple of days were long.

As Sakura had expected, Sasuke was not pleased about the new temporary addition to their team, but also as she expected, he said very little about it. It was simply in the way he held himself and the air he gave off.

Aiko had been unconscious for all of the first day whilst Sakura worked on her. Not only healing her but also gathering whatever information she could. The child had fairly large chakra reserves, but she was not skilled in using it, meaning she was either beginning to learn the basics or was from a shinobi background. Also, whoever had attacked her had been trying to kill her, meaning it was definitely not somebody trying to use her as some sort of spy. Sakura had made it just in time to save her.

Thankfully, there was a spare mattress due to Neji and Tenten sharing a bed, so after Tenzo had created another frame, Sakura set up the spare bed for Aiko, grateful that it was close to her own. The young girl, even in sleep, seemed terrified. And during the night Sakura had had to use a genjutsu to calm Aiko's mind, to stop her nightmares.

And then on the second day, Aiko woke up.

She panicked at first, thrashing around and crying out, but Sakura had managed to calm her down after a short while, helping her through breathing exercises that usually worked to calm her patients. Naruto had left when she first woke up to go and get the team (including Aiko) some breakfast, whilst Sasuke sat awkwardly on his bed, unsure of what to do. He was fresh from the shower, his brother having helped him to and from the shower area earlier that morning whilst the rest of the camp were all sleeping.

"Aiko–chan," Sakura spoke softly, brushing the hair out of her eyes, "you're okay. Remember me? My name's Sakura. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

There was careful hope in Aiko's eyes, a desperation that made her insides ache. "W–Who's he?"

Glancing over her shoulder, Sakura asked, "Who? Him?" Aiko nodded. "Oh, he's just my teammate." Sasuke huffed with annoyance. "And I suppose he's one of my best friends. He won't hurt you either, not only because I can be scary when I want to be, but also because he's not a bad guy."

Something about Sasuke seemed to have caught Aiko's attention as she shakily sat up, her body trembling with the effort. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

It didn't surprise either of them. After all, it would be kind of strange to see somebody staring down at the bed, but obviously not seeing what was in front of them. However Sakura knew that the question bothered Sasuke, as he gritted his teeth and scowled at the far wall. "He hurt his eyes, Aiko–chan." she gave the girl a certain look, silently telling her not to continue asking questions and, seeing his reaction, the blonde slowly nodded. "But I'm going to take care of both of you!"

"Why?"

Sakura smiled softly. "I'm a medic, Aiko–chan. It's my duty to protect and heal."

Not too long after her words, Naruto returned with Itachi behind him, the pair of them carrying food.

"Here you go, Aiko–chan!" Naruto exclaimed, handing the girl a tray filled with food whilst Itachi handed a tray to Sasuke. "And here's yours, Sakura–chan!"

When he leaned down, Sakura gripped his face tightly with one hand. "Don't even think about kissing me, Naruto."

Aiko giggled, but those giggles turned into laughter at the sight of Naruto's face. The way Sakura was squeezing it caused his face to look extremely odd. And in response to her laughter, the pink haired woman smiled brightly, looking down at her with warm eyes.

Sasuke inwardly sighed as he sensed Sakura's emotions. That instinct in Sakura, the one that _made_ her want to help everyone, was going to be her downfall. Even though she had no children of her own, she still had a maternal streak and always, _always_, did everything she possibly could to help children, to heal them or even just to see them smile. But then again, that was what made her Sakura. If she didn't have that edge to her, that maternal instinct, she wouldn't care as much as she did. Kakashi had once called her the mother hen of their team, now that Sasuke thought about it. He just hoped Sakura didn't get too attached to Aiko.

"Aiko–chan, after breakfast I want to examine you fully, okay?" the girl paused mid–bite, looking confused. "Don't worry, I've healed the serious wounds, but I thought it best to wait until you wake up before I examine you further."

"She is a child, Sakura. Just get it over with and–"

"Shut up, Sasuke!" Sakura snapped, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Her anger stunned him. It stunned them all. She was like a lioness protecting her cub. It wasn't entirely his fault, though, so Sakura forced herself to calm down. He couldn't see the fear on Aiko's face, couldn't see that she was scared of being examined. "Listen, Aiko–chan. In order to make sure you're one hundred percent healed, I need to examine you fully. How old are you?"

Her hands were shaking. "E–Eleven." their stunned silence must have caught her attention, as her eyes widened. "Did I… Did I do something…?"

"No, no." Sakura told her quietly. "You're just very small for your age, is all. I honestly believed you were only seven or eight when we found you! Now, I'm more determined to fully examine you, Aiko–chan. Yesterday I learned that you're malnourished, meaning you haven't been eating properly or eating enough for a growing girl your age. I promise that I'll take care of you. You can trust me. I simply want your permission before I examine you."

Brown eyes gazed around the room, landing on Sasuke first, then Naruto, then Itachi and finally, Sakura. "Do they have to be here?"

An understanding look flooded Sakura's features. "I'm sorry, but Itachi _does_ have to be here. Whilst we're here, he's in charge of us and we must do everything he says. As for Sasuke–kun, he's on strict bed rest. I can kick Naruto out because he'll only get in the way, anyway."

"Oi!"

Like she had been hoping, Aiko giggled again. "Itachi isn't going to judge you or hurt you, Aiko–chan. He's here so that he can help me. And remember, Sasuke–kun hurt his eyes, so he won't be able to see anything for a short while. And I'm definitely not going to judge you." another understanding smile graced her lips. "Just so you know, I'm small for my age, too. I always have been. And because of that, I've had many of these examinations just to make sure that I'm healthy and at a safe weight for my age."

Aiko's brows wrinkled. "Safe weight?"

"You look a little underweight, Aiko–chan." Sakura murmured, reaching out and carefully placing her hand onto the girl's ribcage. "See this? I shouldn't be able to feel your ribcage like this. Yes, it's normal for it to show when you're breathing in, but not like this. This is not safe weight." gently taking Aiko's hand, she placed it onto the lower half of her ribcage. It wasn't the right way to explain it, but it was simpler for a child to understand. "Now, feel this. You can't feel my ribs as easily as you can feel yours, can you?"

Slowly, she pulled back her hand and shook her head. "So… You're at a safe weight now, Sakura–sama?"

Sakura chuckled. "Just call me Sakura, Aiko–chan. And yes, I am. My team wouldn't have it any other way." she shot a darkening look over to the two men. "…Will you, _boys_?"

Instantly, Naruto paled and gulped loudly. "N–No… Sakura–chan!"

Sasuke merely grunted.

"You'll come to understand our Sasuke–kun." Sakura smirked down at Aiko, who was now staring up at her with wide, awe–filled eyes. "He's not a man of many words. This," she gestured to Itachi, "is Sasuke–kun's older brother, Itachi. He's also not a man of many words. However," Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the however, "they're both men you can trust. I know I'm repeating myself, but I just want you to know that. Nobody here will hurt you."

"That's because they're all scared of you, Sakura–chan." Naruto grumbled.

Her dark look was back. "What was that, Naruto?"

"N–Nothing!"

"Idiot." Sasuke shook his head with annoyance.

Eventually, after eating their breakfast, Aiko agreed to the examination, although asked if Naruto could leave the room. She understood that Itachi had to be there and that Sasuke could not see, but there was no reason for the blond to be there. Naruto didn't mind and went to go and spar with Shisui again, saying with a growl that he had to get the Uchiha back for their last spar. Also, over breakfast, Aiko became much more comfortable with them, opening up a little bit more. Itachi was near–silent, though, watching the young girl out of the corner of his eyes. It aggravated Sakura how closely he was watching her, but she understood that he was thinking of everybody's safety. Sakura was simply grateful that he didn't show how closely he was watching Aiko, how he spoke with her quietly when she spoke to him directly.

"I'll be back in a moment, Aiko–chan." Sakura told her. "I just need to go to the storage cabin and get a few things."

The moment she left, Aiko glanced around her warily, biting her lower lip. Itachi could tell by the look in her eyes that she was nervous. It seemed that, even though Sakura had healed her earlier, she was still afraid. That was no surprise, for the girl had been unconscious whilst being healed, meaning she wouldn't know entirely what to expect.

"I had a friend who couldn't see out of one of his eyes before." Aiko suddenly told Sasuke, placing her hand over her eye until she remembered he couldn't see her. He grunted. "Do they hurt?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because my medic numbed them."

She nodded. "Oh." there was a brief pause before she spoke again, her voice a little nervous. "Is Sakura–sama your medic?"

"Yes."

"Does she heal good?"

"Well, Aiko–chan." Itachi murmured. "It is 'does she heal well', not good."

Aiko pouted as she glanced up at Itachi, her nervousness causing her to ramble. "Why is your hair so long? Has nobody ever cut it for you?" when he merely stared at her blankly, her pout grew more pronounced. "It's longer than mine. And nearly Sakura–sama's too and her hair is _really long_."

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk and even though he couldn't see, he could just imagine the type of look that would be on Itachi's face. That made it more fun, really. Imagining his brother looking pissed off or offended, because knowing him, he wouldn't even show his reaction.

Suddenly her attention was back onto Sasuke. "Why can't you see?"

He sighed. "Why are _you_ so annoying?"

"Sasuke." Itachi chided, going back to looking over his scroll and watching Aiko out of the corner of his eye. "It is not polite to pick on little children."

"I'm not a little kid!" Aiko snapped and glared over at the older Uchiha. It seemed she had already forgotten what Sakura had told her about being small for her age, he noted. "My friend said that I'm a big girl! And a smart one! I bet you couldn't do anything at my age because you're just a boy. A mean, smelly boy with girl hair."

His smirk faltered for a second, his features twitched before Sasuke laughed. Not just a chuckle or a grunt, but an actual laugh. This girl had guts! Nobody had ever dared to talk to Itachi in such a way before. Oh God Sasuke wished he could see his brother's face. "Yeah, nii–san." Sasuke smirked. "I bet–"

"Sakura–sama!"

And once again, they had lost her attention.

She reminded them of Naruto. He had the same attention span.

"Itachi–sama is picking on me!"

Sakura shut the cabin door behind her and raised an eyebrow at Itachi. "You're picking on a child, Itachi?"

"Not at all." he replied smoothly. "Aiko–chan–"

"He called me little!" she pouted.

"And what did you call me in return, Aiko–chan?"

She couldn't help but laugh at Itachi. "What did you call him?"

A blush painted over Aiko's features, but it was Sasuke who replied, sounding incredibly amused. "A mean, smelly boy with girl hair."

It was from knowing Sasuke that Sakura caught the frustrated look that flashed in Itachi's eyes. Apparently he and Sasuke were more alike than either cared to admit and didn't appreciate being mocked. "I like his hair, Aiko–chan." it was Sakura who was pouting this time, even though Itachi could tell that it was a playful one. "Not a lot of men in my village take care of their appearance the way he does."

His eyes narrowed a fraction. "Sakura, are you insinuating that I–"

"Not at all, Itachi." she smirked impishly. "I'm merely saying you take care of your appearance, which is a good thing. You don't have to worry about seeming feminine. Sasuke–kun is just as bad."

Sasuke's smirk faltered. "Sakura–"

"Yeah, I remember one time, back when it was just the two of us on a mission, that he spent nearly as much time as I did in front of the mirror."

His fists clenched and he gritted his teeth. "That was part of the mission. We had to be well–groomed and tidy–looking. If not, then he would have refused to pay."

She sighed and pouted. "I suppose so."

"Mission?" Aiko repeated, her voice going quiet. "You're shinobi?"

Hearing the pain in her voice, the growing fear, had Sakura turning to face the young girl and sitting on the edge of her bed, giving her an understanding look. "We are. And I know that not a lot of people agree with our profession, they think of us as bad people, say we're evil, but that's not the case. Everybody here in this camp is trying to prevent bad things from happening." the fear still had not left her features. "I understand if you feel uncomfortable around us, or if you fear us, but please know, Aiko–chan, I would never hurt you or allow you to be hurt."

Part of Itachi, a part he hadn't even known existed, ached at the beg in Sakura's voice. Why was she trying so hard to protect this child? Why did she look down at Aiko with such warm eyes, yet eyes filled with fear? Not just any fear, but the fear of rejection. Why was Sakura afraid of suddenly being rejected by Aiko?

"Every shinobi has a ninja way." Itachi told Aiko, the words falling from his lips without permission. It was simply too painful hearing Sakura begging the girl to trust her. "Sakura's is to protect her precious people, to save as many people as she can. She is not like other shinobi – she is a medic, a healer. If you cannot trust myself or Sasuke, you can trust her."

Sasuke was stunned to say the least. Unable to think of anything to say, he stayed silent.

"A–And what's yours, Itachi–sama?" Aiko asked quietly, her eyes nervously going from Sakura's to Itachi's. "Your ninja way?"

"Is to do what I must to protect my village and those who are a part of it."

"Sasuke–sama, what–"

"It is the same as my brother's, as Sakura's."

She bit her lip worriedly. "Is Naruto–sama's the same?"

Sakura gave a small, teasing smirk. "Don't let him hear you calling him that, it'll go to his head!" then, she grew serious. "Naruto's ninja way is to not run away and never go back on his word. It's inspired a lot of people, now that I think about it."

Aiko shifted uncomfortably, her eyes falling to the bed. "I–I thought… that shinobi were b–bad people…"

With obvious hesitancy, Sakura moved further onto the bed, but immediately paused when the young girl flinched and instead of pushing any further, she stayed where she was and folded her legs beneath her, keeping her hands on her legs to prove to Aiko that she meant no harm. "Not all shinobi are bad people. Sometimes, they just make bad choices. All of my friends, despite what they do, are not bad people. We do what we have to, to make sure those who live in our village are safe, that they can live in peace and feel safe."

"Your village?"

"Konoha." Sakura said slowly, watching the reaction that played on Aiko's features. Her eyes had widened, but there was thankfully no fear in her eyes. "Right now, we're not on good terms with Iwa, which is why we're out here right now instead of back home. We're out here so that those in our village don't have to worry about a war starting."

It made her chest ache when Aiko's bottom lip began to tremble. "I–Iwa… Iwa–nin… They… T–They killed them…"

There was nothing Sakura wanted more than to grab Aiko and pull her into a comforting embrace, but the girl was still scared, she was still trembling and now, she was crying, too. Sasuke was silent, his eyebrows knitting together and Itachi was just as quiet, although now it was obvious he was no longer suspicious of Aiko. No child could put on such an act and there was no henge to make her seem younger. He would have sensed it immediately. But why had they not heard anything? Why had they not seen or even smelt the fire that had burnt the house to the ground? It just didn't make any sense unless something had gone wrong in the seal around camp. Itachi made a mental note to discuss it with the other captains later.

"Who, Aiko–chan?" she asked softly. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"Mama…" Aiko sobbed loudly. "Papa… They… Iwa–nin… They broke into our home and hurt them. I could hear mama c–crying and screaming… Papa wasn't moving…" she trembled once more. "She yelled at me to run a–and don't stop! I couldn't stop! But they c–caught me… with their weapons. They were laughing and t–then… M–My home… it was gone! And they were laughing. I tried… I tried to fight them, but… I couldn't."

And when the dam broke, when Aiko began wailing with the loss of her family, Sakura couldn't help but move forward and hold her tightly, whispering soft words into her ear, rubbing her back soothingly. Her eyes locked with Itachi's when she looked over Aiko's shoulder and he was stunned by the amount of emotion in them, by her tears. A second later and Sakura was closing her eyes and tightening her hold on the young girl.

"Aiko–chan," she murmured softly when the sobs began to quieten, "please allow me to examine you. I want to make sure you're going to make a full recovery." pulling back, Sakura wiped Aiko's cheeks softly, wiping away the tears. "And when my role here at the camp is over and they no longer need me, I'm going to take you back to Konoha with me."

A hopeful smile pulled at her lips. "W–With you?"

Sakura nodded but quickly added, "If that's what you want."

"Sakura, you can't–"

"Don't, Sasuke–kun." she sighed, glancing over her shoulder at him. "This is my decision. I want to give Aiko–chan whatever I can to make her happy. It's the least she deserves. If I can take care of her, if I can make her feel safe and happy…" Sakura trailed off and turned back to Aiko, giving her a smile. "What do you say?"

Her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks were tear stained. "I…" she turned her head away, biting her lip. "I don't want to become a shinobi."

Smiling softly, Sakura reached out and cupped Aiko's cheek, turning her face so that she was looking at her. "Then don't be one! There are so many other things that you can do in the village. Right now, however, you're at the age to go to civilian school."

Aiko groaned. "Do I really have to go?"

"Yes!" Sakura grinned. "Until you're sixteen."

Sasuke blinked in surprise. "I didn't know that."

"That is because you never pay attention to civilians, Sasuke." Itachi murmured. "Whilst those at the academy stay there until they are twelve – or in other cases, until they have graduated – it is different for civilians. They stay in school until they are sixteen. No exceptions or early graduation."

The young girl watched Itachi for a moment before glancing up at Sakura. "…Maybe I should just be a shinobi. That way, I don't have to go to boring school!"

Sakura ruffled the girl's hair and stood up, going over to the supplies she had left on the dresser. "School isn't that boring, you know. I actually kind of liked it." noticing Aiko's look of confusion, she shrugged. "I'm from a civilian background, so up until I was of age to enter the academy, I went to civilian school. It's honestly not so bad. Being at the academy was a lot harder." and traumatizing, if she was thinking about those who had bullied her. "Look, we'll let you settle down in the village before making any decisions, okay?"

"You still live at home with your parents."

"Then I'll find my own place, Sasuke–kun."

She had been meaning to anyway, just never found the right time. Now, the time had come.

"And what makes you so sure you can look after a child? You're a kunoichi. Not only that, but you're the Hokage's apprentice, one of the best healers Konoha has. You can't just give all that up." he argued, trying to make her see sense. Sakura had a habit of acting without thinking, acting on impulse and in the end, it nearly always got her hurt. She was an impulsive person. Had she even thought this through? Thought about the stress of bringing a child up? A child that wasn't even her own? Or… Was Sakura doing this because she wanted children? Sasuke knew she wanted children of her own, so was she doing this because of that want? "Sakura–"

"I've thought this through." she replied with a sigh, once more sitting on Aiko's bed. The blonde was watching her silently, watching to see her reaction. "I want to bring up Aiko–chan."

Just as Sasuke was about to say more, Itachi cut him off. "Allow her this, Sasuke. If Sakura wishes to take care of Aiko–chan then it is her choice. She is nineteen years old, meaning she is no longer a child."

"Lay on your back for me, Aiko–chan." Sakura murmured after sending Itachi a grateful smile. Slowly, unsurely, the young girl did so, her eyes a fraction wider than usual as she watched Sakura. She smiled. "Don't worry. Examinations don't hurt. It'll feel a little weird at first, because you'll be able to feel my chakra, but it's not so bad. I've been told my chakra has a comforting feeling to it."

"It tingles." Sasuke grunted, sensing that the kid hadn't calmed in the slightest. "The first time. It almost feels like pins and needles, only not as painful as they can be."

Itachi smirked. He had noticed that, too. Whilst Tsunade's chakra had a bitter feeling to it (due to how much she drank), Sakura's, the first time she had examined and treated him, had felt a little like pins and needles. That was only for the first twenty seconds or so, however. After it felt rather comforting. Her chakra, despite her rather vicious temper, was calm and relaxing. After you got through the pins and needles feeling, of course.

Moving to the side of Aiko, Sakura gave her another smile before summoning her chakra, her palms glowing green, and placing them over her body. She didn't miss the startled, scared look from Aiko, but thankfully the blonde didn't squirm or try to get away. Doing so whilst having chakra invading your body was extremely dangerous, depending on how badly you're injured or what part of the body the medic was working on.

She closed her eyes and concentrated hard. The reason why Sakura had asked permission before fully examining Aiko, was because the young girl had been showing a few signs of being sexually assaulted. Oh God she hoped that wasn't the case! Starting with her chest, Sakura examined Aiko's heart and lungs closely, focusing entirely on them for a moment. The stab wound had been right around that area, had punctured her lung. Well, one of the stab wounds had. Altogether there had been around four or five of them, although a couple were not as serious as the rest. One could barely be counted as a stab wound.

Happy that Aiko was healing well, Sakura smiled to herself and moved upwards, checking for any possible head injuries that she could have missed. There were none. And after going over her spinal chord (despite having done so whilst healing her), Sakura moved back down, becoming more careful and hesitant as she did so. The wound on her side was almost one hundred percent healed, but it would be sore for a while, especially if she had never suffered wounds such as these before. She numbed the pain for Aiko and beneath her, the girl grew more relaxed, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

Sakura opened her eyes and looked down at Aiko's features. She had closed her eyes, looking as though she could be sleeping. Utterly relaxed. Her eyebrows knitted together. What if she found evidence, found wounds or anything else that showed Aiko had been sexually assaulted? It broke her heart just thinking about it. The girl was only eleven! But some monsters just didn't care how old their victims were.

"Sakura." Itachi murmured when he noticed she had slowly come to a stop in her examination. He knew because her hands had stopped moving and the green glow slowly began to fade. "Continue with your examination."

Biting her bottom lip, she nodded quickly, the glow increasing and her hands moving downwards. And finally, she reached her destination, the place that would show her answers.

There was nothing there.

She couldn't even help but smile brightly, truly happy that Aiko hadn't been abused in such a way, despite showing the signs of something such as that happening. Going over the girl's legs, Sakura healed the bruises and scratches on them as well as the grazes from where she had fallen over, before extracting her chakra, her smile still present.

"You're healthy, Aiko–chan!" Sakura told her. "And you're healing nicely. I'd say one more healing session and you'll feel no pain at all."

Slowly her eyes opened and she blinked up at Sakura, seeming to absorb the news for a few moments before also smiling brightly. "Thank you, Sakura–sama!"

There was no use in telling her not to call her that. Perhaps over time she would grow out of it. "I have one question though." Aiko nodded. "Were your parents shinobi? Or skilled in using their chakra? You have rather large reserves and it seems like you've been learning how to use your chakra."

It was silent for a short while as Aiko stared down at the bed, remembering the things her parents had taught her. "They were retired." she whispered. "Papa couldn't walk anymore. Something happened to his legs. So me and mama took care of him! We took turns going into the forest and hunting or getting firewood."

Which was most likely why her mother had been teaching her to use chakra. The forest was filled with many different creatures and not all were the type to just run away from a hungry child. Some were territorial beasts who were just as hungry. Also, her mother would have had to take into account that there could possibly be shinobi around – rogue–nin, too.

Aiko wiped her eyes before her tears could fall, her blonde eyebrows mashing together. "I tried using what… what mama taught me… to fight the bad guys… b–but they were… they were too strong. They were… They were hurting her and mama wouldn't stop crying. It hurt hearing her in pain. I didn't like… s–seeing them hurt her."

Showing signs of being a victim of sexual assault, only it hadn't been her who was assaulted. It had been her mother. The traumatized, pale look on her features, the wideness of her brown eyes, said it all. And Itachi knew that too. So did Sasuke even though he couldn't see her. They had both gone silent, although the latter's fists had clenched tightly, his teeth gritting, whilst Itachi's eyes narrowed a fraction and he took a deep, calming breath through his nose.

"I will contact Hokage–sama." the older Uchiha stated, standing from his seat. "Sakura, perhaps you should take Aiko–chan to use the showers. It is humid today and a shower will cool her off."

That sounded like a good idea. The young girl looked rather warm and was sweating lightly. They all were.

"What do you say, Aiko–chan?" Sakura asked. "Do you want to take a shower?"

She nodded, attempting to calm herself.

"Sasuke, I will come back in a short while and take you down to the showers."

It aggravated him how he needed help, like he was nothing but a child, but instead of showing his frustration, he instead nodded to his brother. "Later. I just had one."

Which meant when everybody else was asleep. He didn't like using the showers or the bathroom when the others were awake. If he tripped up or something, they would all see it.

Standing, Sakura made her way over to the dresser, going through it for a couple of moments before she picked out a few items. "These won't fit you, but they're clean. Itachi, if you can will you ask Tsunade–shishou to send a few things for Aiko–chan? I'll get her size for you soon." he nodded once and left, going to begin his report. "These are mine and they're probably the closest to your size than anybody else's."

Aiko frowned as she was helped out of bed and to her feet. "Won't you need them, Sakura–sama?"

"No, I'll be fine. I have several others." she told her, folding the clothes over her arm and holding out her hand to Aiko. The blonde took it after only a few seconds of hesitation. "Besides, if I run out of shirts, I'm sure Sasuke–kun or Naruto won't mind sharing theirs with me."

He scoffed. "_You_ wearing _my_ shirts?"

Sakura pouted playfully even though he couldn't see her. "Naruto's always smell like ramen, Sasuke–kun! Would you really put me through that sort of pain?"

"Yes. The last time you 'borrowed' one of my shirts, you never gave it back. And when I saw it in your home, it was stained with makeup and who knows what else."

She rolled her eyes and glanced down at Aiko. "Sasuke–kun is part of this powerful clan and he thinks that because of this, anything with his clan's emblem on, is sacred. Including his shirts."

Aiko giggled, much to his annoyance.

"Come on, then." Sakura told her, guiding her out of the cabin. "We'll be back soon, Sasuke–kun. Try not to miss us too much!"

This time, it was him who rolled his eyes as he grunted.

* * *

**A/N - Sasuke explained in this chapter that Sakura has a habit of acting impulsively, especially when it comes to injured children who need help. It'll be further explained in the next few chapters. I hope you all picked up on something in here, too! If not, you'll just have to wait ;-)**

**I almost forgot it was Wednesday today, which is update day. And since I'm completely up to date with all my coursework and I'm in an extremely good mood...**

**The first chapter of **_Until It Was Too Late_** is going to be posted. In case you've forgotten, it's the sequel to **_They Never Knew_**.**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	12. Kogane No Hikari

**Chapter 11 – Kogane No Hikari**

It had been one week since Aiko was found, since Sakura had taken her in and healed her.

Some at the base camp welcomed her like she was their little sister, whilst others looked at Sakura with disgust or annoyance – like they were questioning if she was really capable of being a shinobi. Shinobi were not supposed to show emotion, they were not supposed to act sentimentally. And that was how she was acting. By taking Aiko in, by begging Itachi to let her stay and allow her to heal the girl, Sakura was acting sentimentally, emotionally. Shinobi were not supposed to act such a way. They were supposed to be able to control their emotions because otherwise, it could cause them to make a mistake on a mission, which could lead to the whole team dying.

Don't get her wrong, because Sakura knew when to just shove aside her emotions! But how was she supposed to leave behind a child? Rock Lee had told her that she was a medic, but that wasn't the reason as to why she saved Aiko. He told her it was because Sakura was kindhearted. It was because she was a gentle person. And then he began to yell something about youth. As always. However, Sakura had been incredibly grateful for his words, because whilst he was yelling and getting pumped up, he also told her that he was proud of her. Well, he was proud of his "beautiful cherry blossom" as well as something else that she didn't understand completely. It was simply best to go along with it sometimes.

During the past week Tsunade had sent them some items for Aiko as well as a personal letter for Sakura.

_I hope you know what you're doing._

That was all that had been on it. The others had thought she was being scolded, but it was far from it. Tsunade was looking out for her. If something happened to Aiko, especially now that they'd bonded (even though it had only been a week), it would crush her. Tsunade was asking if Sakura knew what she was doing, if she was really risking it. Some bonds were double edged swords.

She hadn't seen much of Itachi in the past week, but he had stopped by every so often to check up on Sasuke. And whilst Sakura was taking care of Sasuke (helping him to the bathroom, healing him, etc.), Naruto would look after Aiko. At first she had been unsure, worried that he'd somehow mess everything up, however after warning him (threatening him with violence), Naruto swore that nothing would happen to the girl. He would protect her.

So now here she was, her hands cupping Sasuke's face as she healed him. Aiko had to leave the room because lately, she had been just as energetic as Naruto and Lee. Sakura had said it many times before, but the eye (definitely the sharingan) was a delicate thing. If she somehow messed up because of her concentration slipping, she could do some serious damage to Sasuke's eyes. And he trusted her to make them better, not worse.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

However, there was a reason as to why she had been avoiding being alone with Sasuke lately. He kept questioning her judgement, asking her the same thing Tsunade had stated.

"Yes." she sighed, closing her eyes and concentrating on healing his. "Sasuke–kun, you've asked me this every day since she got here."

"That's because you're not thinking this through clearly enough. You're allowing your emotions to cloud your judgement." he grunted, eyebrows knitting together for a moment before he awkwardly added, "We're worried that this is only going to hurt you in the end."

This was why she continued to stick around Sasuke, even though his questions annoyed and upset her. He was asking them because he genuinely cared about her. Team seven had always been close. If one of them was hurting, they were all hurting. "I'm not going to get hurt."

He raised an eyebrow. "And you're just going to raise her like she's your own?" when he felt Sakura shrug in response, he scowled. "What if you want your own family one day? A husband? Children of your own? Not a lot of men will raise a kid that's not theirs."

There was a pause and slowly, she opened her eyes, frowning down at her lap. "…I'm fine with that." Sasuke sighed. "Just… Trust me on this, okay? If I ever meet a guy, I'll be one hundred percent sure about him before I have him meet Aiko–chan. The last thing she needs after everything that's happened to her, is being messed around by guys or having a bad example to follow."

"What?"

"I mean that I can't whore around."

Noticing that he was getting angry with her, for his chakra was suddenly spiking, Sakura carefully extracted hers from his eyes and the moment it was gone, his eyes snapped open, glaring viciously at her.

"Who the hell said you're a whore?" Sasuke demanded, his voice a low growl. "You're far from a bad example!"

"Nobody has called me a whore, I'm just saying that I can't act like one. Aiko–chan needs me to be responsible, needs me to act like a mother should."

"And what about team seven?"

Her frown returned, deepening. What about team seven? "You're all grown men, Sasuke–kun." she replied slowly, carefully. And in response Sasuke's anger grew. "I'll still be a part of team seven, I just won't be going on as many missions as I used to." then, something occurred to her, making her eyes widen. "Sasuke–kun, you're–"

But he cut her off, his anger too much. "Don't try changing the subject!" Sasuke snapped at her, catching her wrist when her hand raised to his face, even though she had only been about to cup his cheek. "You're abandoning our team for a kid you don't even know."

"You're _looking_ at me!"

"Of course I'm looking at you, we're–" he cut himself off, his eyes widening. "I'm looking at you."

Sakura smiled brightly, cupping his cheeks in her hands as she watched his pupils dilate, as she watched him _actually focusing on her eyes_. It wasn't long until she was laughing. "You can see!"

Sasuke seemed to be in shock but it wasn't long until he returned her smile with his own stunned one. "Thank you, Sakura."

"_Again._"

He rolled his eyes. "_Again_."

"Want me to go and find your brother, give him the good news?" Sasuke nodded, still amazed by the fact that he could actually see again. "Be back in a few. Try not to look directly into the light, since we don't know how much is healed yet."

And once he nodded, Sakura was darting out of the cabin, running straight over to Itachi's. She forgot all about her manners as she burst into the cabin, grinning brightly.

That grin faltered and faded away as she saw she had interrupted him whilst he was getting changed.

"Sakura?"

"Uh…"

He pulled his shirt over his head, sighing. After interrogating the men they had captured not too long ago, he had had to get changed. That was what he didn't like about interrogating the captives physically. Not only because he was often covered in blood afterwards, but because it was just… so unnecessarily messy. But Sakura had told him to lay off of using his Mangekyō for a while, just for the duration of the healing sessions. Once she was completely done with his eyes, he could use his Mangekyō once more. It was the same for Shisui.

"Is something wrong, Sakura?"

She quickly shook her head, forcing the image of his toned body out of her head. Inner–Sakura was currently fan–girling and suggesting very… inappropriate ideas. "There's something you should see." Sakura told him, her bright smile returning and stunning him for a moment. "It's about Sasuke–kun!"

Once he had finished getting dressed (with Sakura looking away, much to Inner–Sakura's horror) they both left his cabin and headed back to team seven's. And she felt so very proud of herself and Sasuke when they returned, when Itachi appeared to be stunned as Sasuke glanced up at him and smirked.

"His eyes are completely healed?" Itachi asked Sakura.

Biting her lip, she moved back over to Sasuke and sat on the edge of his bed, watching his eyes for a moment until she spoke. "He's not to activate his sharingan for a while." she shot the younger Uchiha a deadly look. "I'm being serious here, Sasuke. Don't activate your sharingan until I've done more research, until we know for sure that I can prevent this from happening again."

He seemed annoyed by the demand, though nodded in agreement anyway.

"How much can you see, Sasuke?"

Looking up at his brother, Sasuke tilted his head to the side, squinting for a moment. "The edges of my sight are still blurry and I can't see long distance." noticing Sakura frown, he rolled his eyes. "I can see, Sakura. That's all that matters right now. Don't you remember? You said it could take months to heal my eyes this time, but they're healing much more quickly than the last time."

She smirked up at him. "That's because I'm a genius."

"More like persistent. And annoying."

Her smirk slipped away for an angry scowl, but quickly changed into a pout.

His eyes narrowed. "Don't even try it."

"But, Sasuke–kun, all I've ever done is try to–"

"No."

Itachi had to hold back a chuckle. "What is it?"

"She's trying to guilt trip me." the younger Uchiha grunted, sending one last glare over at Sakura before glancing in the direction of Itachi's voice. Like he had stated, he couldn't see long distance. Sasuke could tell where Itachi was standing, but he couldn't make out any details or features. All of those things were blurred to him. "It never works, though."

"It does." she argued, grinning up at Itachi. "Last time he bought me lunch as well as a new pouch for my weapons. Oh! And there was that time you bought me a kimono, using the excuse that I didn't know how to dress formally."

That surprised him greatly.

"It was your birthday."

Oh, perhaps it wasn't too surprising then.

"And you forgot!"

"I didn't forget."

Sakura stood up and gave him a blank look, placing her hands on her hips as she did so but instead of backing down, Sasuke narrowed his eyes a fraction. Was it strange for Itachi to be intrigued by their banter? He had never seen friends acting in such a way before. No, actually, he had, but he had never stuck around long enough to see what happened in the end. Now, seeing his brother acting so carefree, biting back his smirk, made him feel happy. Whilst growing up, that was all Itachi had wanted. For Sasuke to be happy and grow up to be his own person.

The hands on her hips clenched into fists and Sakura's stance changed, becoming more defensive by the moment. Itachi looked between them both. This could end in one of two ways. The first being they laugh it off. The second being that one of them went too far, said something completely out of line and they end up falling out. He wondered who would go in which direction. Due to him being who he was, Itachi had never really bantered with anyone before. Yes, he and Shisui joked around and could have a laugh, but in all honesty they were much too serious.

"Admit that you forgot!"

"I didn't forget." Sasuke repeated with a smirk, one that had Sakura growling with annoyance.

Was Sasuke purposely trying to anger her? Anybody else would have called him insane or a fool! So many people tried to avoid angering Haruno Sakura, who was very much like a miniature Tsunade – easily angered and preferred to speak with her fists. However, considering how Sakura seemed to be holding herself back, Itachi was willing to bet that she would never dare to hit Sasuke. Or was that because he was in the room? No. He doubted that. After all, if his younger brother was asking for it, then he would allow Sakura to punch him. Perhaps not with too much chakra, for he didn't want his brother to die, but just enough to silence him.

Itachi thought back to all the times he had either heard of her anger or witnessed it for himself. There weren't many flashbacks, but there were enough to make him believe that Sasuke had a death wish. Had it been Uzumaki Naruto in his place, the blond would have been gulping and paling, trying to fix the damage he had caused before being sent flying by a monstrously powerful punch from those deceptively small fists. Had Itachi and Sakura met under different circumstances, as enemies, he would have probably underestimated her and then regretted it.

During her training with Tsunade, when she had sparred against Sasuke, he would return home covered in bruises and limping. The first time it had happened, there was no denying that they had all been in a state of shock, wondering just what on earth happened to Sasuke. He had merely grunted something along the lines of, "_don't ever let her hit you_" and then collapsed onto the kitchen table.

Sakura probably didn't know this, but she had earned his family's respect that day. Previously, they all knew that her teammates risked their lives saving her, they all knew about how she was the weakest on the team. And then all of a sudden, Sasuke was returning home and collapsing from a sparring session with Sakura. That meant she had been gaining in speed as well as strength.

That only made keeping Sasuke from following Orochimaru that much harder, though. Yes he was glad that Sakura was growing stronger – proud of her, too – but it still got to him that the weakest member of team seven was actually catching up to him, whilst he made barely any progress in his training at all. So Itachi had gone to Shisui, who had then contacted a certain former student of Orochimaru's. They had had to persuade her to teach him, but Mitarashi Anko had eventually agreed, not wanting somebody else's life to be ruined by the snake. About half a year later, when he had finally mastered his Mangekyō, Itachi extracted the cursed seal from his brother and sealed it away.

"If you didn't forget, then why did you look surprised when Kakashi–sensei wished me happy birthday and _you didn't_?"

"Because I didn't think he would actually turn up."

Oh, that was low, Itachi thought, glancing over at Sakura. They all knew that Hatake Kakashi had not paid her enough attention whilst being her sensei, choosing to instead work with Sasuke or Naruto. She stiffened, her features twisting for a moment and it seemed with that single look, that pained look, Sasuke realised he had gone too far.

"Sakura–"

"It's fine – you're right. It _was_ surprising that he even remembered." she smiled, heading over to the door. "I should probably go and find Aiko–chan before Naruto has her addicted to ramen."

Sasuke sighed as the door shut, glaring after her for a moment before turning to face Itachi. "Would you…" he paused, averting his eyes and scowling, "Will you go after her?"

Standing up straight from his position of leaning against the wall, Itachi raised an eyebrow. "It may be best to leave her for a while, Sasuke. What you said was unnecessarily harsh."

"I know my teammate, nii–san." he muttered. "She might run off somewhere to be by herself, but being alone is the last thing she wants."

"Very well." Itachi sighed, making his way over to the door. "However, since you have your sight back, can you not follow her yourself?"

"No."

She'd kill him.

Okay, maybe not kill, but Sakura would definitely inflict pain on him, heal him and then depending on how badly she was hurting on the inside, she would do it again and again until she didn't have any chakra left. That was how they communicated sometimes – through sparring. There was simply something about tiring yourself out whilst fighting with someone that made you open up to them. Even in his head, that sounded stupid, but that was just how it worked between them. If Sakura couldn't open up to him normally, then she would do it during a sparring session. Right now he couldn't spar, not without activating his sharingan so that he could avoid her chakra enhanced blows. That was what Sasuke had meant about her killing him.

He trusted his older brother not to make the situation worse. Itachi had always had a way with words and if he couldn't find the right words to say, then his presence comforted you instead. It made you feel relaxed, at peace. That was probably when Sasuke was at his calmest. When Itachi was around.

"Itachi," Sasuke spoke up just as his brother opened the door, "if she wants to spar, go easy on her. She's not at your level."

It was nice to know Sasuke cared so much for his teammates, but Itachi couldn't help but frown at his words. "It is not always the strongest who wins in a fight, Sasuke. Remember that."

* * *

When he found Sakura, she was sitting in a field, leaning back on her hands as she stared at the many flowers. Itachi was surprised she had managed to find it, managed to find a place so relaxing and quiet. She didn't sense his chakra as he approached her, but that wasn't too surprising. Like he had told Sasuke not too long ago, on the night he had lost his sight, only a Hyuuga could find him. It was to make the camp appear to be weakened.

However just as he was about to sit down beside her, something happened and suddenly Itachi was struck by a feeling similar to déjà vu as Sakura glanced up at him from beneath her lashes.

* * *

_The child would not stop sniffling. Oh, she had stopped crying enough to force out her first name, but now her nose continued to run and because of that, she was sniffing loudly every couple of seconds. Itachi was not one to easily lose his patience, or to grow annoyed with somebody, but this girl…_

_It was just that noise!_

"_You are going to give yourself a headache, Sakura–chan."_

_Another sniff. "I–I'm sorry."_

_It took a lot to hold back the slight twitching of his eyes. His annoyance was growing. Why would she not allow him to return her to the festival, to her parents? "You have nothing to be sorry about, since it is you who will have to suffer through the headache."_

"_I don't have any tissues." another sniff. "And mama will shout if I use my sleeve."_

_Okay, perhaps he could let the sniffing slide if it meant she would not use her own clothing to blow her nose on. "What are your parents' names?"_

"_Mama and papa."_

_Right. Sakura looked no older than five, possibly six – around the same age as his brother, in fact. Of course her parents would be 'mama' and 'papa' to her. It would be odd if she called them by their first names. Then again, Itachi had always known his parents' names. Sasuke did, too. "You are a civilian." she nodded. It would explain her small chakra reserves and how she definitely wasn't being brought up to be a shinobi. "What is your last name?"_

_It seemed she was trying to control her sniffling by doing it as discreetly as possible. Itachi had to hold back a smile. The child truly was a civilian, because she'd otherwise know that certain shinobi had impeccable hearing – himself included. No matter how quietly she was sniffling, he would hear it. He'd give her credit, though. Pretending to sniff flowers when she was really doing something else was quite a smart thing to do._

"_Haruno."_

_He knew exactly who she was. As an ANBU operative, it was his duty to know everybody within the walls of the village. Even civilians and retired shinobi. Haruno Sakura was the only child of Haruno Kizashi and Mebuki __– the former being a retired shinobi who now worked as a civilian with his civilian wife__. Itachi wasn't sure as to why it hadn't clicked sooner. She was the only one in the village with pink hair (other than her father, though his had dulled and didn't have the same shine as hers did, wasn't the same pastel shade). Hell, she was the only female in the village named Sakura!_

_Her name suited her well. Eyes as stunning as the springtime leaves or grass, yet somehow even lighter and more mesmerizing (and seeming much brighter due to her previous tears). Hair more or less the exact same shade as a cherry blossom, standing out and demanding everybody to pause and take in its beauty. Itachi watched her for a moment, watched how she held herself as she leaned over the flowers and carefully selected which ones to pick. One day, Haruno Sakura was going to be a beautiful woman, who would, like her namesake, demand every man's attention – perhaps even women's, too._

"_Itachi–san," a small voice spoke up, bringing him out of his thoughts and Itachi was somewhat surprised to find Sakura standing in front of him. Due to him being sat down, they were just about eye level. If she stood on her tiptoes, she would be taller then him, "these are for you!"_

"_Thank you, Sakura–chan." he murmured, accepting the flowers without a second thought. Why had she picked them for him?_

_And then he felt lips pressing to his forehead and his eyes widened._

"_Thank you for looking after me. I don't like the loud bangs."_

_The girl had guts, he would give her that. Nobody had ever dared to invade his personal space before. Not even his parents. Even Sasuke knew better than to do such a thing unless he was feeling especially clingy. When Sakura pulled back, she gave him a shy smile to go with the blush on her cheeks, one he couldn't help but return with a small one of his own._

_Innocent. She was so pure and innocent._

_Itachi gave her more of a reassuring, genuine smile, patting the space beside him. "The fireworks are not so bad and they won't be as loud here, either. You can watch them with me, if you wish."_

_And then she gave him one of the brightest smiles he had ever seen before._

* * *

He smiled at the memory, taking his seat beside Sakura, who watched him questioningly.

"Not that it's not a nice smile, but why exactly are you smiling?"

"I was just remembering the last time I met you in a field." Itachi told her, glancing at her surprised expression. "You were only a child. I believe we discussed it in our letters?"

Recognition flitted over her features. "We did! I could remember that somebody took care of me that night, but I couldn't remember who it was." she smiled sheepishly, awkwardly. "Sorry."

"You were just a child." he stated simply.

There was a pause as she changed from leaning on her hands to leaning on her elbows. "Sasuke–kun sent you after me, didn't he?" Itachi nodded. "You know he did that to avoid being beaten up, right?"

Itachi raised a challenging eyebrow, tilting his head to the side as he regarded her. "Do you really believe it will be so easy to beat me?"

Sakura grinned. "A little arrogant, aren't you? What do you say, then? Want to spar?"

He gave her a smirk. "Perhaps some other time."

Biting her lip, she bit back her smirk. "I never would've thought the great Uchiha Itachi would be scared of sparring with _me_." once more, he was raising an eyebrow at her, like he was questioning if she was seriously saying he was scared. "I always thought that if we sparred, you'd have me beaten to the ground before I even realised it, or at least pinned. But maybe I was wrong?" Sakura shrugged, inwardly grinning when she noticed a flash in his eyes. It seemed even Uchiha Itachi enjoyed challenges and disliked having his strength and power questioned. "Maybe the things the villagers say about you aren't true and really, you rely completely on your eyes?"

And then her world was shifting, spinning and turning. Sakura couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down. All she knew was that not even two seconds later, her front was being slammed into a tree and a hard body was pressing against her back, lips moving to her ear until teeth were grazing her earlobe. She shivered, biting her lip once more.

"You were saying, _Sakura_?"

Inner–Sakura had fainted. She was passed out. Bleeding heavily from the nose. Done for. Oh God Sakura hoped the same didn't happen to her. The feeling of him pushing up against her was awakening the kinkier side of her, a side only one man had ever seen before. "Just because you're fast–" his body was flush against hers now, making her gasp and effectively silencing her. Sakura's hands dug into the tree trunk, leaving indents the size of her hands in the bark.

Itachi smirked when he noticed, when he felt the tension in her body and saw the soft blush sweeping over her cheeks. So she was definitely effected by him. There had been no doubt in his mind, what with all of the glances, the teasing and innocent flirting. Not only that but he also knew because of _Tsukuyomi_. "I think speed definitely counts." Itachi's hold on her wrists changed for a split second as he lifted them higher up the tree, forcing her back to arch.

Her breathing was shaky, uneven. She needed to turn the tables somehow, but Itachi was strong as well as fast – she couldn't move her arms! His weren't even fully straightened, didn't even seem like they were putting much effort into pinning her. And if Sakura used chakra, she could accidentally hurt him. What could she–

A smirk pulled at her lips, one that had Itachi's eyes narrowing.

Only for his eyes to widen a second later when she moved her hips backwards, pushing her ass against him in a slow grind. His hands tightened their hold on her wrists and Itachi quickly put a stop to her movement by using his hips to pin hers. She wanted to play dirty? With him, of all people? His body was a tool for the village, whether it be for battle or for seduction. As far as he was aware of, Haruno Sakura had never been sent on a single seduction mission in her life.

Pulling her hands closer together, Itachi held both wrists with one hand, the other fisting in her hair, turning her head to the side to face his. "You are playing a dangerous game," his lips ghosted over hers, "_Sakura_."

He was genuinely surprised when she moaned, her eyes slipping shut once more but not before he saw the lust building in them. Was this really turning her on? Itachi would admit that it was definitely arousing, but he had thought Sakura was the kind of girl who enjoyed the soft, slow and romantic kind of sex. Not rough and dominating.

But just as he was about to say something, just as Sakura leaned forward and her lips parted, they heard a squeal of laughter and the sound of Naruto yelling.

Itachi was off her in a second, leaving her to feel dazed and confused. And not even a second after being released, she turned to face him and leaned back against the tree, confusion so very obvious on her face.

"What–"

"_Sakura–sama_!"

Oh.

He gave her a smirk. "We will _spar_ some other time."

And with that, he transported back to the base camp.

She took a deep breath, willing her heart to stop beating so fast, willing her breathing to slow as she released a long exhale. Just what the hell had that been?

Maybe she should tease Itachi more often? Sakura wouldn't even deny that she liked the results.

"Sakura–chan, what're you doing out here by yourself?" Naruto asked with a frown, looking in the direction of the camp. "I thought you were healing Sasuke?"

Waving her hand dismissively, Sakura shrugged. "I needed to take a break and get some fresh air. Besides, I've done all I can for now on his eyes."

"And?"

"And he can see again." Naruto's face brightened almost dramatically, making her give him a warning look, since she knew he would want to spar with Sasuke. "Not completely, of course. He can't see long distance and the edges of his sight are completely blurred. There's still more work to be done, but I'm low on chakra right now." If she told him about the comment Sasuke had made, whether it was banter or not, Naruto would be in the cabin and punching him in a second. "Aiko–chan, do want to pick some flowers?"

Once Aiko nodded in agreement, Sakura took her over to the flowers and taught her everything Ino had taught her about flower arrangements.

* * *

"Wow, so you can really see again?" Aiko gasped in surprise, looking up at Sasuke with wide eyes. He grunted. "What colour is my hair?"

Sasuke sighed. "Blonde."

She pouted, glaring up at him from beneath her lashes. "What about my eyes? Sakura–sama could have told you my hair colour."

Her precious _Sakura–sama_, Sasuke thought bitterly, had better hurry the hell up and return to them. His patience was wearing ridiculously thin and whilst he knew he owed her for what he had muttered earlier, this hardly seemed fair. Yes, over the past week or so, Sasuke had learned to tolerate Aiko and the girl could actually be rather pleasant to be around when she wasn't asking question after question, more or less interrogating him, but that wasn't the point.

"Which means she could have told me your eye colour, too."

"Sasuke–sama!" Aiko whined, fisting the bed sheets beneath her.

He sighed. Why did the brat have to sit on _his_ bed? Couldn't she go and sit on her own bed? Away from him? Unfortunately for him, Aiko seemed to be like the 'old Sakura', the one who didn't care about invading peoples' personal space. Thank God that Aiko didn't have a ridiculous, yet terrifying, crush on him. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. At least he hoped she didn't. That would be wrong on so many levels. Growing up, he could somewhat handle Sakura's obsessive crush as they were more or less the same age. Aiko was eight, almost nine years younger than him.

Suddenly the sound of rushed footsteps stole their attention as well as the sound of yelling, of orders being given. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and hopped out of bed, going over to the open door and glaring outside. It stung his eyes for a moment, making him squint, but that feeling passed after not too long.

"Sasuke–sama, Sakura–sama said not to look at the light!"

Ignoring Aiko, Sasuke continued to glance around until he somewhat recognised someone. "Sai."

Sai paused in his movements and moved over to the cabin team seven were staying in. "What is it?"

"What's going on?"

"Iwa–nin have been spotted and are heading straight for us. Itachi–taichou believes they are after our captive."

The young girl in the cabin gasped and fell back, having stood up when Sasuke did, landing roughly on her behind. She barely even felt it. "I–Iwa–nin…"

Remembering what had been said, what had happened right in front of her, Sasuke nodded once to Sai, dismissing him, before turning to face the girl. "Stand up, Aiko." on shaking limbs, she did so. "Stay in here. They won't know you're alive unless you reveal yourself to them. Chances are, they won't even be the same shinobi. Just stay out of the battle."

Somebody quickly entered the cabin, but since he knew the chakra well, Sasuke didn't react. "Take your own advice, Sasuke." Sakura told him seriously, going straight over to her supplies and attaching her medical pouch to her hip. "Itachi told me to give you orders – stay in this cabin and protect Aiko–chan."

His upper lip curled with anger. "Are they his orders, or yours?"

"His." she muttered, quickly going through her weapons pouch before adding that to her other hip. "Remember our previous fight with them, Sasuke. They were after something. Until we know what it is, until you're well enough to fight, you can't get involved." Sakura felt his anger spiking, heard him begin to raise his voice, but she swiftly cut him off, turning to look at him with a pleading look. "Please, Sasuke–kun. Don't go out there. Please stay here and protect Aiko–chan for me, protect yourself. I can't lose either of you."

Damn it, he hated it when Sakura brought out those eyes. The pleading ones. The ones that made him feel as though he was a terrible person if he said no. "Where are you fighting, with Naruto?"

Sakura shook her head and smiled gratefully at him, knowing he had accepted his orders. "No, I'm stationed here and he's going to the main battle along with everyone else. If somebody approaches the cabin, I have to stop them from entering." once more, he looked outraged. "Sasuke–kun, your chakra is hardly unrecognisable. I could sense it all the way near the fields earlier, but that could be because of how intune I am with you. Just trust me on this, okay? If I need help, I'll call for you."

"No you won't."

She chose not to answer him and instead glanced down at Aiko, giving her an apologetic smile. "Don't feel scared, Aiko–chan. Sasuke–kun will take care of you."

Aiko shook her head fiercely, tears filling her eyes. "I'm scared for you, Sakura–sama!" she sniffed, the tears falling down her cheeks. "Iwa–nin stole my parents… I don't want them to steal you, too!"

"They won't." Sakura told her with a sigh, yanking her into a comforting embrace. Over the past week, Aiko had grown used to Sakura's presence, to her hugs. They comforted her greatly. "I'll be back before you know it. Just stay here and try to stay silent."

With that, she pulled away, placing a kiss on Aiko's forehead before smirking at Sasuke and leaving the cabin, shutting the door just in time to be greeted by her enemies. It seemed the battles had already begun and the eight before her had slipped through.

Sakura stepped in front of her cabin, her arms folding over her chest and her eyes narrowed and deadly as she watched two teams of shinobi stop right in front of her, just as ready as she seemed to be for battle.

"Just give your friend up, kunoichi." the Iwa–nin spat, whipping out six kunai, three in each hand. "We know you're his teammate – we'd recognise your pink hair anywhere."

"What do you want with him?" she demanded, strengthening her stance and lowering her arms from their folded position, dropping them to her sides.

The apparent talker of the group was tall, imposingly so, with long brown hair that seemed to be around the same length as hers. Unlike her own hair, however, his was scraped back and tied up into a high ponytail that sat on the top of his head. His hazel eyes glared at her murderously, as though he couldn't believe she had answered him back, let alone demanded answers from him. "You want to know what we're going to do to him?" he sneered, his thin lips spreading into a crooked, sadistic grin. "We're going to strip the flesh from his bones. We're going to have him screaming in agony, _begging us to stop, to just kill him_! And then, we're going to–"

"Enough, Arata." an Iwa kunoichi snapped, glaring at her comrade. "You talk too much."

The woman then turned her glare on Sakura, increasing it as she did so. The Konoha kunoichi felt like scoffing. Please! Tsunade had looked at her with a much scarier expression on her _good_ days. If this woman thought that her glare was terrifying, she clearly had not met Tsunade on one of her bad days, when she was suffering from an unrelenting hangover and had just found out there was no more sake. Sakura had to suppress a shudder. Utterly terrifying!

"Hand Uchiha Sasuke over."

"Answer my question." Sakura ordered. "What do you want with my teammate?"

"That is none of your concern." the other woman spoke calmly, but she could see the growing frustration in her pale blue eyes. "I will say it one last and after that, I will attack you. _Hand Uchiha Sasuke over to us_."

Eyes narrowing dangerously, Sakura made a single seal and a moment later, her hands were glowing blue. "It looks like you'll have to attack me, because I refuse to hand over my friend." she spat in return, her hands straightening as they were enveloped by chakra. "You won't get anywhere near him."

The woman sighed in response, glancing over her shoulder at one of the other shinobi. "Daichi, we will go with your plan."

His plan? Sakura's eyes narrowed further as her left foot slipped backwards, as she stood in almost the same stance as a Hyuuga would. Both Hinata and Neji had helped her out with this technique, as their eyes could pick up on the chakra pathways. It wouldn't kill her enemies, but it would paralyse them if she hit a certain point. That was good enough for her – it meant they had more captives to interrogate, to try and find out why they wanted Sasuke so badly.

"If it's an Uchiha you want so much, why not go after somebody else?" Sakura could feel Sasuke's chakra spike at her words, like he couldn't believe she was suggesting such a thing. No, she would not offer another Uchiha just so she could keep him – she would never do something like that. Sakura merely wanted answers. "Why does it have to be Sasuke?"

"Don't answer her." the woman, who was now apparently the spokesperson and leader, yelled at her team. "She's either trying to buy time or get answers. Do you really think a Konoha–nin would willingly give up one of their own? They're all sentimental fools." the dark haired woman growled and waved her hand forward. "Daichi."

She felt more than saw the weapons. One suddenly slammed into her stomach, causing Sakura to double over as a cry of pain ripped from her and caused her gathered chakra to dissipate. The next hit her back, making her bend backwards, her back arching from the force of the blow. Agonizing screams tore from her throat as Sakura felt oddly shaped weapons slashing across her skin, as she felt hot blood leaving her body.

"_Sakura–sama_!"

_No!_

Just as Sakura opened her mouth, about to scream for Aiko to run, a small body was jumping in front of her, knocking her to the ground and she felt her blood run cold at the bloodcurdling scream that came from the little girl.

The sound of chidori should have drowned her out. The harsh lighting as Sasuke shot out of the cabin and took down the Iwa–nin should have stolen her attention. It didn't. None of it did. All she could see was the spasming form of the young girl in her arms, she could only feel the blood pouring freely from not her own wounds, but Aiko's. Sakura's breathing quickened as she quickly and gently lifted the girl from her, rolling her onto her back and lifting her palms over her chest, eyes widening when she summoned her chakra and saw how badly damaged Aiko was.

Irreparable.

The damage was irreparable.

A deadly poison was working its way through her body at a frighteningly fast pace, taking away her movements and as Aiko's body began to still, Sakura felt a sob clawing up her throat and it took everything in her to stay calm. This couldn't be happening! She had promised Aiko so much and it had only been a week. This was not happening. It wasn't. She would open her eyes soon and realise it was all just a bad dream.

"S–Sakura–sama…"

_No. No. No._

Tears filled her eyes. It wasn't a bad dream. It was real. The hand trying so hard to lift and grab hers was real. The girl laying beneath her, with a disgusting poison that was too much for her young, malnourished body to handle rushing through her veins, was real.

"Am I…" Aiko wheezed, looking up at Sakura was fading brown eyes. "Am I going t–to see… my parents, now?"

A presence appeared behind her, but Sakura couldn't look up at Sasuke. She couldn't. All she could see was Aiko. Aiko, Aiko, _Aiko_! Not even two hours ago they had been picking flowers together, had been laughing and playing in the field. Sakura should have known something bad was going to happen. Everybody had tried to warn her about keeping a child at base camp. And she was like the vile substance pumping through Aiko's body, that was no doubt pumping through her own. She was poison.

"Yeah," Sakura whispered, barely keeping back her sob as she brushed the hair out of Aiko's eyes, "you're going to your parents."

She smiled sadly. "I'll m–miss you, Sakura–sama."

"I'm going to miss you, too!"

"Can you sing… to me? A lullaby?"

She didn't know any lullabies.

It was like Sakura's mind had gone blank as she stared down at the paling face belonging to Aiko.

"I–I don't know any." she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek no matter how hard she tried to force it back. The presence behind her belonging to Sasuke shifted and an idea struck her. "But… I know… I know some other songs."

Aiko smiled shakily, desperately trying to take a deep breath.

Sakura took a deep breath, willing herself to keep calm. "_In the light shifting through my fingers now, my fighting spirit is hidden the light in my eyes still reflected. I fear the winds opposite answer, crying as I continue to gaze at your courage_." Aiko's smile grew weaker as her eyes grew heavier, staring up into Sakura's, fixated on the colour fresh apple green. "_The truth of kindness and fragments of pain pierces my heart and passes away. Inexperience resting in the palm of my hand, an endless tomorrow I will give to my precious person_."

It took everything to hold back her sob that was clawing its way up her throat, especially when Aiko's hand grasped hers with so very little strength. Sakura kept a tight hold of it, offering comfort and completely numbing the pain for her with a burst of chakra. She didn't even notice how others were approaching, how they stopped abruptly at the sight before them. "_Taking a step forward on a journey, the sky spreads far. I fly high and feel, but, even so, I want to dream. In my light of gold, I believe from the heart._" her eyes slipped closed and beneath her fingers, Sakura felt Aiko's heart slow until it was beating no more. "…I promise."

Lowering Aiko to the ground, Sakura's head fell into her hands, her body shaking as she cried silently.

"Sakura–chan, what–"

"Get out!" she suddenly screamed at the group behind her, ignoring the pain in her stomach and back as she threw whatever she could get her hands on at them. "You were right, okay? Aiko's dead! I couldn't do anything and now she's dead. I couldn't save her! I couldn't…" a broken sob escaped Sakura as she clutched her middle tightly. "She's gone. She's gone."

Footsteps sounded, but Sakura barely heard a thing as they left her like she wanted them to, leaving her alone with the lifeless body of the young girl she had sworn to protect.

* * *

**A/N - When I was writing this, this chapter wasn't supposed to be until like chapter fifteen, I think, so that Sakura and Aiko would spend more time together. Plans change, I'm afraid. Ugh! Anyways, in Naruto, they're always getting attached to strangers really quickly, so it doesn't matter too much, right? I hope not.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	13. Always Dear To Us

**Chapter 12 – Always Dear To Us**

Not even half an hour after screaming at everybody to leave, Itachi found Sakura on the ground, unconscious and losing quite a lot of blood. It had startled him to say the least, especially when he felt her forehead and noticed that she was burning up.

It felt so wrong of him to just leave Aiko laying there, even though he knew she was dead. It was sentimental of him, weak of him, to think about how Sakura would feel if she woke up to discover that he had left her there. Not to mention Naruto was rather upset over the loss. Sasuke had been quiet, more broody than usual.

With a single seal, Itachi summoned one of his crows and sent it to look for Shisui, who would understand immediately that he needed assistance. And not even a minute later, he was there, transporting to where he could sense Itachi's chakra. The sight before him caused the older Uchiha to pause, to say a silent prayer for the young girl.

"I need you to bury Aiko, Shisui." Itachi told him quietly, kneeling down once more beside Sakura and slipping an arm under her knees, the other around her shoulders. "Sakura is feverish," he stated as stood up, bringing her closer to his chest, "and I can smell poison."

Shisui nodded, watching Sakura for a moment before his eyes went back to Aiko. It pained him that she had died, that she was no longer going to brighten up the camp with her childish laughter. "Where should I bury her? Somewhere away from the camp?"

He thought over it for a moment and remembered where he and Sakura had been when Aiko and Naruto had found them – well, found Sakura. It was peaceful there, it was quiet. And she would be surrounded by many, many flowers. She had liked the flowers she picked out with Sakura earlier that day. His eyes closed and he sighed. Aiko had even picked him some flowers, leaving them on his dresser for him as he hadn't been around. The only reason Itachi knew it had been Aiko and not Sakura was because of the leftover chakra. It wasn't much, but Aiko hadn't known how to mask her presence, how to hide all evidence of being there.

"There is a field, around two miles east of here. You will know when you find it."

Nodding a final time, Shisui gently picked Aiko up, his stomach turning at how fragile and breakable she appeared in his arms. It was so wrong that her clothing was stained with blood, so wrong that she was so pale and lifeless. It was wrong that she was dead, damn it! Aiko was an innocent child who had been caught in their wars. Her death would weigh heavily on all of their minds.

"Go and find a medic for Sakura–san, Itachi." Shisui murmured, giving him a small smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "I will take care of Aiko–chan."

Many at the camp had adored Aiko once they got to know her. Even Neji had been warmer than usual. Like he had thought earlier, she'd brightened the camp up with her laughter, with her smiles. Aiko had made many at the camp think of their families back home, think of their children and how those children were so very lucky to be in the safety of Konoha. Nobody at camp had disliked Aiko, now that he thought about it. They merely disliked Sakura's risky decision.

"Shisui."

He glanced up at the voice, surprised to find that Itachi had already left and the other members of team seven had joined him along with team Gai and the temporary members of team seven. Even Izumo and Kotetsu were there. It looked as though the blond had been crying and that pained look in his eyes only increased at the sight of Aiko.

"We want to help." Sasuke muttered when Naruto couldn't find the words.

Tenzo smiled sadly. "We all want to give her the burial she deserves."

"Itachi suggested we bury her in the field you were in today, Naruto–kun, although he was vague with the directions. Can you lead the way?"

He nodded numbly and did as he was asked, taking them down the same path he and Aiko had taken not too long ago. It felt so surreal, so unbelievable. But as he glanced down at the pale, lifeless body in Shisui's arms, Naruto felt his chest give an uncomfortable squeeze and he had to look away. It was strange how in such a short amount of time, Aiko had become dear to him. He could still remember her excitement, her happiness, when he, Sakura and Sasuke had told her she was now a member of team seven. Whether she wanted to be a shinobi or not didn't matter. She was a part of their family.

Oh God how was Sakura taking the news? She had been so excited about taking Aiko back to Konoha, in giving her the life she truly deserved. They had been talking about getting a home together, Aiko going to school…

"Shisui," Naruto murmured after a moment, his throat feeling tight and his voice low with emotion, "Sakura–chan…?"

"Itachi has taken Sakura–san to have her injuries treated by one of the medic–nin here." of course, they were not as skilled as herself, which was why Tsunade had sent her in the first place. Well, that and the fact she needed to heal their eyes. "When he approached her… She was unconscious and there was the scent of poison in her blood."

The two members of team seven nodded silently, knowing they didn't need to be worried about her. Sakura was one of the greatest medic–nin there had ever been and thanks to Shizune, she was skilled with poisons. The seal on her forehead, the jutsu she could activate, would not allow for her to die. They had seen that for themselves. Aiko had died because her body couldn't handle the poison, couldn't fight back hard enough.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He should have moved faster, should have reacted faster. The second he had seen Aiko sprinting out of the room, screaming Sakura's name, he had frozen, absolutely horrified by the vicious beating his teammate was taking just to protect him. The force of the blows had literally made her body bend this way and that! It had sickened him. It _still_ sickened him. A child had reacted faster than he had. She hadn't thought twice about jumping in front of Sakura and taking the attack head on. It was the second he heard Aiko's screams that Sasuke had finally snapped out of his stupor, chidori charging up almost of its own accord as he shot out of the cabin and took down the Iwa–nin like it was nothing.

And when they were all dead, when he had seen Sakura trying so hard to heal Aiko before holding her gently, singing to her…

It had been his song that she had sung.

How long ago had it been that she found out he had written the song? Nine, maybe ten months? _Kogane no Hikari_. Sasuke couldn't even believe that she had remembered the words! She had told him before, when Sakura had forced him into performing for her, that his voice was nice, that it soothed her and made her feel relaxed. Perhaps that was why she chose the song? No, that made little sense, considering it had been him who was performing and not her back then. Today it had been the other way around and she had been crying, had been scared and distressed.

"We're here." Naruto told them quietly, his head raising to look around him.

It looked the same as it had only hours before.

"It's beautiful here." Tenten stated as she watched the flowers moving in the light breeze, their colours standing out yet not overly so. By her side, Neji nodded once in agreement whilst Lee was uncharacteristically silent. He had been since the death of the young girl.

"Over here," the blond told Shisui, leading him over to the patch of flowers Aiko and Sakura had spent a while looking over and admiring, "she liked it here most."

They were all silent as Tenzo created the coffin, as he used his earth style and opened up the ground beneath a large, beautiful tree, surrounded by many different flowers that the sun bathed in its light. And together, Naruto and Sasuke lowered the coffin into the ground as gently as possible, pausing in standing up as they silently said their goodbyes.

And once the ground was closed up, once Tenzo had created a headstone for Aiko, Sai accepted the kunai from Tenten and knelt down before the headstone, engraving a message into the stone.

* * *

_Aiko_

_Honorary member of team seven._

_You will always be dear to us._

* * *

"Sakura will appreciate that." Tenzo told Sai as the artist stood up and smiled, handing the kunai back to its owner. His smile seemed different than usual, however. It wasn't fake. It was small and sad. Apparently he had also enjoyed having the young girl around.

"She liked my art." he murmured when he noticed their confusion and surprise.

"Thanks, Sai."

Sai merely nodded in reply to Naruto.

"Let us pray for her." Shisui said quietly, closing his eyes and falling silent. The others were right behind him.

Once they had paid their respects, one by one, they all left the field and headed back towards camp until it was only Naruto and Sasuke remaining. The former fell to his knees the moment they were alone, knowing that he could trust his best friend not to pick at him for his moment of weakness, especially not now. It seemed Sasuke could also feel that gut wrenching feeling, as it wasn't long until he was also kneeling down before the headstone, his eyes never leaving the name that should not be written on it.

No, he wasn't about to start saying he loved the kid and whatnot – even though it sounded so wrong of him. Sasuke would still stick by his previous words. Aiko had been annoying, had asked way too many questions. She was like a younger Sakura. And that was why he was in so much pain. Aiko had been just like Sakura, his best friend. It was that thought that brought him all the good qualities of the young girl. The way she would tilt her head to the side whenever speaking with Itachi, like she was trying to figure him out. The way she would watch Sakura with obvious admiration. How she would stare up at him with wide, warm brown eyes, seeming to be intrigued. Those were three things he had never noticed until today.

Other things would be the way Aiko's voice trembled when she was excited. It would sound higher when she was scared or about to cry. For eleven, just like Sakura had stated on the day Aiko woke up, the girl was small for her age. There were moments where she would sound so very young, but then there were other moments that would tell you of the horrors she had seen.

"Aiko–chan," Naruto mumbled to Sasuke quietly, "told me that I'd make a good leader."

The Uchiha closed his eyes and made a sound of exhausted amusement. "Everybody makes mistakes."

He was torn between laughing at Sasuke's joke, or screaming at him that it hadn't been a mistake. Aiko had truly meant what she told him today – that he'd make a good leader. It had been whilst on their way here. He had asked her what she wanted to be, if not a shinobi. Her answer? "_I want to be a healer, like Sakura–sama! That way I can save others. Children won't have to be orphaned like I have been._" Naruto smiled softly to himself. Was Sakura aware of how much Aiko had admired her? Adored her? The kid had brought her up in almost every topic they discussed.

And then, when she asked about what _he_ wanted to be, he told her about his dream of becoming Hokage. Of course he had had to explain to her what it meant to be Hokage and for a few minutes, Aiko had been silent. She then told him, "_You'd make a good leader, Naruto–sama. I think you'd look after people and make sure every day was fun for everyone!_"

"It's weird." Naruto spoke up once more, although could have been speaking to himself. "We only knew her for just over a week, but it felt like she'd always been there, you know?"

"…Yeah."

"Kind of going to miss having her around. She's the only one who called me 'Naruto–sama'."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "She'll be the only one who calls you 'Naruto–sama', usuratonkachi."

They stayed kneeling before the headstone for another five minutes before they both stood up, Naruto placing his hand on the top of the headstone and smiling sadly. "We're going to go and check up on Sakura–chan, Aiko–chan. She's okay thanks to you! As soon as her injuries are healed, she'll be down here to visit you."

* * *

Her injuries were more serious than he had thought.

Itachi watched the two medic–nin who had already been at camp, watched them both closely as they tried to extract the poison from her body. It was the same poison used on the little girl, considering Aiko had taken the attack for Sakura even though the woman had already been wounded. That meant it was the same poison coursing through Sakura's veins that had killed Aiko.

On the outside, Itachi was blank, his features empty. On the inside however he was uneasy and many different questions were racing through his mind. How long did they have before it became too much for Sakura? Aiko's body had been much younger than hers and she had also been malnourished (though getting better), meaning it couldn't fight the poison off like Sakura's could. Also, the kunoichi had her _Byakugō_. If things became deadly, she could release it, could use _Sōzō Saisei_. It was the reason why Itachi had allowed her to fight in the first place, despite there being laws that no medic–nin should fight. Those who mastered the _Byakugō no Jutsu_ and _Sōzō Saisei_ were allowed to discard those medic–nin laws set by Tsunade herself.

Had he made the right decision in allowing Sakura to fight? Itachi had been certain that no Iwa–nin would get through them all, but right at the last moment, just as they had been finishing up, Neji had exclaimed that eight of them had travelled underground and cloaked their chakra right until the last minute. That last minute had been when they began attacking Sakura. Itachi had inwardly cursed himself. It was his duty to make sure things such as that never happened. He was supposed to think ahead of the enemy!

It only went to prove that being at base camp four for seven to eight months now, constantly being on edge and ready to fight at any moment, got to a person after a while. Even him.

They had all made it in time to hear the end of Sakura's song, to see Aiko pass away in her arms. Itachi would be lying if he said that his stomach hadn't dropped, that his chest hadn't begun aching when Sakura had whirled around and screamed at them, when she had started to throw discarded weapons at them. Neji had been about to yell at her but had been silenced by Sasuke's rather vicious glare. Itachi couldn't blame his brother for looking at Neji in such a way. It had taken everything in him not to do the same, to remain emotionless.

So for a while Itachi spoke with Sasuke, asking to know what happened. It had been a surprise attack with weapons Sakura had never seen before and they were too fast for her to dodge (even Sasuke had not been able to keep up with them without the use of his sharingan). Sasuke told him about freezing in place like he was a coward right until Aiko had ran out of the cabin and took on the attack, stunning the Iwa–nin enough for him to rush out there and finish them off with chidori.

All of this could have been prevented. Itachi sighed and averted his eyes from Sakura's features, going back to closely watching the medic–nin. If she had listened to him instead of being so stubborn, all of this could have been avoided. Aiko could be back in Konoha, waiting for Sakura to return. She could–

No.

It wasn't fair to think that way. Not now.

If it hadn't been for Aiko's bravery, they would have lost Sakura and even though Sasuke had taken them all out, that had been because of their shock of killing a child, which meant they would have lost his younger brother, too. Itachi didn't know whether to be thankful to Aiko for how she had saved not only Sakura, but also Sasuke, or to ache over the fact an innocent child had lost her life because of their battle, their war.

He sat down at the desk in team seven's cabin and opened up an empty scroll, taking a moment to breathe before he began his report to Tsunade. She had to know every detail of what had happened, of everything they had found out. Of the person they had lost.

It was forty–five minutes later when the medic–nin politely called out to him, gaining them his attention.

"We have finally extracted the poison from Haruno–san, Uchiha–taichou." the man spoke, seeming rather proud of himself. "Forgive us for taking so long – we are not poison specialists."

He had reason to be proud of himself, Itachi thought. Standing up, he made his way over to Sakura's bed, examining her with his eyes. "And her injuries?"

The second man grimaced for a second. "They were severe, Uchiha–taichou. Damage had been done to her spine from the force of the attacks, but it seems her seal automatically sends healing chakra throughout her body. It's almost as though it was aiding us, telling us the parts that needed healing the most."

Of course. The seal and all jutsu used with it, were strictly forbidden. There were reasons for that. Itachi was willing to bet that, subconsciously, Sakura had been about to use _Sōzō Saisei_ before she felt healing chakra invading her body. Some medics automatically healed themselves even whilst unconscious. It was rare to happen, but not impossible. Perhaps that was why Tsunade was so strict with the jutsu? "How long will she be unconscious for, Harou–san?"

"It's hard to tell." Harou, the second man, told him. He wiped his forearm across his forehead, causing his light brown hair to stick up at the front. It was obvious they were both low on chakra because the first man was also sweating lightly and seemed rather drained. "She is feverish still and unfortunately, we cannot tell how long it will last or how severe it will be. We used most of our chakra healing her wounds and extracting the poison. Right now, we're running on empty. It will be a danger to her to continue as we are."

The first man spoke up, noticing the crease between Itachi's eyebrows. Clearly he disliked the news. "Don't worry, taichou! Haruno–san is out of danger now. Once we have rested and restored our chakra, we can bring down the fever. However, it is sometimes best to let things pass in their own time. Naturally."

Itachi nodded once. "Thank you, Harou–san, Kanaye–san. Please go eat something and sleep for a while. I will watch Sakura until you are both well rested."

Bowing respectfully, the two men left and once alone, Itachi sighed and faced Sakura.

He had finished his report and due to it being somewhat an emergency, Itachi summoned his crow and ordered it to personally take the scroll to Tsunade. Their messenger bird was not to be overused in case of enemies watching them. Using the same bird so many times would be suspicious.

Just as he was about to shut the door, Naruto and Sasuke appeared, the former looking upset whilst the latter was emotionless, yet still worried for his teammate.

"Nii–san, Sakura…?"

"The medics say that she is healing well." Itachi told them both and stepped into the cabin, allowing them entry. "Right now, however, Sakura is feverish and needs to be watched. They are not sure when the fever will break and are too low on chakra to try and break it themselves. Apparently it would be best to let it pass naturally."

Sasuke nodded and slipped off his sandals. "Sakura mentioned something along those lines before, back when Naruto managed to get himself poisoned."

Instead of yelling at him like he normally would have, Naruto was too busy staring down at Sakura's sweaty face sadly. "How do you think she's going to take the news about Aiko–chan?"

The youngest Uchiha grunted. "She already knows. You're forgetting that Sakura was there."

Blue eyes snapped to dark, narrowed dangerously and angry. "I know that! I meant how is she going to feel when she wakes up?"

"Devastated." Sasuke shrugged. "She may not have known Aiko long, but it's obvious that she cared for her." just as Naruto opened his mouth, Sasuke glared at him. "Get out, Naruto. I need to speak with Itachi."

"What?" he practically screamed, glaring right back at the Uchiha. "Go and talk some place else! I'm not leaving Sakura–chan's side!"

"Lower your voice, Naruto–kun." Itachi sighed, noticing how Sakura was beginning to scowl in her sleep. "Sakura needs to rest right now and you are going to wake her up. I am sure that whatever Sasuke has to tell me will not take long. Go and have something to eat. By the time you return, we should be done talking."

It was obvious that he didn't like it, that he didn't want to leave. He did so, however. After sending a final glare over at Sasuke, Naruto slipped out of the cabin quietly, shutting the door behind him. Once he had left, Itachi took a seat at the table in the cabin, watching his younger brother carefully. Whatever he needed to say was obviously important.

"What is it, Sasuke?"

"It's about Sakura."

About Sakura? "What about her?"

"Sakura has a habit of trying to take care of and fix broken people." Sasuke told Itachi, his eyes narrowing a fraction. "First there was Gaara. He told her he couldn't love her, that he didn't ever want to risk falling in love or loving somebody again, no matter how much he changed. She stuck by him and tried to fix him. That didn't work out and then she got hurt. They _both_ did because whilst they weren't in love, they began to depend on one another, on finding comfort in each other. And then there was Aiko. The girl watched her parents being murdered, her mother being raped! Sakura wanted to fix Aiko, too."

It was Itachi's turn to narrow his eyes. "What are you insinuating, Sasuke?"

There was a pause, an uncomfortable one. "Don't hurt her, nii–san. I may have been blind, but I could still hear how you were speaking with one another, I could still use my senses and sense how you were both standing or holding yourselves. Clearly something is happening or going to happen. I know her and I know you. Just don't hurt her. Sakura's already been through enough pain – she doesn't need to go through any more."

He sighed and glanced down at the unconscious woman, regarding her silently and allowing Sasuke's words to play in his mind. "I am not broken."

"Which is what I'm trying to warn you about." Sasuke also sighed and sat down on the end of Sakura's bed, not missing how Itachi's eyebrows twitched as though about to knit together. He knew it wasn't jealousy. It was… confusion? Sasuke did not comment on the look. Even he knew that there were some things his older brother didn't understand. His bond with Sakura would be one of the things Itachi would not understand. Some parts of their relationship were just… messy and best left alone. "You're not broken, which means Sakura isn't going to try and fix you."

"You are not making any sense, Sasuke." Would it be strange to say that Itachi was growing agitated, impatient? Where had this conversation even come from? "Sakura and I are friends."

"Cut the crap, nii–san." the younger Uchiha growled, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "I get that you two haven't known each other long. I get that it'd be improper to just jump into a relationship all of a sudden – which is why I'm not suggesting that you do that. If you feel anything for Sakura, anything at all…" he shook his head, his annoyance obvious. "You don't waste your time with people unless you know it's going somewhere. You're not the kind of guy who has one night stands or flings." there was a pause, one that had Itachi's agitation fading away. The look on Sasuke's face was pained. "…I broke her, Itachi."

What? Itachi thought back on Sakura's memories of Sasuke, the ones that he had been shown whilst using _Tsukuyomi_ on her. Yes, there had been pain, she had been hurt. Perhaps at one point, she had been heartbroken, but that had been back when Sakura was a child. He hardly thought any of that counted. However, Sasuke was not one for dramatics. Of course he had his moments, but this was serious. Just the look on his face told Itachi how badly his brother believed he had broken Sakura. "How?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes before glaring down at her features, watching her as he spoke. "Everybody knows about her… crush on me." Itachi nodded. "It wasn't just a crush, nii–san. It was love. It still is love. But Sakura was confused at the time. We both were. She admired me, yes, but she never loved me in a romantic way." he sighed, glancing over to his brother. "We were both confused. When Naruto left… We came to depend on one another. I tolerated her love, her obsessive crush – no, I encouraged it. It was the only sense of normalcy at the time. Naruto was gone and so was Kakashi. We were both feeling lost and like we'd been left behind.

"And then Sakura became Tsunade's apprentice." Itachi bit back his almost automatic reply for his brother to show respect for their Hokage, instead of speaking of her as though she was a common civilian. "Anko was training me at the time so I didn't think too much of it. But then, once she taught me everything she knew, I…" his eyebrows mashed together and he averted his eyes once more. "I started to feel like it was only me who was being left behind and forgotten about.

"So I deliberately sought Sakura out, spending as much time with her as I could outside of missions and training. There was this feeling building between us and when I looked at her, I felt this… warmth in my chest. I thought I was falling in love with her!" Sasuke dropped his head into his hands. "It was wrong of me to lead her on when I had no romantic feelings for her and I guess it came back to bite me in the ass because suddenly, I was wanting to be with her all the time. I actually wanted to listen to her instead of simply tuning her out and grunting every now and then to make her believe I'm listening. And when she was in pain, when she was upset, it felt like I was experiencing that pain, too."

"It is understandable why you thought you were in love, Sasuke." he murmured, noticing the pained look on his features. "Even the villagers–"

His head snapped up, eyes once again narrowing. "The villagers make everything so much worse!" it took a lot of effort to keep his voice down, to stop himself from outright yelling. "They were always telling us, _are_ always telling us, how cute we look together and other shit like that. I have clansmen approaching me and asking when I'm going to propose and start producing children!" Itachi inwardly grimaced, but was thankful when Sasuke took a deep, calming breath, willing himself to calm down and if not for himself, then for Sakura, who really needed to rest. "One night, we were at Yamanaka Ino's party and she had pretty much invited everyone in the village between the ages of fourteen and twenty." it had been ridiculously packed. "Both Sakura and I felt uncomfortable with being so crowded, so we left the party early. Took a walk through the village until we ended up on top of the Yondaime's head. Things… happened."

He knew exactly what his brother was talking about by 'things'. He had ever since using _Tsukuyomi_. But he knew Sakura was denying it, was pushing it away and pretending like it never happened. To her, it had been nothing more than a kiss.

"Things got awkward and we sat there for a while, not sure what to do with ourselves." Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "She looked devastated, nii–san. Like she'd just heard or found out some life altering news."

Honestly, she _had_. Sakura had spent almost her entire life following Sasuke around, wearing her love for him proudly for everyone to see. To suddenly find out that her love for him was not in the romantic way, after such a thing happening, was no doubt agonizing for her.

"But… I made her stay." he told Itachi, continuing with his story. "I made her stay so we could talk about it. Kakashi and Naruto were gone. You were away. Father… was father. I felt like Sakura was the only person I had left who I could speak to. Mother doesn't understand – she still treats me like I'm a child sometimes. All that kept running through my mind was that I couldn't be left behind. Sakura couldn't leave me and allow this awkward feeling to fester into something messier." Sasuke looked down at her again, fighting the sadness he could feel because he didn't want it to show. "And we repaired our friendship – it's stronger than it had ever been before! Those feelings are still there but we know now that we're not _in love_. But since then Sakura's had this… need, this habit, to fix everything that's broken. Part of her believes nobody would ever willingly come to her. They have to be broken to do so."

It was silent for a few minutes as Itachi absorbed the information. "I feel… confused about your bond with Sakura, Sasuke. I don't understand how you can both be so close, how you understand her so much." he chuckled softly for a moment. "Try as I might, I cannot understand her in the slightest. Everything she does surprises me."

Sasuke smirked. That was Sakura. The only reason why she didn't surprise him so much now was because of how well he knew her. _"_Sometimes, she just needs somebody to be there for her." he murmured quietly, watching how Sakura twisted under the covers until she was laying on her front, curled around one of the spare pillows. "Either it's to listen to her, or to hold her. It's almost subconsciously that she does it, too. Sakura goes to the place she feels safest." Sakura sighed in her restless sleep, sounding annoyed and the way her hand fell against the pillow was bordering violent. "If you have her trust, she'll come to you, like a wounded, scared animal – or a child seeking comfort. Even though Sakura tries to act tough, she just… needs somebody to be there for her, to hold her. Don't tell her that everything is going to be okay, because she'll know you're lying and she'll close herself off. Just… make it known to her that she doesn't have to face whatever it is that's going on alone. That's all Sakura needs. That's how our bond works, Itachi. For now, I'm the person she feels safest around. I'm her safety."

Once more, Itachi was feeling confused, but not as much as before. "For now?"

His eyebrows knitted together. "Yeah. When Sakura gets married one day, her husband is who she'll feel safest with. I won't be the person she comes to anymore."

"Does that upset you?"

"…No." he answered after a brief pause. "I want Sakura to find happiness."

"You're turning into a fine young man, Sasuke. You should be proud of yourself." Itachi told him honestly, proudly. "Not many men would do the same thing."

He nodded and then looked up at his brother. "I'm telling you all this because now that I can see, I can see how you're both acting around one another. There's obvious attraction there. And tension. I just want to make sure you won't hurt her, nii–san. My bonds with both you and Sakura are precious to me and I don't want to be stuck in between you both."

"You won't." Itachi murmured and was once more glancing down at Sakura. "I will not hurt Sakura, Sasuke.

* * *

**A/N - Um this chapter, the ending mostly, seems much more emotional than I was planning on it being. I think I wrote this around the time I finished Death Note, so that may be why. I always write ahead so that I'll always have at least one chapter to post!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	14. You're Looking After Me?

**Chapter 13 – You're Looking After Me?**

Itachi did not leave team seven's cabin that night and Sasuke was grateful for that.

About an hour after their talk, Naruto had returned with food for them both – it was cup ramen, but after the day they had had, neither were complaining. When Naruto had asked why Itachi was sticking around, the older Uchiha asked the blond what he knew about poisons and fevers, asked him how much medical knowledge did he have. Being a member of ANBU was risky and deadly, so Itachi had taught himself basic medical–ninjutsu. Unfortunately, he didn't know enough to break the fever, so they had to wait.

And wait.

Eventually Naruto fell asleep, sprawled out under his covers, whilst Sasuke fought hard to stay awake, but he also soon fell asleep, his head dropping softly onto his pillow. It made Itachi smile to himself. Even if he was nineteen years old, Sasuke would always be his little brother, would always be a child in Itachi's eyes. Not in a condescending way, but in a way that said "yeah, he's my kid brother".

Shifting in his seat, Itachi crossed his ankles and leaned back into the backrest of the chair, his right hand holding onto his left wrist in a comfortable resting position.

Not even an hour later, soft sobbing reached his ears, bringing Itachi as well as the other two out of their dozes. Giving that not only Sasuke was injured (still in need of his eyes being fully healed), but also Sakura (his personal medic), the responsibility fell to him to make sure nothing happened to either of them. So Itachi helped Sasuke if he needed anything and the same went for Sakura. That was why he had been staying in the cabin in the first place. He stood up silently and moved over to her bed.

Right now, Sakura was quietly sobbing but it was loud enough to wake them up.

"Sakura–chan?" Naruto whispered, sitting up in his bed.

"I–I'm sorry."

"What for?" he chuckled sheepishly and threw back his covers to go over to her. "You're–"

"Tell him I'm sorry!"

"She is delirious because of her fever, Naruto–kun." Itachi told him, fixing the sheets over Sakura's sweating and trembling body. "She most likely can't hear you right now."

"Who does she want to apologise to?"

"Kaka…" her voice was a whisper. "Kakashi–sensei…"

They were all stunned.

"Why Kakashi?" Sasuke scowled, his eyebrows mashing together. It seemed part of Sakura could hear them, but the way she was talking and answering them was the way that told you she would not remember it. Like when you would wake up in the middle of the night, but were still half asleep and would have no recollection of that short period of being somewhat awake.

"I disappointed him…" she cried quietly and Itachi noticed tears falling down the sides of her face. "H–He ignored me… because I'm weak… and… I… I'm sorry for being so weak!"

"You're not weak, Sakura–chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he got up and moved over to her bed. "And Kakashi–sensei didn't–"

Sasuke growled and sat up in his bed, glaring viciously at Naruto. "What the hell would you know, Naruto? You weren't even there!"

He paused in his movements, seeming to freeze in place as he turned to face Sasuke. "What?"

"You don't know what it was like for any of us when you left, so don't talk like you know everything."

"D–Did I do something wrong?" she whispered, obviously not hearing their conversation. "I… I only want to make my team proud…"

The older Uchiha watched her features with a hidden sadness. She looked like she was being tortured by her thoughts, by her inner demons. Itachi couldn't help but feel sorry for her. All members of team seven had some sort of problem or difficulty they had had to face. Some were classed as more severe, more traumatizing, than others. Take Naruto with the Kyuubi, having people avoiding him and calling him a monster, looking at him with hateful glares. Sasuke and his obsession to be greater than his older brother, always feeling like they were being compared and that he _had_ to be better, even if it meant leaving the village with a criminal. Hatake Kakashi had many, many problems. Even Itachi didn't know of them all.

And then there was Haruno Sakura. Bullied for several years before her best friend and rival, Yamanaka Ino, got involved. Self–imagery issues stemmed from the bullying as well as loss in confidence, self–esteem. Instead of training harder, she worked and worried over her appearance, wanting to look pretty and perfect. Her weaknesses only became more obvious when she was placed on team seven. It was wrong of Kakashi for ignoring her the way he did, for instead working with Sasuke and spending more time with the Uchiha.

Itachi sighed. "I am sure you have made Kakashi–san proud, Sakura. You are no longer twelve years old. You have grown since then and if he is not proud of your growth, then he is a fool."

Slowly, unsurely, Sakura nodded, her eyes fluttering for a few moments before her breathing finally evened out.

Naruto stared at Itachi in shock. "How did you do that? Did you use your sharingan?"

"No, Naruto–kun." he murmured in reply and once more fixed the sheets on Sakura's bed. "Sometimes it is best to try and ease the mind of what is burdening it." when the Uzumaki opened his mouth to argue, Itachi sighed once more. "I'm not saying she is relieved of that feeling – I'm simply telling you that for now, it is not bothering her."

He fell back onto his bed, his eyebrows furrowing. "Sasuke, what did you mean by–"

"Just leave it." he grunted in reply, laying down once more with his back to Naruto.

"How am I supposed to leave it?" Naruto demanded, though made an effort of keeping his voice low when Itachi shot him a warning look. He wasn't going to lie. Itachi's glare worked a hell of a lot more than Sasuke's did. He also wasn't going to lie that it kind of scared him. A lot. Hopefully, the older Uchiha would leave the threat at that. Naruto didn't really want to fall victim to one of his genjutsu. "Sakura–chan's hurting! I need to try and fix whatever's broken."

Like hell he could ever 'fix' Sakura, Sasuke thought angrily. He did his best to remain calm, to take deep, even breaths. It wasn't working. His anger was swelling and multiplying with each word that left Naruto's mouth. It was fine for the blond – he had left Konoha. He never had to witness the state Sakura had been in at times. The times when she had snuck into the Uchiha District (not exactly sneaking, for they had all known she was there) and wordlessly joined him in bed, just so she knew he was there. She wouldn't cling to him and would in fact leave a respectful distance between them, but her hand would rest on his back, like it was telling her that no, Sasuke had not left her behind. Neither Naruto nor Kakashi witnessed when she would break down during their sparring sessions, apologising about making a mistake or not doing her best. Sure, since returning, they knew she got lonely sometimes and they always tried to make her feel better, but they didn't know her like Sasuke knew her, like he had gotten to know her. They weren't aware just how badly that feeling of loneliness was eating her up inside.

"I said leave it." Sasuke growled in return, his voice deepening and sounding rougher with his anger.

It shut Naruto up immediately. He had never heard Sasuke use that tone of voice on him before and especially not whilst talking about Sakura. The only times he heard it was during battle, when he was threatening or arguing with their enemies. Was that how he was seeing Naruto at that moment in time? As an enemy and not a comrade, a friend? Just what the hell had happened whilst he was away?

Using his elbows to hold his upper body up, Naruto glared over at Sasuke's bed. He still had his back to him and the covers over his body.

"Go back to sleep, Naruto–kun." Itachi ordered quietly, watching the two younger males for a moment before he sat down in his chair once more, though pulled it closer to Sakura's bed first. If she was delirious, he would have to keep a closer eye on her. "I will wake you both when Sakura wakes up."

It comforted him how Itachi said "when she wakes up" and not "if she wakes up". There was a chance she wouldn't wake until tomorrow, after Naruto had already woken up, but he didn't care. It was a relief to know that if something happened, he would be told and not left out. "Thanks, Itachi. For looking after her, I mean."

He nodded once.

The second he heard Naruto's breathing evening out, telling him that he was asleep, Sasuke rolled onto his back and glared up at the ceiling angrily. No, he wasn't overprotective of Sakura and he wasn't possessive either. But a part of him would never be able to forgive the other two members of team seven for hurting her so badly, even if they weren't even fully aware of the damage they had caused. Sasuke would admit that yes, he had always been protective of her, had always thrown himself in front of her and saved her, however this time it felt different. It was not enemies he was protecting her from – it was their own teammates.

They seriously didn't know how badly they screwed her up, did they? And that was what made Sasuke so angry. They _didn't_ know, because they hadn't been there. Kakashi was… understandable to an extent. He genuinely hadn't known what to do with Sakura other than teaching her how to use chakra and work with her on genjutsu. Back then, there hadn't been a lot she was good at and even Sasuke would admit that. But what about after? What about when she started growing stronger, more powerful? Before he left to work at the border, they had sparred a few times, but Sasuke had noticed how Kakashi always held back whilst sparring with Sakura. Why? He didn't hold back when fighting him and Naruto. Sakura was hardly a snot–nosed genin anymore. In her own way, she was powerful. One punch and you were dead. How many people could actually do something like that? End your life in one blow or one tap of her hand on your chest?

"It does not do well to dwell on the past, Sasuke." his brother spoke up after a while.

"What would _you_ know?"

"I know enough to say that sometimes, it is best to let it go."

Let it go. Sasuke had tried so hard to let it go, to let go of all the anger festering inside of him. "It's easier said than done."

Itachi gave a small smile, opening his eyes and glancing over at Sasuke's scowling features. It certainly was easier to be said rather than actually done. "Just remember that they are here now." he reminded him. "And do not forget that you also came close to doing the same thing. Not only leaving Sakura behind, but also our family. Our village. Everyone."

Maybe that was why it made him so angry? The fact that he had come so incredibly close to making what could have possibly been one of the greatest mistakes of his life? It was a good job that they had all stopped him in the end, had caught him in time. Why the hell had he even wanted to follow Orochimaru in the first place? For more power? Mitarashi Anko had taught him everything the vile snake had taught her and had even shown him scrolls with a few of Orochimaru's jutsu that she hadn't been able to master. Anko had told him that if he had actually gone, he would have been classed as a traitor, because Orochimaru would have somehow found a way to turn him against Konoha. One time, she had even cast a vicious genjutsu over him, forcing him to see the destruction of Konoha when Orochimaru and Suna teamed up, over and over again. She told him that that would happen again if he left with the snake, only, he would be helping out. He would be killing his own friends and family.

Sasuke didn't want that and there was no use in denying that after that particular training session, his dreams had become nightmares. He watched himself through another's eyes, watched himself slaughtering the villagers. Watched himself killing his former–sensei, his teammates, his clan, his family. Anko was a hardass and her methods were just as questionable as Kakashi's, but she had made him see sense. He didn't need Orochimaru. To go with him would have been a truly big mistake.

"Itachi, do–"

But a quieter, softer voice cut him off.

"It's okay." Sakura whispered quietly, surprising them both with how soft her voice was, how comforting it sounded. When had she even opened her eyes? "It's okay. Just calm down, Gaara." she sat up slowly, as though trying not to startle somebody. They were guessing it was Gaara she was trying not to startle. "I know, I know. And I'm sorry! Just calm down, okay? Deep breaths. Shukaku doesn't control you anymore. You're your own person." Sakura suddenly smiled and shook her head, holding out her hand at absolutely nothing. "It's okay. It doesn't even hurt now. Look, I'll heal it." Itachi's sharingan activated, making sure she didn't harm herself as she raised her hand to the crook of her neck, a soft green glow filled the room, healing nothing. "See? I'm okay. You're okay." her arms opened up, as though she was welcoming somebody into an embrace and those thoughts were only confirmed when her arms seemed to wrap around somebody, although to them, she was holding nothing but thin air. "We're okay."

Sakura nodded, her eyes closing and a softer smile on her lips. "Stop apologising! I'm starting to think somebody is using a henge and pretending to be you." she paused and bit her lip, seeming to listen to him, or the memory of him, for a moment. "It's not too surprising, Gaara. It's instinctual. I read about it somewhere. Males sometimes bite down on their mates, keeping them in place when they reach orga–"

"I don't want to hear this." Sasuke muttered over her words so that she couldn't be heard.

Itachi could only nod in agreement.

"Stop worrying!" she gave a soft giggle and grabbed an imaginary hand, lifting it to her neck. It utterly stunned the two Uchiha brothers. For her to give so much trust to Gaara… It was astonishing. The neck, to many shinobi, was considered the most vulnerable part of their body (unless you were Naruto or Kiba because then your groin was your most vulnerable part). "I trust you, Gaara." another pause and this time, Sakura tilted her head to the side and pulled back a little, seeming to stare into what they presumed as Gaara's eyes. "I forgave you for that a long time ago." she smiled softly and raised her hand again, holding it in mid air (they were guessing she was cupping his cheek). "You're different now, Gaara. When you hurt me back then… You could have killed me immediately and be done with it, could have completely enraged my teammates and therefore giving you the upper hand since they'd be blinded by their anger, but you didn't. You've changed. And you keep changing! You keep proving those who doubted you, wrong."

Sasuke glanced over at Itachi, his brows furrowing. "Now do you see what I mean by her need to fix broken people?"

He nodded. "…Yes."

But this time, it seemed Sakura was the one who was broken. Perhaps she had come to him in hopes of him fixing her?

"If you fall asleep, we'll just–" she cut herself off, her eyebrows knitting together. "Gaara, listen to me. Please. _Please_?" apparently he had moved, because Sakura was suddenly kneeling up on the bed, her hands lifting into the air again. "I know the risks. I know the risks and I'm willing to take that chance. No, just… _listen to me_! Shukaku doesn't control you. He's staying in _your_ body. Your seal has been strengthened because of the council's uncertainty." there was yet another pause. "Look at me." she spoke softly. "If it eases your mind any, Tsunade–shishou taught me–" her smile faded into a grimace. "Do you really have to talk about blood and gore right now? It's kind of washing away the bliss I was feeling!" she sighed. "If I allow my chakra to be released, if I use a certain jutsu shishou can use, then I can't die in battle. Shukaku can rip me to shreds, he can swallow me whole! But I won't die." her hand lifted and was once again seeming to cup Gaara's cheek. "Just relax and stop worrying so much! For somebody who has such a blank expression, you sure do feel a hell of a lot stronger emotions than anybody else I know." she let out a soft sounding laugh, her face brightening. "Okay, maybe not Naruto or Lee–san, but you're still kind of emotional underneath all of this cold exterior."

Her smile warmed. "You're not going to lose me. Even if this, what we are, doesn't work out, we'll still be friends. I mean, look at me and Naruto, or me and Sasuke–kun! No, no. Nothing happened between me and Naruto – he wishes! He just used to have a crush on me, remember? Always exclaiming his love for me in the most dramatic ways." she smiled again, though sadly this time, glancing down at her thighs as she folded her legs beneath her and sat down. "That's… kind of messy. Sasuke–kun and I… We…" she grimaced, glancing up at her imaginary ex–lover from beneath her lashes and pouting, though it was soon stopped when she stretched and yawned. "I'm not that tired." Sakura smiled. "Seriously, Gaara. I don't mind staying awake and talking to you all night. You're a good listener." she smirked, a blush sweeping over her cheeks. "…and a good distraction, yes."

Oh how long was this going to go on? Itachi couldn't even tear his eyes away from Sakura as her smirk became impish, as her features took on a sultry expression. Not that he didn't enjoy learning new things about Sakura. It was just that… hearing the way she had spoken to Sabaku no Gaara, watching the look he presumed she had given to him before they were intimate…

It made his insides burn with a feeling he couldn't explain. He had never felt the emotion before. What was it?

Sakura lowered herself onto her back with a giggle, her arms raising for what seemed like a lover's embrace.

And it was with that single look on her face that he knew what the emotion was.

He was jealous.

* * *

Thankfully, Sakura seemed to slip back into unconsciousness before her… time with Gaara… could go any further.

He and his younger brother couldn't sleep. Sakura's sleep was restless and she repeatedly tossed and turned around her bed, sometimes whimpering out incoherent words and other times gasping. If they hadn't known any better, they could have sworn she was having a dirty dream.

It was… nice. Spending so much time with Sasuke, he meant. Itachi couldn't remember the last time they talked so much. And it stunned him how much his brother seemed to trust him! Several of the topics they had spoken about had been obviously personal and private, yet he told Itachi about them without a second thought, secretly asking for his advice, though in a discreet way. At one point they had even discussed what they should get for their mother's fast approaching birthday. Sasuke hadn't been pleased when Itachi murmured something about possibly still being at the border. In fact he had snapped at him, demanding that he at least return for the day just to see her. Mikoto missed him a lot. He knew that because sometimes, he would find their mother sighing and staring down at Itachi's place at the table with sadness.

"Being Naruto's – the Kyuubi's – watcher is difficult." Sasuke told his brother when Itachi asked how he was handling it. "Tsunade had me taught sealing jutsu, but they can't teach you how to handle it when you're actually facing the Kyuubi. Not the actual Kyuubi, but when it begins to take over Naruto." Itachi nodded, understanding just what Sasuke was saying. "The first time, the entire team almost died because I couldn't get Naruto to meet my eyes. But since then we've been working on that. Now I don't need to meet his eyes to enter his mind with my sharingan. Well, not straight away. I cast a genjutsu and once he's unable to move, I force him to meet my eyes."

Itachi frowned. That sounded too easy. "The Kyuubi is so easily captured?"

"No." he shook his head, his own frown forming. "I have five seconds to make his eyes meet my sharingan before he breaks out of it. I'm no Shisui when it comes to genjutsu and I don't have the Mangekyō, so I can't use _Tsukuyomi_ like you can."

"To be able to paralyse the Kyuubi, even if it is for only five seconds, is something many others can never achieve. Even our own father cannot do such a thing. If Shisui and myself are not there, it would take at least ten of our most powerful clansmen to be able to subdue the Kyuubi – and even then, it is only for half a minute at most."

Sasuke's eyes widened, a strange feeling filling his chest. Did that mean…?

Itachi gave him a small smile, a proud one. "It seems you have surpassed our father in many ways, Sasuke."

He'd surpassed their father? _He_ had surpassed _their father_!

It was so surreal. For as long as Sasuke could remember, he had always wished for Fugaku's acknowledgement. Sometimes he received it, other times he did not. But now their father _had_ to acknowledge him! Genjutsu, despite having the sharingan, was not what Sasuke was best skilled at. He preferred ninjutsu and found that it came to him more easily than genjutsu. Fugaku was a natural when it came to genjutsu. Not as great as Shisui, of course, but his was powerful also.

"Would it not be because of my bond with Naruto?" Sasuke asked, frowning to himself.

"I'm sure that has a part to play, but only with your capability of entering Naruto–kun's mind and forcing the Kyuubi back, allowing Naruto–kun to once again take control." Itachi sat back in his seat, stretching his legs out in front of him and crossing one ankle over the other. "Trapping the Kyuubi in a paralysing genjutsu, however, is all you. It has nothing to do with your bond with Naruto–kun."

That was crazy.

"Sasuke–kun!" Sakura suddenly shot up in bed, hand clutching her chest and breathing ragged.

Both Uchiha tensed at the pure terror in her voice and Naruto also woke up, sitting up and staring around him with wide eyes, trying to find out why Sakura was crying out.

"What?" he grunted.

Hearing his voice made her relax and a sob of happiness tore from her. "I thought that you'd left."

Suddenly Itachi was going back in time, remembering the night his brother had tried to leave Konoha. Somehow Sakura had known and she had tried so very hard to make him stay, even going as far as to confessing her feelings to him, promising that she would do anything to make him happy. The result? Sasuke had knocked her unconscious and had been about to leave her on a bench. Itachi and Shisui had just made it in time to keep him from leaving (it was thanks to Sakura that they had made it before any fights were started, before Sasuke had even stepped out of Konoha). Sometimes, he wondered if his younger brother felt bad about doing such a thing to Sakura. If the look on his face meant anything, he did. Sasuke looked horrified and pained.

"…I thought you left me too."

Sasuke closed his eyes, trying his best not to hear the raw pain in his friend's voice.

"Everybody leaves." she whispered quietly. "First Naruto, then Kakashi–sensei… Gaara… A–Aiko…" Sakura began sobbing. "_Aiko_!"

"Sakura," Itachi murmured quietly, gently cradling the back of her head as he lowered her onto her back, "try to relax."

"I broke my promise to her." Sakura cried, holding onto him tightly. "My ninja way…"

"Is to protect your precious people." Naruto mumbled, his teeth clenching as he glared down at the ground.

Her eyes were almost desperate as she clung onto Itachi, staring up at him with wide eyes. "She… She's…"

It seemed she was actually awake now, though was obviously vulnerable. Unlike the previous times when she had 'woken up', Sakura was now focused on the present. But it seemed that right there, right then, she was emotionally vulnerable.

As soon as Sasuke noticed, he was throwing back the covers and climbing out of bed, utterly stunning Naruto when he climbed onto Sakura's bed and gently pried her fingers from Itachi's shirt, staring down into her eyes for a moment before she was lunging at him and clinging to him tightly, forcing the air from his lungs as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Ease up, Sakura." he grumbled, his cheeks burning when he felt the disbelieving stare coming from Naruto as well as Itachi's eyes on him. Sasuke refused to meet either of their eyes. Like he had told his brother not too long ago, he was Sakura's safety – who she felt safest with. He was the only one who stayed. Sure, Sasuke had almost left once before, but he hadn't. That was the point. He hadn't left. "You're going to break my ribs."

Her hold loosened, though not by much. The feeling of her shaking as he slowly wrapped one arm around her, pained him. Again, like he had told Itachi not too long ago, he felt Sakura's pain like it was his own, just like she felt his.

"She's gone, Sasuke–kun." she cried, her hands fisting in the back of his shirt so harshly that he could have sworn he heard it tear. "I broke my promise! I couldn't protect her! She's just…" suddenly, Sakura tensed and pulled back slightly, looking up at him with wide eyes. "Aiko–chan's… She's not… still there, is she?"

It was Itachi who replied. "No, Sakura. Before I left to take you to the medic–nin here, I asked Shisui to bury Aiko in the field you were both picking flowers in today."

A small smile came to her lips at that, her eyes moving over Sasuke's shoulder and locking with Naruto's. "She liked it there, didn't she?" Naruto nodded quickly, giving her a pained smile. Sighing, Sakura let go of Sasuke, taking a deep breath to try and keep herself calm. "I… I need to go and see her."

Sasuke refused to let go of her. "You can't go right now, Sakura."

"Why not?"

At her demand, he narrowed his eyes, giving her a no–nonsense look. She knew better than to defy him when he gave her such a look. "You were poisoned and suffered from severe injuries. Do you know how lucky you are that you can even feel your legs right now?"

Her eyes widened in shock and fear, but Itachi spoke up, his voice calm and smooth. "There was damage to your spine, but the medic–nin healed you as well as extracted the poison."

Damage to the spine was almost always irreparable, so just to be sure, Sakura summoned her healing chakra and closed her eyes, focusing on sending it throughout her entire body. By the looks of things most of her injuries had been healed and she certainly felt better than what she had before passing out earlier that day. There were still a few traces of her fever, but a quick once over with her healing chakra flooded it out of her system. She would simply have to take a shower, since she smelt rather awful. Blood and sweat. How attractive. Well, at least Sasuke hadn't mentioned anything about it this time.

Like Itachi had told her, the other medic–nin had healed her spine. The damage hadn't been too serious, although it would have been enough to cause her severe pain if she had not been healed – perhaps even end her career as a shinobi if she took another hit to it whilst left untreated. Again, just to be sure, she went over it a few times, mending any leftover damage the medic–nin had missed. She couldn't risk it, couldn't risk losing her dream of being a powerful kunoichi. It had taken so much hard work to get to where she was right now!

Pastel pink eyebrows knitted together when Sakura reached her stomach in her examination. Like with her spine, she was lucky none of her organs had been too badly damaged. The medic–nin were clearly highly skilled and talented, but they would have needed skills like Tsunade's if her injuries had been ten percent more damaging. Raising her hand, Sakura pressed it against her flat stomach and numbed the ache there.

"You okay, Sakura–chan?"

It surprised her that Naruto was staying on his bed instead of approaching her. Normally he would have been the first one she saw when waking up!

She hated that question. She hated it when people asked her if she was okay. Why? Because nobody was ever one hundred percent okay. And half of the time, the person who was asking the question genuinely didn't care. They were simply asking it to be polite. Sakura knew that Naruto really did care, though. But how was she supposed to answer?

The truth was, was that no. No, she was not okay. She understood that she didn't know Aiko that well. She knew that it was rather dramatic of her to be so… so utterly gutted and broken up about her death. However, that didn't change the fact that she was. Sakura had wanted so badly to help her, to give her a better life.

"I'll be fine after I take a shower." Naruto's mouth opened to argue, whilst Sasuke watched her with a barely hidden disapproving stare. Her eyes narrowed. "_Alone_."

"But what if you faint, Sakura–chan?" the blond demanded, not at all liking the thought of his best friend and teammate collapsing whilst in the shower. Who knows how long it would take for somebody to find her? Of course with him and Sasuke being so concerned about her, there was no doubt that neither of them would get any sleep until she had returned to their cabin and was safely sleeping in her bed. "Or get sick?"

"Sakura is a medic, Naruto–kun." Itachi argued quietly, however there was a firm edge to his voice, one that had Sasuke resisting the urge to begin sulking. Growing up, the younger Uchiha had heard that tone of voice many times and it was now almost instinctual when he pouted and sulked. "She is aware of her own limits and knows when to call for help."

Seeing that he still wasn't planning on letting her go, she sighed. "Please, Naruto. I need some time alone to… to think about everything. I need some privacy."

His blond eyebrows mashed together. The thought of her crying to herself in the shower was another thing he couldn't stand. If she was in pain, he wanted to try and take that pain away. But Sakura was right. Right now, she was grieving and needed some time alone to try and process everything that had been happening in the past day or so. Even Naruto could understand that, as he had needed some time alone to try and get his head around the fact that Aiko had been snatched from them so very suddenly.

"You'll definitely call for us if you need help, won't you?" he asked her, though when he saw her growing annoyance, Naruto put on a smirk and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I can help you wash–"

"Shut up, you idiot."

But much to his happiness, Sakura was smiling, albeit it was a small and reluctant one. It was still a smile though.

* * *

"You don't have to walk me to the showers."

Glancing down at Sakura for a second, Itachi looked back up and in front of him. It was dark now and it seemed pretty much everyone was in bed, all exhausted from their battles today. By the time they had left the cabin, despite his promise of staying up, Naruto had been dozing off again. The odd shinobi was awake, such as Neji and Tenzo, who were both sitting by the camp fire and keeping watch for a few hours. It would be Sai, Izumo and Kotetsu who took over the next shift. It was supposed to be Itachi's watch tonight, but Shisui had found him not too long ago and informed him that Neji had offered to take his place just for tonight, as long as Itachi took his shift tomorrow night.

"I am headed in that direction." he told her quietly and when she looked at him questioningly, Itachi gave her a small smile. "My cabin."

Oh right. Sakura had forgotten about that. All three of the captains had their own cabins, which were dispersed around the camp. Itachi's just so happened to be closest to the showers. She was certain she would dislike having a cabin so close to the place where people bathed, especially in the morning time. It probably had its perks, though.

When they reached the part where Itachi was about to turn off and head to his cabin, Sakura quickly caught his sleeve. He turned to her silently. "Thank you," she told him earnestly, "for looking after me. And for what you did for Aiko–chan."

He could see her emotions leaking through the dam she had put up after parting from Sasuke's surprising embrace. Itachi could feel in the way her hand tightened its hold on his sleeve that that dam was about to burst.

"Of course." Itachi told her. "I like to think of you as a friend and I am protective of my friends, Sakura. Take care of yourself."

Oh, Itachi could tell by the look in her eyes that she wasn't planning on returning to team seven's cabin. No, she was going to go to Aiko's grave for who knows how long. He simply hoped she would not turn into her former–sensei, despite their previous jokes about her doing so. Hatake Kakashi had wasted so much time, so much of his life, standing in front of the cenotaph for the Konoha–nin who were killed in action. It would be a shame to watch a kunoichi such as Sakura do the same thing and he knew that, had Kakashi been here, he would be saying the same thing.

Sakura nodded, quickly releasing him and heading to the empty showers, her bag of clean clothing being clutched tightly to her chest. And instead of going to his cabin like he told her he would, Itachi turned back around and headed over to Neji and Tenzo, asking them to make sure nobody walked in on Sakura whilst she was showering. It seemed Tenzo understood the message clearly since he had been the team's temporary captain. It wasn't only her body he wished to protect from others' view, but it was also her emotions. She needed privacy to let go.

* * *

His eyes opened languidly as he sensed a presence outside of his cabin, as he heard the door quietly opening and then closing. He didn't need to look to know who it was. The person's chakra had become familiar to him now. It was with great ease that he could distinguish it from the others.

However, it stunned him when Sakura pulled back the covers and climbed into his bed, but what stunned Itachi further was how she curled up against him like nothing strange was happening, how she closed her eyes and released a soft sounding sigh. Shisui was laying not too far from them! What was she doing? Thankfully, the older Uchiha had not woken up to her presence. Well if he was awake, then he gave no sign of hearing or noticing a thing. No, he was being naïve because Itachi knew he would be awake. Shisui was a great shinobi and would have woken up the second he felt movement near their cabin, just like Itachi had.

"Sakura–"

"Don't." she whispered quietly, pressing her face into his neck. "Just… Hold me."

_Sometimes, she just needs somebody to be there for her._

Sasuke's words came to the front of his mind.

_Either it's to listen to her, or to hold her. It's almost subconsciously that she does it, too. Sakura goes to the place she feels safest._

But why would Sakura feel safest with him? Yes, they had been talking a lot recently and were definitely getting to know one another better, but this felt different somehow. Was it because he had taken care of her whilst she was recovering from the poison? But then, what about Sasuke? He was her safety. Not Itachi.

_If you have her trust, she'll come to you, like a wounded, scared animal – or a child seeking comfort. Even though Sakura tries to act tough, she just… needs somebody to be there for her, to hold her. Don't tell her that everything is going to be okay, because she'll know you're lying and she'll close herself off. Just… make it known to her that she doesn't have to face whatever it is that's going on alone. That's all Sakura needs._

It had stunned him to say the least, hearing such words coming from Sasuke, but Itachi had not questioned his brother. Everyone was aware of how close the two were and how they knew everything about one another. Itachi had asked his brother about that bond and that was what Sasuke had replied with.

Hesitantly, Itachi turned onto his side and faced Sakura, but when he saw the look in her red–rimmed, bloodshot eyes, saw exactly what Sasuke had been telling him, his movements became more sure. Lifting his arm and adjusting the sheet covering them, he gave her a small smile and she returned it whilst moving closer once more. Itachi released a sigh and wrapped his arms around her, closing the rest of the distance between them and again she was pressing her face into his neck.

It was definitely not something he was used to, holding somebody whilst attempting to sleep or actually sleeping. But he could understand why Sakura needed it sometimes. It was comforting in an odd way.

Only minutes later and she was sleeping peacefully in his arms, stunning Itachi with how easy it was for her to fall asleep. It would take him a while to, he knew that without even having to think about it. To fall asleep around another shinobi was giving that person your full trust. How she could give hers away so easily was beyond him.

"She must trust you a lot." a voice spoke up quietly and when Itachi opened his eyes, he saw that Shisui was awake. No, he hadn't sat up or anything of the sort, but it wasn't hard to tell when somebody was awake. Thanks to Sakura working on his eyes, he could see more clearly now. "To come here like this, I mean."

"…I know."

"I wonder why she didn't go to Sasuke or Naruto–kun?"

Itachi had no idea why. She shared a cabin with her team, after all. It would have been easier for her to simply get up and walk over to one of their beds instead of walking across the camp just to sleep in Itachi's. Then again… "She's cold." he murmured quietly, making an effort to keep his voice low. "As though she's been outside for a while."

It suddenly clicked in his mind that up until this moment, Sakura had been at Aiko's grave.

It was now four o'clock in the morning. It had been three hours since she had finally dragged herself out of the shower and over to the field where the young girl was buried.

There was a short pause. "Oi, Itachi?" he got a hum as a response. "Sakura–san's…" Shisui sighed and leaned up onto his elbows, glancing over at the two on Itachi's bed. "She's lonely." Itachi nodded. He had already noticed that. "When she heals my eyes, she talks to me. I'm not going to betray her trust by telling you what she has told me but I know that Sakura–san is lonely. And… I think it is nice of you to do this for her."

_Sakura has a habit of trying to fix broken people_.

That was what Sasuke had told him.

But now, it was Sakura's turn to be fixed and Itachi was determined to help her.

* * *

**A/N - ****Everyone should go and watch 'KakaSaku - Love' by 'Marek K'. I was _not prepared_ for that animation and I pretty much exploded with fan-girl feels. I'm so sad hahaha!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	15. Habits

**Chapter 14 – Habits**

Many were keeping a close eye on Haruno Sakura. Even those who didn't seem like the type to care were doing so.

From his seat high in the tree with his chakra still concealed, Itachi silently watched Sakura, who was unaware of the fact he was there.

It had been five weeks now since the attack, since Aiko's death. It had also been five weeks since Sakura began sneaking into his cabin at night and falling asleep in his arms. No words were ever muttered about it and every morning, Itachi was woken up by the shift in the bed that told him she was getting up and going back to her own cabin. He understood clearly. There was no need to cause any rumours or make her team worry. Itachi was certain, however, that Sasuke was catching on. It was surprising just how observant he was becoming lately.

Some nights, when Sakura could not sleep and Shisui was on watch, she opened up to Itachi. Nothing too great or too personal, but little things about herself that he didn't already know. And in response he also told her things. On the nights he was supposed to take watch, Sakura joined him by the camp fire and took over for whoever it was who was supposed to be there. Then, they would go back to his cabin.

Part of Itachi was annoyed with himself. Had this been any other kunoichi, one he wasn't getting to know, one he didn't particularly care for if she stuck around or not, he would have contacted the Hokage by now. There was no point in lying to himself, was there? If it had been anybody else, Itachi would have ordered her to go back to the village. Weaknesses, emotions and sentimentality were not something to risk having at the border. Had it been Tenten who was emotionally distraught, Itachi would have sent her back to Konoha without a second thought.

So why Sakura? He had been asking himself that for the better part of the past five weeks.

At one point, the captain who had replaced Toshi after the groping incident had approached Itachi and had more or less demanded to know why he was allowing Haruno Sakura to stay. The new captain, Hiro, was also ANBU and since his arrival, the team Toshi had been leading were no longer slacking or constantly whining about tension and frustration. He was a good leader, there was no denying that. But Itachi disliked having his authority, his judgement, questioned. Base camp four was _his_ camp. Not Hiro's. If he wanted Sakura and her team to stay, despite how childish it seemed, then they were going to stay.

Hiro had attempted to argue with him but Itachi had silenced him with the fact that Shisui's eyes were still in need of healing, as were his own. They needed Sakura to stay – it was why Tsunade hadn't demanded that her apprentice return in the first place. She could have sent Shizune to take over, but this was Sakura's mission. Tsunade was certain that she could handle it.

It was safe to say that he and Hiro were not on good terms – not that they had been in the first place.

Right at that moment in time, Sakura was sitting outside of her cabin, seeming to be meditating. She had been sat still for over an hour now.

On the nights that Itachi was not on watch, or on the nights that he was but she could not sit with him, Sakura went to visit Aiko's grave. When he wasn't on watch, she wouldn't stay any longer than three, possibly four hours (or two hours if Shisui would not be staying in the cabin). If he was and she couldn't join him, then Sakura would stay there until Itachi sent one of his crows to her. It proved how smart a girl she was, as the first time he sent one to her, she immediately knew what it had meant and said her goodbyes to Aiko, promising to be back tomorrow.

That was another thing that had many at the camp (those who personally knew her) worried.

Sakura was not letting go. It was like she couldn't. Once or twice, Itachi had had to shake her awake due to her thrashing around his bed. One time he had even had to restrain her. Those nights were particularly bad for Sakura. She would try to hold back her emotions, to stop the tears, but they were so very obvious to him and it wouldn't be long until her control shattered. He was simply grateful that Shisui was kind enough not to mention something or complain, despite the fact she had woken him up on several occasions, too.

It had taken him two or three weeks to grow used to sharing a bed with another. No, it wasn't that. Itachi could handle sharing a bed. It was the fact that Sakura fell asleep _in his arms_. That had taken a while to get used to. When Sasuke was a child (only around three or four) he would constantly sneak into Itachi's room and climb into his bed, always mumbling something about the dark. He had grown out of that when he turned six, however, because their father found out and forced Sasuke to get over his fear.

Actually, Itachi wasn't sure why it had taken so long to get used to the feeling. Perhaps it was because, sometimes, when they were opening up to one another, the mood felt… intimate? Was that the correct word to use? He sighed. Probably not. However, right at that moment in time, Itachi could think of no other word to use. Like he had told his brother: he could not understand Sakura. When she told him stories and things about herself, it would always be whilst she was laying in his arms, her face always mere inches from his own.

It would be a lie if he said he was unaffected. He was a man, after all. And there was no use in denying that Sakura was an attractive woman. Itachi simply stomped back those urges to make a move – as he had once heard Naruto call it – because he didn't want to take advantage of the fact she was vulnerable. If things were going to happen between them, it could wait a little while longer. At least until she was feeling more like herself.

All of this was new to Itachi. He didn't like admitting it, but it was the truth. When it came to relationships or certain types of bonds, he had no idea how to handle himself or what to do. At the moment, he wasn't sure how to explain how he felt about Sakura, because there was definitely something there. Itachi just couldn't put his finger on the name of that emotion, of that feeling. Another bond that confused him greatly was the bond between his brother and Sakura. Sasuke had already explained part of their bond to him, but hearing about it and actually seeing the friendship between the two, were completely different things.

To put it plainly, bluntly, their bond fascinated him.

Itachi had never seen Sasuke interact with anyone the way he would interact with Sakura and it was during those moments that he saw them together, that he couldn't even blame the villagers and their clansmen for believing they were romantically involved. Many times Sasuke would push aside his pride to take care of her or to simply be there for her. When had he turned into that kind of man? It annoyed Itachi that he was missing pieces of information, that he couldn't piece it all together. His brother acted so out of character around Sakura that even Naruto had been surprised!

His little brother had gotten lucky by being placed into team seven. Itachi had had no genin team. Sure, to reach chunin, he had to join up with a team of two other genin, but they had only been his team for the exams. Since then, he hadn't seen or heard of them once. It was wrong to admit such a thing, but they meant absolutely nothing to him. Not like team seven meant to Sasuke. Itachi had kept his temporary team alive so that he could pass the chunin exams. Once he reached the final stage, they were on their own, as was he.

Tilting his head to the side, Itachi watched as Sakura slowly came out of her meditation and opened her eyes, glancing around her with an almost empty expression. When was the last time she had truly smiled? Not the small, painful one she often gave reluctantly, nor the fake one she gave to those who asked if she was okay. He meant the bright one, the one that would light up her eyes, that would make her look so very beau–

"You have been watching Sakura–san a lot."

If he hadn't been who he was, Itachi would have jumped. Shisui was the only person who could sneak up on him in such a way and it hadn't helped how he had been watching each and every single one of Haruno Sakura's movements carefully. "I have."

The older Uchiha sighed and sat down beside him on the branch, although Itachi was leaning against the trunk of it and concealing himself. If somebody was to look up at that moment in time, it would appear to be only Shisui sat there. "Any particular reason?" Shisui asked curiously, following Itachi's eyes. There was no answer. The only thing to happen was his eyes narrowing a fraction and it wasn't even because of Shisui's question! It was because of the look that suddenly entered Sakura's eyes. "She is questioning herself."

"Yes."

"She shouldn't." he sighed, watching the way she lowered her eyes to the ground, her eyebrows knitting together. "Unfortunately, this is what being–"

"Aiko was not a shinobi." Itachi cut him off, already knowing what he was about to say. "Sakura has every right to be upset."

It didn't surprise Shisui that Itachi was becoming protective of Sakura. He had heard the way Sakura would break down into tears, even though she had been stubbornly fighting them back, not wanting to wake either of them up. Shisui had also heard the way Itachi would gently shush her, had heard movements that suggested he was tightening his hold on the pink haired kunoichi. It also didn't surprise him how Itachi took care of Sakura, comforted her, without a word of complaint. He was a gentle person. A kind one. He may be a shinobi, but his friend had a pacifistic, gentle nature. He cared.

"Yes, but as shinobi, we are surrounded by death."

"Sasuke told me that he saw part of Sakura in Aiko."

"Is that why it has hit her so hard?"

Itachi sighed. "I don't know."

Shisui was silent.

In his honest opinion, everyone was acting differently. Sasuke was out of character in the way he approached Sakura, the way he took care of her. It wasn't odd to see him glaring at the odd male whose eyes would linger a little too long on her body. It also wasn't odd how he was protective of her (she was his teammate, his friend) but still. Shisui had never seen Sasuke act like… like he cared! And then there was Itachi. No, it did not surprise him that the older brother was taking care of her, because despite what people thought, he was quite a passionate person, he cared and felt and was somebody who just could not stand to see pain or suffering. However, it did surprise him how close he and Sakura were becoming.

"What made you let her in?"

He was still watching her as Sakura stood up and dusted down her standard issue uniform. In Itachi's eyes, it was strange how she preferred formfitting clothing, although when he truly thought about it, it kind of made sense. Personally, Itachi preferred his ANBU uniform to the standard jonin one for more or less the same reason. It wasn't as easy to grab hold of.

"I did not." he murmured after a moment.

And he hadn't. Sakura had smashed her way into his life with those monstrously powerful fists of hers. She forced him to let her in. Not all of his defences and walls were knocked down, of course, but they were crumbling. Itachi could feel them begin to crack and crumble every second he was with her. One after another. All those walls he had put up whilst growing up… She was tearing through them all like it was nothing. Not even Sasuke had been able to do such a thing. Was Sakura even aware of what she was doing? Of how she was sliding into his life and settling down there like she was _supposed_ to be there?

Itachi had never felt connected to anyone like the way he connected with her. No, he wasn't naïve or childish and he knew that the feeling wasn't love. At least, not yet it wasn't. It was more than capable of growing into love, though. Itachi could tell already.

She always managed to surprise him. There wasn't a single person who could act unpredictably in his eyes…

Except for her.

How was that even possible?

"I was in love with Kurenai–san."

Okay, perhaps he had been wrong. Itachi's eyes finally left Sakura's body as she disappeared into her cabin and moved over to Shisui, widened slightly in shock. "_Kurenai–san_? But you have never spoken to her before."

Shisui smiled and shrugged. "That may be so, but the heart wants what it wants." Itachi sat up straighter, knowing that his friend was about to give him advice, even if it didn't entirely seem like it. "I don't know when or how it began. One day, I saw her training. Genjutsu, to be exact. She was flawless in the way she managed to trap Kakashi–san and Asuma–san! Since then, I… gravitated towards her. I enjoyed watching her train, learning more about her. In a way, I guess it could pass as stalking, but… What she doesn't know won't hurt her." he smiled to himself with a shake of his head. "I didn't know how to approach her. She was so unpredictable to me. In each of her training sessions, she always did something that surprised me."

"How do you know you were in love?"

He glanced at the younger Uchiha, raising an eyebrow. "It could pass as just admiration, right? Well," Shisui paused as two shinobi began walking below them, returning to camp, "look. Look at Neji–san's eyes when he glances down at Tenten–san."

He did so, his own eyes narrowing a fraction as he watched the couple interact. There was a warmth in the Hyuuga's eyes, a smile. It was not something Itachi was used to seeing from him. There was something different about the way Neji was holding himself, how his body seemed to be turned towards her despite the fact they were walking. Like gravity. Shisui had stated that he felt as though he had been gravitating towards Kurenai. Was it the same for Neji?

It aggravated Itachi how he didn't know how or why it worked that way, how he couldn't understand it. "And now?"

"Now, Kurenai–san is happy and in love with another." Itachi's eyes moved to Shisui's, once again shocked. "I let her go, because she was already in love. It wasn't easy and I'll admit, there are times when I wish I could watch her train again, but it is wrong to get in the way of love. In the end, it will only cause pain."

That was what he admired so much about Shisui. He was older, meaning he was more experienced. Shisui had no problem with opening up to Itachi and using his own pain or feelings to give the younger Uchiha advice. It had always been that way. If there was something Itachi was uncertain of, he went to Shisui. Sometimes it was difficult for him to open up and say what he was thinking, for the thoughts would not form into words, but somehow, some way, Shisui knew exactly what Itachi was thinking and always managed to help.

"_Shisui–san_!"

It amused Shisui how Itachi tensed ever so slightly.

"_It's time for our session_!"

However, it amused Itachi more how Shisui tensed even more so.

"My eyes are fine today, Sakura–san." he tried to tell her, not willing to come down from his perch on the branch.

A second later and Sakura was was also on the branch in a low crouch, her eyes narrowing on him, but when she saw Itachi, she relaxed her features. "You're next, Itachi!"

"He can go first–"

Again, her eyes narrowed dangerously and snapped to Shisui's. Once again, Itachi was amused that one of the most powerful shinobi he knew was currently trying to talk his way out of being healed. "Go, Shisui. It won't take too long."

Sakura sighed, grumbling, "You always try to avoid me, Shisui–san! And when I finally find you, you try to tell me that you don't need your eyes healing. Are you forgetting who my teammates are, who my sensei is?" she sighed again. "Come on. You always admit at the end of the healing session that it wasn't as bad as you thought it would be."

"That is because you seem to have multiple personalities, Sakura–san." Shisui mumbled, his eyebrows knitting together. "I never know whether I'm going to have my eyes healed, or come away with broken bones, barely making it out alive."

So she wasn't only unpredictable to him? For some reason, it disappointed Itachi.

"If you stay on my good side," she told him, her voice sickly sweet despite her deadly expression, "then you won't have to worry."

"Fine, fine."

"Only one fine is necessary!" Sakura snapped, but then patted his arm softly. "Let's go. Itachi, come and find me in about an hour or two!"

* * *

Shisui was away again.

Around dinner, just after it had gone dark and long after Sakura had healed Shisui's eyes, he got a message saying that he had to head to base camp one to exchange information, due to him being the fastest at their camp.

Base camp one was the camp Hatake Kakashi was in charge of. A few months ago, Naruto had stated that it took him five hours to get there even at a dead sprint (when he left to get the eye drops for Sasuke). It took Shisui half of that time if he seriously pushed himself. That meant he and Sakura had at least five hours, six at most, to themselves before he returned.

Don't get him wrong, because he didn't mind sharing his cabin with Shisui. It was just that… Well, there were times when Itachi wished he could spend more time with Sakura. Alone. It was when they were alone that they truly got to know one another.

"Sasuke–kun and Naruto thinks it's my turn for watch." Sakura told him as she slipped under his covers and moved closer to him. "They didn't ask any questions."

You would think that they were having an affair, with the way they were sneaking around. But they weren't and Itachi wouldn't really call it sneaking. They simply chose not to tell everyone at camp that Sakura was sleeping in his bed. It was none of their concern. With him, in his arms, she was vulnerable. Of course Sakura wouldn't want everybody at the camp to know that!

He lifted his left arm and at the invitation, she shifted forward, resting her head next to his right elbow, which was pressing down on his pillow since he was using his fist to lean his head on. There was a quiet sigh when Itachi wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, sharing his heat when he felt that she was cold.

Which meant she had just come back from visiting Aiko, not that he had expected any different.

"I feel like my head is all over the place." she whispered to him suddenly.

One thing he had noticed about Sakura was that, when discussing personal topics such as this one, she always fidgeted and grew nervous, her eyes darting around. Sometimes she pulled at the hem of her shirt, other times she distractedly did the same to the sheet. Right now she was currently playing with the ends of his hair, twirling it around her finger and watching as the dark strands flicked out. It felt so smooth and soft!

"All I can think about," she frowned, biting her lower lip, "is… is _her_. And I've tried so hard to distract myself! But everywhere I look, everywhere I go, I keep remembering how badly I failed her, that she died because of my weakness."

"What weakness?" Itachi asked, his voice soft and soothing to her.

Sakura looked up at him, her eyebrows knitting together. "Sasuke–kun… He says I have a habit of acting like a mother hen whilst others say that when I'm _really_ angry, I'm more like a lioness protecting her cubs." she shifted slightly, looking more angry with herself. "I should have listened to you and Neji–san when you tried to tell me to send Aiko–chan to Konoha. I should've done that. I should have healed her and then allowed Sai to take her to Konoha. At least that way, she'd still be alive. If I–"

"You should not think that way, Sakura." he cut her off. "There is no point in worrying or regretting over what ifs. What happened, happened. I understand that you are hurting and I know you most likely hate what I'm saying to you right now. But think of it this way," he ignored how she opened her mouth to argue, pressing a single finger to her lips and silencing her, "Aiko gave her life to protect you, because she cared for you. If she had done as you asked and remained in the cabin, she would not have been killed. Knowing the great risk and knowing that there was a chance of losing her life, she ran out there and protected you from taking any further blows."

She shook her head angrily, leaning up on her elbow. "Aiko–chan didn't know she would die! She was just a–"

"Just a child?" Itachi murmured and when she nodded, glaring up at him, he sighed. "Sakura, Aiko was being trained to become a shinobi. Perhaps not like the rest of us have been, but she was nonetheless. She told you that herself, told you that her mother had been training her. Aiko had seen many terrible things. She knew what would happen if she got involved in that battle."

And because it was the truth, Sakura could do no more than lower her head, her forehead pressing to the crook of his neck. "I told her I would look after her."

The hand on her back trailed up to cradle the back of her head at the faint tremble he felt from her. "I know."

"I feel like I can never do anything right!" she whispered harshly into his neck, trying her best to stop the tears.

It did no good to try and bottle up your emotions, so Itachi was silent and did his best to comfort her. Every day, Sakura would bottle up her pain and emotions the best that she could, but at night, when she came to him, that bottle exploded and there was no controlling everything that came shooting out of her. And, as Itachi shifted in his position so that the arm he was leaning on could be placed under her back, his thumb tracing a soothing pattern on the small patch of skin revealed there, he found that he didn't mind taking care of her.

"The word 'weak' just keeps flashing through my mind."

"Change it, then."

She pulled back slightly and gazed up at him uncertainly, seeming unaffected by the fact there was only a few inches of distance between their faces. "How?"

However, Itachi _was_ affected and his eyes were attempting to glance down at her lips, whilst his lips wanted nothing more than to close the distance between them, although he did a good job of hiding it. "Train."

Sakura sighed with annoyance. "I do. All the time! I've trained with so many people and the outcome is still the same. I'm still–"

"I will train you." Itachi told her, fighting back the smile that threatened to pull at his lips when he saw the stunned look on her face. At that moment in time, his features were blank, yet they were also serious. "And I will help you grow stronger."

Training with Uchiha Itachi.

Her stomach felt warm with a mixture of nervousness and something else that she couldn't describe.

"In return," he continued, his eyes growing more serious, "I want you to do something for me."

That nervousness in her stomach increased. "Do something?"

"Yes."

And as he told her what he wanted her to do, Sakura's eyes widened in shock.

* * *

**A/N - Oooh, what do you think he asked her? ;-)**

**So, the manga is ending in three weeks. NO. Do you think there'll be a third part to the series? I heard somewhere that there will be, because the movie is going to be the opening of a new era or something like that. Translations are always different on some of the stuff I read -.-**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	16. Nothing To Apologise For

**Chapter 15 – Nothing To Apologise For**

Sakura quickly jumped backwards, putting some space between her and Itachi, but he soon closed that distance and came at her with such fast attacks that it was difficult for her to keep up.

She should have known it would be this difficult – and he hadn't even activated his sharingan! Itachi had been pushed a hell of a lot harder than Sasuke and at the same time, he was a prodigy, a genius. It all came to him naturally.

Cutting off that thought, Sakura ducked, barely missing having her head taken off by his kick.

They had been training for over two hours now and if she had ever thought that Kakashi was a hardass, then she was wrong. Itachi was so much more of a hardass. Perhaps not as much as Tsunade, but still. Right now, they were working on her reflexes, even though Sakura had tried to tell the Uchiha that they were fine. That had been the first thing Tsunade had beaten into her. Itachi proved her wrong by moving so much faster than she could even see and knocking her onto her ass. It wasn't fair, she had tried to argue. He was much faster than her!

So now, they were also working on her speed.

Sakura liked to think that she had somewhat improved in the past three weeks. Every night, she would be aching and barely even capable of moving (it was fixed with a quick once over of her healing chakra, though she had to wait until her chakra was full once more). Sasuke had commented on it before, shrugging and saying Itachi was a good teacher, whilst Naruto had exclaimed that she shouldn't be training with anyone other than team seven – Tsunade was a 'one off'.

Idiot! Couldn't he see the improvement yet? Itachi never allowed her to take a break or catch her breath. He kept her on her toes at all times and demanded her full attention. First, they had worked on her stance. As you grow older, your body obviously changes and as it does, you need to change many of the things you do. How you hold yourself and how you fight are two of those many things. Once he was certain her stance guarded all parts of her body, Itachi then moved onto reflex and speed training – which was what they were currently doing and had been for the past two weeks.

They could train together every day, but they had to keep in mind that they were not back home. They were at a base camp and had to be prepared at all times. In other words, they could not exhaust themselves during their training. Some days they didn't train at all, others they took it easy and two or three days a week, they really went at it and pushed themselves to their limit. Well, Sakura pushed herself to the limit. By the end of every training session, she was lucky if Itachi was breathless.

He seemed happy with how she was coming along, however. He had told her so just the other night when Shisui asked how the training was going. Many had taken to watching in their spare time, such as her teammates – both permanent and temporary. Lee enjoyed watching too, shouting encouragement to her and often moving this way and that, like he was thinking of how _he_ would have moved had it been him who was sparring with either Sakura or Itachi. After a while, Neji and Tenten joined him in watching Sakura's training.

It made her feel rather self–conscious, but Itachi never gave her enough time to think about it. Apparently he was used to having people watch him train.

Suddenly, his hand struck out and grabbed her wrist, twisting her arm and holding it behind her back.

"You are allowing your mind to wander, Sakura." he murmured. "Can you afford to do that in a fight against your enemy?"

She shook her head. "No."

"What were you thinking about?"

Sakura was aware of what he was expecting her to say. She knew what he was most likely inwardly sighing about. However, that wasn't the answer she gave him. "It's off–putting having them all watching." she sighed, relaxing against his hold. More like she had no other choice to. One wrong movement and her arm would snap like a twig. "Makes me feel like an animal in a zoo."

Glancing over his shoulder, Itachi silently watched the four sat there. Sasuke, Naruto, Tenten and Lee. Neji was doing a perimeter run with Sai whilst Shisui was once again going to base camp one to discuss certain things with Hatake Kakashi.

"_Kick, Sakura–san_!" Lee yelled to her, thinking she was stuck. "_He has restrained your arm, not your leg_!"

"_Idiot_," Tenten sighed with a shake of her head, "_if Sakura tries to harm him, Itachi–taichou could break her arm_."

"_Eh_?" Naruto exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "_Oi, Itachi_!" he yelled angrily, shaking his fist in the air. "_This is a spar, not a real fight! Don't hurt my Sakura–chan. This_–"

"_Shut up, dobe_."

"_Teme_–"

"You see what I mean?" Sakura sighed with annoyance. "It's distracting and annoying."

In response, Itachi also sighed. He could see why they were bothering her, as they were bothering him, too. Out of all of them, Sasuke was the only one who was silent and even then, he often snapped something harsh at Naruto. The others were all annoyingly loud. Even Itachi would admit that. Naruto should not be so worried about Sakura – yes, they were friends and teammates, but in a real battle, that worry would have been used against him the second he revealed it. Tenten should not be shaking her head and sighing every now and then, like she wasn't happy with how Sakura was defending herself or attacking – it was actually _extremely_ aggravating. Then, she was correcting Lee, who was yelling to her which technique to use or what she should do to get out of a situation quite like the one she was currently in.

Those who had previously watched Itachi spar or train (his father, the clan elders, Shisui – people such as those) knew not to disturb him or call out to him. They were silent. It was easier to forget they were even there, that way.

"It is." he agreed, his thumb tracing soothing patterns on her wrist before he released her.

Sakura sighed in relief and rubbed her shoulder and wrist a few times before dropping her arm and turning to face Itachi, which also meant turning to face the others. How could she say to them that they should back off? If she said it too harshly, she could end up offending one of them and that was the last thing Sakura wanted. They were her friends.

Lowering herself into a defensive stance, Sakura prepared herself for Itachi as he suddenly shot over to her.

"_Sakura–chan, duck!"_

A punch to the face had her flying backwards, utterly stunning them all – even Itachi. He had been certain she would dodge it. His stomach twisted as he watched Sakura fall to the ground like she was nothing more than a doll. A small, fragile, porcelain doll.

Itachi turned around, his eyes narrowed and serious as they locked with Naruto's wide and horrified ones. "Naruto–kun–"

"You idiot!" Sakura yelled, beating Itachi to it. She shot to her feet and darted over to him, shaking him roughly once she had a hold of his collar. "Look! _Look at this_!" she gestured to her bloody lip, tightening her hold on the Uzumaki. "I could have dodged if you hadn't distracted me!"

Oh. Itachi could see what she had done now. Sakura had purposely taken a punch to the face just as Naruto yelled out to her – although, that could have possibly been real, for Itachi had seen the distracted look in her eyes, had seen her entire body tense. No, it hadn't been done on purpose. The punch that had busted her lip had stunned her and it wasn't until she hit the ground that Sakura came back to herself. It seemed that she was merely taking advantage of it.

"Sakura–chan, I'm–"

"No!" she snapped, cutting him off and bringing him closer, her eyes honestly terrifying him. "This is training, Naruto. This isn't a game. This is _my_ training. If I want to become stronger, I need to take this seriously and I can't do that with you screaming my name every two minutes!"

Lee caught onto her meaning, his cheeks flushing slightly. Tenten also understood clearly as she bit her lip. However, it made her happy that they seemed understanding and not angry with her. After all, they came here to watch and to support her. But this wasn't the chunin exams! This was her training. Itachi was taking time out of _his_ day to train her, even though he was leader of the base camp, even though he was extremely busy.

Sakura sighed, her hold not as rough anymore. "I'd be grateful if Itachi and I could train in privacy. Without everyone watching. I'm grateful that you're all here to support me, but it's too much of a distraction and it's already difficult keeping up with him."

The blond didn't seem concerned with backing away or trying to make a run for it. Instead, Naruto pouted. "I like watching you spar."

Inwardly, Itachi tensed and what Shisui had told him not too long ago ran through his mind. About how he enjoyed watching Kurenai spar and had fallen in love with her. It took everything for him not to narrow his eyes. Was Naruto in love with Sakura? Itachi had heard about his crush for her (everyone had), but was it more than a crush?

"You can spar with me once a week." Sakura offered with a small smile. "Please, Naruto. You and Kakashi–sensei have always gone easy on me. Sasuke–kun is the only member of team seven who takes me seriously. And Tsunade–sama, too. If I keep sparring with you and sensei, then I'm never going to be able to grow. You both hold back so much that it makes me feel pathetic."

It was no longer her taking advantage of the situation, Sasuke noticed with a frown. Sakura was telling Naruto the truth. The way he and Kakashi held back on her _did_ make her feel pathetic. She had told Sasuke that many times. And he could understand why she went to his brother for training. Itachi never held back in anything. If he wanted something, he _would_ get it. In this case, Itachi wanted to train Sakura and help her grow stronger. Which meant she _would_, because Itachi never gave up. He refused to when it came to training or anything of the sort. If he could see Sakura's potential, then he would not give up until she reached his expectations.

Honestly? Sasuke was kind of glad Itachi was training Sakura. Like her, he had also noticed that she seemed to be stuck in her training. Never moving back, but never moving forward, either. Thanks to Tsunade, she had mastered medic–ninjutsu. Thanks to Lee, she was on her way to mastering taijutsu. But that was all. Sakura had just about managed to scrape through the jonin exams because of the examiners believing it to be best to keep team seven as a team – meaning they should all be jonin. They understood that for a medic, Sakura was highly skilled. No other medic (except for Tsunade) could fight and protect themselves the way she could and also, she had Tsunade's seal. That was the only reason she even passed those exams. Who knows what she could learn whilst training with Itachi?

"Fine." he sighed, but then smiled brightly. "Do your best to get stronger, Sakura–chan, but don't hurt Itachi too badly!"

She smirked at his wicked grin and nodded once.

"Oh and heal your lip!" Naruto yelled over his shoulder as the group left the clearing. "Blood doesn't suit you."

Rolling her eyes, Sakura turned to face Itachi, smiling up at him. "So, do we need to work on my acting skills?"

He gave her a small smirk and closed the distance between them. "No. There may be a plus side to showing so much emotion, after all." Itachi murmured to her, though his smirk slipped away at the sight of her lip. "You should have given me–"

Sakura waved her hand dismissively. It honestly didn't even hurt that badly if she didn't focus on it. Although it was rather disgusting feeling blood dripping down her chin. Surely it wasn't an attractive sight, either. "I'm fine, Itachi."

It surprised her greatly when he lifted his hand and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip, watching her expression for pain. There was none. Only awe and surprise. However, the knowledge that it was _him_ who did that to her didn't sit well with him. With the basic medic–ninjutsu that he knew, Itachi removed his hand from her face and made a single seal. Her surprise only grew as he gently healed the split, as he mended the skin until her lip looked just as it had before he punched her.

He was no Shizune or Sakura and he was most definitely no Tsunade. However, to avoid going to the hospital whenever he returned from a mission and also at his mother's insistence, Itachi had taught himself basic medic–ninjutsu. No, he could not heal major or fatal wounds. At best he could heal broken fingers. However he could clot blood and stop the bleeding. That was enough to get himself and his teammates back to Konoha, to the hospital. That was all that they needed to stay alive.

"I didn't know you could heal." Sakura whispered.

Even though he had finished with healing her lip, Itachi didn't let go of her face. Instead his hand cupped her jaw whilst his thumb continued to soothingly stroke her lip, as though he was making sure there was no pain whilst also wiping away the blood from her lips. "There are a lot of things you don't know."

Sakura smirked softly. "Very mysterious."

"Very."

Was it just her, or was Itachi leaning forward? Or was it her leaning up? Whoever it was, Inner–Sakura agreed wholeheartedly and liked that person very much.

Beneath his thumb, her lip was smooth, soft. Her bottom lip was a little thinner than her upper lip, but Itachi found that he liked that. He didn't care too much for the 'pouting' look most women wished for. It also occurred to him at that moment that her skin was just as soft and inwardly, Itachi was asking himself just when his thumb had moved from her lip and across her face, stroking her cheek. Since Sakura had been healing his eyes, he could see so much better. He could see the slight crease between her eyebrows as his thumb smoothed it over, effectively making her relax her features.

There were yellow flecks in her eyes as well as emerald green and fresh apple green, though overall, from a distance, it seemed like they were simply apple green. Also, despite her natural colour, her eyelashes were not pink. Itachi wasn't sure why he had thought they would be as the idea of them being pink seemed rather foolish. No, instead they were as dark and thick as his own, though not as long. Her eyes were different from when she was younger. When she was younger, they seemed a little droopy (though nowhere near as bad as Hatake Kakashi's), but right now, standing before him and staring up at him from beneath her lashes, they were just as exotically slanted as his own.

He had always known that Haruno Sakura would grow to be a beautiful woman. The only thing that had been wrong in his eleven year old self's prediction, was that she was not a civilian. Sakura was a kunoichi. That was even better in his eyes.

This time, Sakura knew for a fact that it was Itachi who moved, for he pressed his forehead to hers, seeming almost hypnotised by her eyes. Had they suddenly switched bodies? Was she the one with the sharingan and had it activated of its own accord? Sakura felt like scoffing. Yeah, she wished! But if she didn't have the sharingan (and she didn't!), then what was so fascinating about her eyes? Of course, she had received many compliments on the colour of them, but…

She smiled shyly, though bit her lip when Itachi's eyes were drawn to them.

And the second she released her lip, his suddenly descended to hers.

The kiss was not simple and she liked it. She liked the way Itachi seemed hesitant, like he was holding back. She liked the way he waited until she responded before he shut his eyes, before he completely relaxed. Sakura liked how one moment, he kissed her gently, softly, and then the next, he would be deepening the kiss, he would move his lips against hers with a barely restrained hunger. It made her feel wanted. No, it made her feel as though she was needed.

Swiftly, the hand on her cheek slid into her hair, marvelling at how soft it felt between his fingers.

He was everywhere. His warmth, the feeling he radiated…

Sakura's arms wrapped around his neck and she lifted herself onto her tip toes, gasping softly when she parted her lips for him and his tongue slipped into her mouth, caressing her own. One of his hands dropped to her hip, dragging her closer to him and before Sakura even realised what was happening, her back was against the nearest tree trunk. Maybe his self–control wasn't as great as everybody made it seem? Sure, he _appeared_ to be emotionless all of the time, but maybe that wasn't the case? Kakashi had taught them to look underneath the underneath. Perhaps there was more to Itachi than there appeared?

His eyes were warm and half lidded when they parted for air, panting against each other's lips. The air around them felt different than before. Sakura wasn't an idiot. She could read the signs and knew how she had been acting around Itachi. She also knew that he knew she wanted him thanks to her inner–persona.

Suddenly, however, he pulled away with a small smile.

And then a moment later, somebody was by his side.

"Itachi–senpai, Sakura." Tenzo greeted them and thankfully, even if he noticed the blush on Sakura's cheeks, he didn't say anything or so much as bat an eyelid. In fact he acted like nothing was going on, like he didn't suspect a thing. That was what Sakura had always like about Tenzo. He kept to himself and didn't force his way into your business. If he could sense that it was private, that it wasn't to be told to anyone, he would keep it that way with little to no problems. "Senpai, it seems our captive is finally beginning to speak."

It was about time! Itachi sighed. Whilst he wanted nothing more than to remain with Sakura, he knew that right now, he had to reign in those emotions and be a tool for his village. Hopefully, she would understand – if the look she gave him meant anything, she did. When Tenzo was dismissed and went back to the interrogation cabin, Itachi closed the distance between them once more and kissed her softly, although the kiss wasn't like the first. This one was simple, yet still tender.

"I will speak with you later, Sakura."

And then he was gone.

* * *

He had kissed her.

Sakura took a deep breath and continued her work on Sasuke's eyes, trying to keep calm as she did so.

But oh God. Uchiha Itachi had kissed her!

And she wanted him to do it again.

"Why are you so excited?" Sasuke grumbled, though was not able to open his eyes due to the fact she was healing them.

The damage was no longer as bad as it had been and he could see almost perfectly. However, Sakura was wary about him activating his sharingan. At least not yet. When he activated it, she wanted Itachi or Shisui to be around just in case something happened and her current research did nothing to help. Luckily, there was no more pain for Sasuke, although it took him a good thirty seconds in the morning to clear his vision of blurred spots. That was something Sakura was currently working on.

As a shinobi, Sasuke needed his sight to be perfect. Otherwise, if there was an attack and he suddenly leapt out of bed to defend himself, he could end up accidentally killing a comrade and not realising until it was too late.

The new captain at base camp four (Sakura was certain he was called Hiro), had asked her if it was a wise decision to keep Sasuke there. Oh she had wanted so badly to beat the shit out of him, especially since he had asked her in front of the entire camp when Sasuke was by her side. Hiro's words got to Sasuke – they could all see it. They could see the way his features struggled to remain emotionless, the way his fists clenched tightly. It was only thanks to Tenzo intervening that Hiro didn't get his ass kicked by both Sakura and Sasuke (Naruto, too, once he realised what was happening).

"Your eyes, Sasuke–kun." Sakura lied. It was hard to tell if she was lying since she sounded just as excited – and she was! "They're almost completely healed now. Tomorrow, I want you to tell me how long it takes for your vision to clear when you wake up."

And then they were going to try activating his sharingan.

Carefully extracting her chakra, Sakura smiled brightly at the Uchiha as he slowly opened his eyes and blinked twice. "It didn't take as long for them to clear." he commented, glancing around the room. "Even after you heal them, they take at least ten to fifteen seconds to clear, depending on how long they're closed for."

"Which is a great sign!"

He gave a small smile and nodded once. "Yeah."

"I feel like I'm so much closer to discovering why your eyes are being affected so much." Sakura told him. "I've been thinking back to when all this began and I realised that before you became the Kyuubi's watcher, you never had a problem." Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction. "Do you think that's it?"

It was quiet for a while as Sasuke thought over her words, as he tried to figure out just what that would mean if it was true. What if it _was_ because of him being the Kyuubi's watcher? But that didn't make any sense! Itachi and Shisui had watched over the Kyuubi several times and they never had a problem. The same went for many in his clan. _Why him_? Were his eyes not as strong as the others'? "I don't think so." he murmured after a minute or two. "If that was the case, Tsunade would have found someone else to watch over Naruto and the Kyuubi."

That was true. The moment she realised it was causing him health problems, Tsunade would have stopped him from being the watcher and handed it over to somebody who could handle it. "But something around that time definitely did something to your eyes." Sakura replied with a frown. "Remember that morning when we were in the hospital? And other than headache and eye strain, you were fine. More or less unharmed."

Sasuke scowled. "Naruto wasn't harmed either."

"I'm not accusing you of anything!" she snapped, realising he had taken her words the wrong way. "I'm just stating facts. And yeah, all that was wrong with him was chakra depletion and the fact that that chakra from the Kyuubi always hurts him." After a moment or two, Sasuke nodded in agreement. Sakura stared into his eyes, trying to remember if something had happened to his sharingan. She couldn't. Nothing that came springing to mind with warning bells, anyway. "When you next activate your sharingan, I want to be there and I want either Itachi or Shisui–san there. That way, if I miss anything, they'll be able to tell me."

Knowing that there was no use in arguing, he nodded again. "Right."

* * *

The captive was finally speaking, but the things he was saying were worrying to say the least.

An Uchiha attacked Iwa.

And the Tsuchikage was certain that it had been Sasuke. However, when the Iwa–nin told Itachi the date of the attack, he could personally vouch for his brother. That was the date of one of the bigger, more important, clan meetings. One that nobody was allowed to miss. Even if you were on your deathbed, you had to attend. No exceptions and no excuses. Throughout that entire clan meeting, Sasuke had been sat next to him and had been conscious the whole time, speaking when spoken to directly and giving the occasional nod of approval.

So that meant somebody had been impersonating his brother. He could not have sent a clone either, as the distance was far too great and it wouldn't have made it even halfway. Sasuke may have large chakra reserves, but he was not Naruto. The further away a clone got, the more chakra it took to sustain it.

All around the time of the attack, Sasuke had either been with him, or been with the Hokage and his team. It made no sense. Why would somebody choose Sasuke? Why not Itachi or Shisui? At that moment in time, they were both the most powerful in their clan – not including those who were dead, of course – whilst Sasuke was not. But maybe that was why he had been chosen? Whilst Sasuke was powerful, he still had flaws and many weaknesses. That would make him easier to impersonate. He and Shisui never showed their weaknesses. They never revealed what their flaws were. So even if somebody was watching them, they would not be able to find much out. With Sasuke, however…

Itachi sighed and sat back in his seat, about to start on yet another report.

Who could be impersonating his younger brother?

When he found out who, that person was going to be made to suffer. Not only were they dragging Sasuke's name through the mud, but they were also trying to start a war. They were putting not only his family in danger, but the whole of Konoha.

That was not acceptable.

* * *

"Camp has been busy all day. People rushing around, shouting orders, arguing." Sakura smiled sadly. "You probably wouldn't have liked it much. I know you don't like loud noises."

Silence met her.

Looking around the dark clearing, she frowned. Things today had been hectic. After healing Sasuke's eyes, they had left their cabin just in time to see Sai putting a tied up Iwa–nin on the back of one of his creations. When they asked what was happening, they were told it was highly classified. Only Sai, Tenzo and Itachi knew of what was happening. It had annoyed them, but they understood in a way. Those three were all ANBU and whatever the information they found out was, it was clearly something big that needed to be taken straight to their Hokage.

Everything was being bathed in moonlight and Sakura couldn't help but smile softly at the sight of the flowers. They seemed so delicate and beautiful, even though their colours were all dulled or washed away. And in her peripheral vision, Sakura could see that the ends of her hair appeared almost blonde and silver in the moonlight. No doubt the rest of her hair looked that colour, too.

The pain that had been ever–present for months now doubled.

"Naruto misses you – we all do." Sakura told her softly, continuing with picking some flowers and arranging them. "He misses having you around and laughing at his jokes. The others don't think he's all that funny, but you do, don't you?" a gentle breeze had her hair obscuring her vision for a moment though it settled down almost straight away. "And even though they won't admit it, I know Sasuke–kun and Itachi miss you, too. They just prefer not to bring you up, in case they upset me." Sakura paused for a moment and readjusted one of the flowers. "I'm still doing it, by the way. Training with Itachi. Though it's really tough, you know? Unlike the others, he never lets me take a break. He's pushing way beyond my limits."

Another breeze, this one much stronger. Sakura liked to think that it was Aiko's way of replying to her. "No, no. He's not hurting me. Itachi's making me stronger and helping me. I _need_ this."

Lowering her hands and stilling her movements, she frowned. "Some of the others are getting annoyed with me. Earlier, I overheard two of them talking about me. I can't even remember their names, but they're on Hiro–san's team. Anyway, they were talking about how I'm too emotional, how I didn't even know you…" it took everything in her to stop the tears and when she spoke again, Sakura's voice was higher. "And I know they're right, but it just hurts so bad. You were just a kid, Aiko–chan. You were just an innocent child who got mixed up in our wars and I'm so sorry for that. I'm so sorry for keeping you here when I should have sent you back to Konoha."

The breeze came back. "Itachi told me that I shouldn't feel guilty and I'm trying so hard not to, but it's difficult and I can tell that he feels like he's partly to blame, too. Usually he's so impassive – Sasuke–kun, too! However, they're both feeling just as guilty as I am. We all have our reasons, I guess."

Her breathing hitched for a moment. "Aiko–chan, I'm so sorry that I couldn't keep my promise."

As soon as the words left her mouth, clawed feet landed on her shoulder, a black head turning to the side so that Sakura could see it more easily. Itachi's crow. She could tell because of how intelligent the eyes of the crow were. Nodding, Sakura placed her finished flower bouquet against Aiko's headstone, giving a small smile and placing her hand against her carved name.

"Night, Aiko–chan. I'll be back to see you tomorrow."

The crow disappeared halfway back to camp and when it did, she felt a huge weight settle on her chest and it only increased when Sakura entered her cabin to see that her teammates were asleep. Grabbing her bag and shoving clean clothing into it, she left the cabin once more and made her way over to the showers, nodding once to Neji, who was currently on watch. Sakura knew she could trust him not to allow anyone to walk in on her in the shower (not that they would, as it was rather late) and also, he wouldn't comment on the fact that after her shower, she would not be returning to her own cabin. Neji's eyes missed very little, after all.

Slipping out of her clothes and into the shower stall, Sakura sighed when the hot water hit her. How they had hot water in a place like this, she had no idea. All she knew was that she was incredibly grateful for it.

However it was halfway through her shower that she realised something. That weight would not leave her chest and in response, her entire body felt heavy. Not only that, but there was also a certain itch building within her. She bit her lip. Previously, a certain redhead would have helped her with that particular itch. Gaara was not here now, though and even if he was, their relationship was no longer like that.

There was always…

No. Right now, the relationship building between them was fragile (or was it?) and to do such a thing would make her so very vulnerable. Could she really be that way with him? Could Sakura truly open up to Itachi in such a way? Would he even understand? Surely, over the years, he had also felt that certain itch? She wouldn't think any less of him if he did. He had been in ANBU since he was just eleven years old! He had to have seen some seriously messed up shit that had screwed with his head. All ANBU operatives were haunted by their job – though some were better at hiding the psychological damage than others.

Sakura bit her lip.

Even if it was only brief, she needed that blissful moment, the one that made you forget about the pain. Even if it was only for a short while she wanted to feel like she was needed. That was what her itch wanted. It wanted her to feel wanted, to feel needed. Could Itachi give her that? He had kissed her earlier that day, so clearly he was attracted to her or at least interested.

Really, the question was: would he turn her away?

Deciding to simply take a chance, Sakura cleaned herself and switched off the shower, drying her body quickly and distractedly before pulling on her pants and throwing a sweatshirt over her head. There was no point in putting on her underwear. If things went the way she hoped they would then they would only be coming off again!

So distracted, Sakura quickly left the shower area without her bag and sandals, walking as fast as she could without drawing attention to herself over the grass (vaguely glad that she had dried her feet, as it wouldn't be very arousing to have grassy, muddy feet).

He was still awake.

That thought repeated itself in her mind as she shut the door to Itachi's cabin behind her. The lights were all out and he was laying in bed with his eyes shut, seeming to be sleeping, but by the sound of his breathing, it was obvious he was only relaxing.

At the sound of fabric shifting, Itachi opened his eyes.

"Shisui–san isn't here?"

He shook his head, watching her carefully as she climbed into bed, shifting the covers over herself and restlessly moving around for a moment.

Something was different about the way she approached him.

But Itachi definitely wasn't complaining as Sakura slipped her thigh over his hip, as she stared up at him with a sultry look. Her hands pulled on the drawstring pants he was wearing, shoving them down just enough for him to be freed and once he was, she was kissing him heatedly, her hand working on his length until he was just as ready as her. The fact that she didn't seem to be wearing pants or underwear only vaguely registered in his mind as he was too preoccupied with the pleasure shooting up and down his spine, of returning her sudden, hungry kiss.

He was not rejecting her or pushing her away.

The heel of Sakura's foot dug into the back of his thigh and her mouth fell open, her eyes slid shut, when she guided him to her entrance, allowing him to slide his length into her heat. Itachi found that he enjoyed that expression on her face. A lot. As she began to move, his hand dropped to her ass, gripping it tightly as he guided her into a steady rocking movement.

Everything else was lost to Sakura the second Itachi kissed, licked and grazed his teeth along her neck, the second he took control of their pace. She liked this. The intimate rocking of his hips against hers, the hot feeling of his open–mouthed kisses on her neck.

Her lips pressed to his temple for moment, but she was too distracted by his ministrations to do much else, so could do nothing more other than wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him impossibly closer. It was a relief when he helped her out of her sweatshirt, throwing it to the ground without having to move too much, without their position of laying on their sides being disturbed. Her arms went back around him once it was gone.

His hair tickled her neck and shoulder, sticking to her skin as a thin layer of sweat began to cover them both, but Sakura didn't mind. It was a nice feeling. A quiet moan of his name sounded when she felt that feeling, the one that told her something big was coming. Panting against his temple, her hand slipped down his back and to Itachi's hip, urging him to move just a little bit faster. He did so. And when he did, that coil, that feeling, finally snapped, finally burst.

With her orgasm came Itachi's, a soft moan escaping him as he stilled his thrusts, holding Sakura's hips flush against his as he came.

She did not move away from him. He didn't want her to. Instead, Itachi tightened his hold on her and rolled himself onto his back, pulling her on top of him.

"…Wow."

He smirked tiredly at her whisper, his hand running through her hair.

"I'm sorry." Sakura continued in a quiet whisper, leaning up so that she could look down at him. "I should've… spoken to you about this first, right? I mean, there was that kiss we shared earlier, but–"

"You do not need to apologise, Sakura. We're both adults and we both wanted this." Itachi murmured to her, pulling her down to him again and brushing a kiss to her lips. "Rest. We can talk about this in the morning."

* * *

**A/N - Having a really bad day and needed something to take my mind off it, so I decided to post another chapter. Reading back on it now, though, I feel like it's too soon for them to be having sex, but at the same time, I don't want to take that part out of the chapter. There will be explanations and whatever in the next chapter.**

**Oh and to the person who reviewed last chapter saying Sakura's acting unprofessional... She's grieving and feels like a child's death is on her hands. I'm sure anybody would feel inadequate and would hate themselves if they were in Sakura's position. And I know she hasn't been entirely professional even before Aiko's death, but meh. She has a medic's heart and has always had trouble shoving away her emotions. I don't like an emotionless Sakura who is unbelievably powerful. I like her to have flaws, because she does have them. It's what makes her, her.**

**Ugh. I hate college. I have 100% attendance, 5/5 for work ethic and effort and yesterday at this progress interview thing, I was predicted As and distinctions and already working at As. But today, I was told that I can't be a part of my course anymore because I'm 'too old' for it. _Bull-fucking-shit_. They knew how old I was on enrolment day! So what's the fucking issue? They also promised that if I finished this year with passes for all subjects, with 100% attendance and effort, then they'd let me stay for the next two years to do my a-levels.**

**Ha. So much for becoming a journalist, then.**

**I have an interview with them tomorrow or something like that. I can't even be bothered, to be honest. Maybe I should sue them. Is that even possible? -.-**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	17. Agreements

**Chapter 16 – Agreements**

To say Uchiha Shisui was feeling surprised when he entered the cabin he was temporarily sharing with Itachi would be an understatement. Of course he already knew that it had become a habit of Sakura's over the past month or so to sneak into Itachi's bed and fall asleep in his arms, but this…

Right at that moment in time, her back was against his chest and Itachi was curled around her. The sheet that was covering them only covered their waists and below and the only thing shielding Sakura's breasts from Shisui's eyes was Itachi's arm, which was wrapped around them. From what he could see, they were both naked. Sakura's clothes were thrown to the ground carelessly (as well as Itachi's pants, he realised a moment later) and there was definitely a musky scent to the air, telling him that yes, they had had sex.

It was about damn time.

Sleeping in a cabin with two people who had that much sexual tension growing between them was almost unbearable.

"Shisui." Itachi sighed, not even opening his eyes and keeping his face pressed into Sakura's neck. "I know that you are tired, but please give us a moment of privacy to get dressed."

Sakura shifted in her sleep, moaning and letting out a "sh" to Itachi until she grabbed the arm beneath her head and placed a tender, sleepy kiss to it.

"I only came for a change of clothes." Shisui murmured in reply, stepping into the room and grabbing what he needed. "There is no rush for you both to wake up and get dressed. Sleep, Itachi. You need the rest just as much as Sakura–san."

He nodded silently, although he knew that he would not be going back to sleep any time soon. Not when others were awake and moving around close to his cabin. The only reason Itachi hadn't known Shisui had entered until it was too late was because he transported himself into the room. Reaching down, Itachi pulled the covers up and around both himself and Sakura, trying to ignore the way she squirmed against him as he kept her pinned and still.

Just as quickly as he had entered, Shisui left and once he had, Itachi loosened his hold on Sakura, allowing her to move more freely in her sleep. She looked so peaceful right at that moment in time, he thought as he used his hand to rest his head on, his elbow pressing down into the pillow. Sakura didn't seem to mind how his arm had tensed and flexed beneath her head. Instead, she shifted backwards until she was more fully against him and snuggled her face into his arm.

Definitely a strange woman in his eyes.

Itachi couldn't deny that it was endearing, though. The way her nose scrunched up slightly until she raised her hand and scratched it sleepily, that hand soon moving to her shoulder as it was tickled by his hair. He smiled and reached behind him, brushing his hair over his shoulder so that it wouldn't bother her before once more resting his arm over her waist, holding her against him.

Was it strange to admit that at twenty–four years of age, this was the first time Itachi had woken up to a woman, holding her, after making love the night before? Of course there had been a few women in the past but they had all been targets. He had slept with them to find out information. After getting what he needed, he left. His mission had been accomplished so there was no need to stick around. The last thing Itachi needed whilst on a seduction mission was to grow attached to the target.

"Mm, 'tachi?" Sakura hummed sleepily, her eyes slowly opening, though they closed a second later due to the brightness. Clearly she had not been expecting it to be so late into the morning. Neither had he, in all honesty. "What time is it?"

Hearing that she sounded more alert, Itachi sighed inwardly. He would have liked to hold her for a while longer. "Almost nine."

She nodded distractedly and he knew from the look in her eyes as she turned to lay on her back and opened them, that last night's events were catching up to her. "We slept in pretty late." Sakura smiled sheepishly, glancing down at the sheet covering her body as she fidgeted with it. "Uh…"

"We didn't get much sleep." he murmured in reply. It made him inwardly smile when she blushed. "What happened last night, Sakura? Why did you come to me?"

It was silent for a couple of minutes and during that pause, Sakura bit her lip, she averted her eyes, she fidgeted. All were signs of nervousness, of uncertainty. Itachi already knew how she was feeling, however, because of the look in her eyes. Since arriving at the camp, since they had started getting to know one another, she had become like an open book to him. That was why he hadn't questioned her the night before or put a stop to her ministrations. No matter how brief it was, Sakura had needed that connection. It was wrong of him to do so, but he had slept with her because he didn't want her to go to somebody else. Part of him had wanted to feel her so badly. And Itachi despised that part of him, although he knew he shouldn't. It was the human side of him. Not Uchiha Itachi the shinobi, but Uchiha Itachi the person, the man. It had been a moment of weakness, where his emotions had gotten the best of him. He had felt possessive of Sakura and she had awakened his lust. In that moment, they had been impossible to ignore.

"Uh…" Sakura breathed, looking up at the ceiling and swallowing hard before continuing. "I was at her grave again last night. Aiko–chan's. I…" she sighed, closing her eyes. "After picking some flowers and placing them down for her, I came back here and took a shower because I was dirty. And somehow I just… I ended up here. In bed. With you."

_It's almost subconsciously that she does it, too. Sakura goes to the place she feels safest._

Once more, Sasuke's words were running through Itachi's mind. And, like that first time, he was left feeling confused. Why would Sakura feel safest with him? Sure, Itachi would understand if she had needed that contact, to be with a man intimately, _to feel_, but this? No. He couldn't understand it and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to handle something such as this.

"Do you regret it?"

Sakura shook her head softly. "But I wish I'd gone about this differently."

They were getting somewhere. She was opening up to him. Itachi regarded her features silently for a moment. "Why?"

"I like you, Itachi." she whispered but quickly cleared her throat and spoke louder. "But I promised myself that next time, when I'm with somebody like this, like we had been last night, I'd be in love."

Noticing the creasing between her eyebrows, he lifted his hand and gently smoothed out the lines with his thumb, cupping her cheek a second later. "This does not have to be a one time thing if you wish for more." he told her, his voice a low murmur. "You interest me, Haruno Sakura. Fascinate me, even. I would like to see where this goes if you allow me."

She frowned again, looking up at him in confusion. "Where this goes?" He nodded. "I don't… I don't know what you mean…"

"I would say 'courting', but that implies that I have the intention of marrying you. For now perhaps we should use a simpler word, one that doesn't seem so final or like we are moving too fast."

Sakura smirked wryly and rolled her eyes. "I'm already in your bed, Itachi. But… I like your idea. Oh and if you're trying to find a word," her smirk widened as she stared up at him teasingly, "us less traditional folk are calling it _dating_ nowadays."

He returned her smirk. "Well, then. Will you agree to _date_ me, Haruno Sakura?"

It surprised him when she laughed, the wide smile on her face making her eyes close. "It feels like you're proposing marriage, Itachi!" his smirk turned into a smile at her mirth, when he saw the genuine happiness in her features. It had been a while since he had seen it and it was at that moment that Itachi realised he _missed_ seeing her look so happy. "Yes, I suppose I do agree. Even though we're completely messing up the order. You're supposed to take me on a few dates before I end up under you!"

"We are hardly your average couple." Itachi told her simply.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Hm. I think I want you to take me on a real date, though. You know, dinner or something of the sort. Nothing fancy, perhaps just…"

"Just?" he pushed.

A blush swept across her cheeks and she smiled softly. "I've always wanted to go on a date where… I'm looking up at the stars. It sounds cheesy, I know. But it's just something I've always wanted to do. There's something about it that makes it seem so romantic." she bit her lip for a second before releasing it.

"Dinner under the stars." he threw the thought around in his head, picturing it, before smiling down at her. "I suppose it can be done."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

Itachi nodded once, though his smile slipped away a second later as a certain thought hit him. "Sakura, last night, we did not use a condom."

"I know."

How could she be so laid back about it? There was–

Oh.

"You're using birth control."

"Have been since I turned fourteen." she shrugged. "You don't have to worry about me suddenly tracking you down one day with a miniature Itachi."

Birth control since she was fourteen? _Birth control_? Perhaps it was his traditional way of thinking, but to him, it just didn't seem right. Girls that age should not be having sex or doing anything sexual of the sort. Shinobi… Okay he would understand it if the fourteen year olds were shinobi, because in many people's eyes, if you're old enough to kill, you're old enough to do pretty much whatever you wanted. However… Well, Itachi didn't believe it was right. Shinobi or not, Sakura had been a child back then.

She must have noticed the look in his eyes as she quickly averted hers, frowning. "You're judging me."

"No, I'm not."

"You _are_. I can see the look in your eyes, Itachi." Sakura kept her eyes averted and when she spoke again, her eyebrows knitted together. "I started taking birth control because Tsunade–sama thought it best that I was taught…" she sighed again. "Seduction. I was warned that there was a chance I could be sent on a seduction mission and I didn't want to risk anything. I didn't start birth control because I was sleeping around. I've only ever slept with two guys and you're one of them."

Itachi brushed the hair out of her eyes. "I'm not judging you, Sakura. I apologise if it seemed that way. You said so yourself, I'm a traditional man. It startled me but I am not judging you."

Slowly, she nodded. A second later however and she felt her face being turned so that she would look up at Itachi. It took her a couple of moments to actually make eye contact with him but as soon as she did, her eyes were quickly dropping again. Was it wrong that that look in his eye had hurt her? The judgement? Sure, he had just said that it hadn't been judgement, that he had been startled, but did that really make it any better? Perhaps bringing up the fact that she had been taking birth control since she was fourteen had been unnecessary. And way too early into their… relationship, if that was what they were now. But it had just been a slip of the tongue. Everybody had those.

"Sakura." This woman was too stubborn, Itachi sighed. "Look at me, Sakura."

She did, shifting uncomfortably as their eyes met.

"I'm sorry."

Oh how could she resist a face like that? A voice like that? And he was genuinely sorry for the way his reaction had seemed. Reaching up, Sakura ran her hand through his hair before gently tugging him down and closer to her, smiling softly as she pressed her lips to his.

"Take me to breakfast and I'll forgive you."

"Would you not rather I bring it here to you?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do you not want to be seen with me?"

Itachi was really beginning to wonder if he would ever get used to Sakura's mood swings. "I was simply stating that it may be more comfortable for us both to eat in my cabin. It is late morning after all and usually, before everybody is waking, you return to your own bed to not gain any unwanted attention."

This time, Sakura was rolling her eyes and pushing him back so that she could sit up, holding the sheet to her chest and gazing around the room, attempting to find her clothes. "I do that to stop Naruto from pretty much exploding with questions I'd rather not answer and I've got the feeling that Sasuke–kun already knows. He knows me better than I know myself." she reached out and picked up her sweatshirt, tugging it over her head and once it was on, she reached for her pants. Like she had told Itachi, she had come fresh from the shower the night before, which meant– "Shit."

"What is it?"

The look she gave him was helpless. "I left my things in the showers."

Was that all? "Then go and get them."

"You don't understand!" Sakura groaned, her head falling into her hands. "I left my _underwear_ there."

Oh.

_Oh_.

Well that explained why she wasn't wearing any the night before.

"…I see."

Everything dirty would be in her bag, Sakura recalled vaguely. However, she always kept her clean clothes in a neat pile on the bench beside her bag, so that nothing inside of it got wet when she was out of the shower and about to dress. What time had Itachi said it was? Nine? Great. This was the time everybody was in the shower. If she went herself, then no doubt everybody would stare at her with a smirk. If Itachi went for her, rumours would be started and that was the last thing she wanted. Plus the thought of him finding her underwear and bringing them to her was just… odd.

She sighed and climbed out of bed. A second later, she was groaning again. Her sandals seemed to be in the showers, too, considering that they weren't here.

"See you later, Itachi." she sighed, leaving him to lay there with a stunned expression as she left.

All she had to do was ask, he thought as he got out of bed, got dressed and grabbed some clean clothes. He needed a shower anyway and he could have discreetly picked up her belongings without anybody noticing. He was a shinobi, after all.

* * *

Oh the showers were full.

What made it worse was that it was obvious Sakura hadn't been alone the night before. She smelled like sex. You didn't have to be an Inuzuka to pick up on the scent. Taking a deep breath, she entered the showers and kept her eyes away from the men who were all showering. Oh God she didn't want to see them all naked. Definitely not so early in the morning.

"Sakura–chan!"

Why did the Gods hate her?

"Where were you last night? I woke up and you were gone!"

Many turned to face her after Naruto's loud question and Sakura debated on whether or not she would get away with brutally murdering the jinchūriki. If he continued–

"Shut up, idiot." Sasuke grumbled, noticing her dishevelled appearance. He didn't even want to know what had happened, especially as his older brother entered the showers not even two whole minutes after Sakura. Unlike her, however, he did not look dishevelled. He simply looked as though he had only just woken up, but that was strange. As far as Sasuke could remember, Itachi had always woken up at the crack of dawn. "Sakura, your things are next to mine."

Sakura smiled gratefully at Sasuke and hurried over to her belongings, only to pause as she searched through them and growled. Her clean pair of underwear were missing. Thankfully, it didn't seem like anybody had searched through her bag, but her underwear had been next to it as well as her vest top and sandals (which were both still there). Before causing a scene, she looked under the bench and around the floor, but found nothing.

"Who has them?" she growled, her eyes flashing dangerously as she turned to face the men. It only vaguely occurred to her that she was about to threaten a room full of naked men. "Whoever has my underwear had better give them back before I find out who has them and _strangle you with them_!"

They gulped, looking amongst one another and searching their shower stalls, trying to find out who had so stupidly stolen her underwear. Even Shisui seemed rather uncomfortable. Sakura ignored how Itachi had paused in removing his clothes, bending over for a second. She tried her best to ignore him as he approached her, too.

What she couldn't ignore was him holding her underwear up to her.

"I believe these belong to you."

Was it even possible for her to get any redder? Sakura glared up at him and her face only darkened at the smirk on his lips. She snatched them out of his hold and scrunched them up, hiding them from view. "Where were they?"

"On the ground." he told her simply and turned back around to continue getting undressed and take his morning shower.

They shouldn't have been! Was what Sakura wanted to snap. She wanted to know how they had gone from being hidden beneath her vest (which was something she had done since she was twelve years old), to across the showers and on the ground. Stealing a glance at them, Sakura inwardly sighed with relief. At least they weren't a horrible pair or 'that time of month' pair. That would have been humiliating. No, these were simple black boxer–shorts. They obviously weren't her nicest pair, but they weren't her ugliest either.

Turning around and shoving them into her bag, Sakura threw the bag over her shoulder and left the showers. She would take another shower later when there were no guys there. Perverted guys who had been _doing something with her underwear!_ Sakura didn't even want to know what, though she was definitely going to make sure they were scrubbed clean later on. With bleach.

* * *

"Do you think I'm easy?"

Itachi glanced down at her and frowned minutely. After training, up until she had spoken, he had been watching the birds flying around together in the sky, watching how the leaves high above his head rustled in the gentle breeze. This was one of the things he enjoyed about being away from the village. It was peaceful here at times, when they weren't worried about sudden attacks. "Easy?"

With her own frown pulling at her features, Sakura stared down at the ground that was far below them, her legs dangling from her position on the branch. "We've only known each other a few months and we still don't know each other that well… but we slept together. I… I don't want to be labelled as a whore."

He sighed and raised his hand, gently brushing stray strands of hair behind her ear as they had been attempting to shield her eyes from him. That was not acceptable. He liked seeing the many different expressions that flitted through her eyes. She was so very expressive and it was a nice change from being surrounded by those who hid all emotion, who were completely blank. "No. It makes you human." Itachi told her softly. "You were vulnerable last night, Sakura."

It amused him when she blushed. Not only had she been vulnerable last night, but it was safe to say that she had also been horny. Not that Sakura would ever admit that to him. "But–"

"You don't have to explain yourself to anyone." he murmured, turning back to look up at the sky. "You had your reasons for coming to me, just like I had my reasons for allowing it to happen. Last night, I told you that we both wanted what happened, to happen."

"And what were your reasons?"

Itachi smirked softly at the quiet, curious voice from his side. "My reason is simple. In a moment of selfishness, of weakness, I acted on what I was feeling instead of pushing you away. It is what I would do to anybody else – push them away, that is. With you, it was different."

"…Did you just call me a weakness?"

His smirk returned, having slipped away whilst he was talking. And when Itachi glanced down at her, he was amused to find that her expression was displeased, her nose wrinkled and delicate eyebrows knitting together. "Yes. Somehow, whilst getting to know one another, you seem to have become my weakness."

It felt like something had suddenly slammed right into her. His weakness. _His_ weakness. Uchiha Itachi – _Uchiha fucking Itachi_ – had just called her _his_ weakness! "…Oh." Sakura's voice was even quieter, her eyes a fraction wider with shock and a pretty pink blush swept across her cheeks. "And how… how did you work that one out?"

So Sakura enjoyed romance? Itachi gazed at her expression for a moment, watching the emotions in her eyes. Of course, he had already known that she was a romantic, but it seemed Haruno Sakura was a hopeless romantic. Did this mean he had to say pretty words and read poetry? No. Itachi would simply be honest with her. Not hide his emotions, what he was feeling, from her. "The past two months have been difficult for you." Sakura frowned in confusion. "If it was anybody else, I would have had them return to Konoha. Many times, Hiro–san approached me, telling me that my decision to keep you here was wrong, that I was biased because of how much time we were spending together." Itachi gave her a small smile. "I used the excuse that you need to stay here to heal both mine and Shisui's eyes, but that is a lie. My eyes are almost completely healed now and Shizune–san could have taken over with little to no trouble." Her breath caught at his next words. "I did not want you to leave."

"You want me?"

The change in her emotions was so very clear to him. She was no longer blushing, no longer seeming excited. No, Sakura was still a little excited, but not a lot. She seemed to be in pain. Did she feel as though nobody wanted her? "Why is that such a surprise?"

A shaky smile pulled at her lips, but it slipped away a second later. "It's just hard to believe. You're…" Sakura shook her head with a sigh, averting her eyes and glaring down at the ground below them. "You're _Uchiha Itachi_!"

Yes, he was aware of who he was. "I'm still a man, Sakura. No matter what my name is or what people believe or expect of me, I am still human. I have emotions. They're hidden, but they are there. No mask is perfect and nobody can truly push away their emotions." there was a short pause. "Every person has their weaknesses and I am no different."

"I didn't mean it like that." she pouted, feeling as though he had been telling her off rather than explaining something. Of course she knew everybody had weaknesses, that Itachi was still human! "I meant… You're Uchiha Itachi, so why waste your time on somebody like me?" Itachi's eyes snapped to hers as he heard the raw pain in her voice and the second he looked at her, he saw that tears were filling her eyes. "I get that I'm the only available woman here and that you've been here for a long–"

"Don't pass this off as me simply being horny."

His words slapped the self–pity right out of her. Had… Had Itachi seriously just said the word _horny_? Had he just admitted that_ he was horny_? Inner–Sakura was out cold once more and she felt her body heating up dramatically at his words, a much more fierce blush spreading over her cheeks.

"The Sandaime once told me something, something that the Nidaime had told _him_. As you are probably already aware, he was Sarutobi–sama's sensei." Sakura nodded, absorbing his words as Itachi turned to face the sky again. "He was told that Uchiha are greatly devoted to love and friendship – so much so that to lose the one they care for, creates a curse. The Nidaime called this the 'Curse of Hatred'. The despair of the experience causes a manifestation of unique chakra within that Uchiha's brain, impacting the optic nerves and creating–"

"The sharingan." Sakura gasped.

He stared down at her for a moment, regarding her reaction silently. The only person he had ever told what had been said to him, was Shisui. And Shisui had agreed wholeheartedly.

"Yes. And more advanced forms of the sharingan require extremely painful experiences that causes the user to delve into the darkness that utterly consumes them." he fell silent once more, thinking back onto his own experiences. Itachi quickly shut those thoughts away. It did no good to think back on painful memories. They were in the past for a reason. "What I am trying to say, Sakura, is that you should not shove aside my feelings because of my last name." Itachi gave her a small smile. "If anything, it should worry you."

"It doesn't worry me." she smiled softly. "You're forgetting who my teammate is, Itachi. I'm somewhat used to Sasuke–kun's outbursts, although now I can understand why he has them sometimes. Did I ever tell you what happened when he first became Naruto's watcher?"

There was a short pause. "I am aware of the story, if that is what you are asking. The entire team almost died, did they not?"

Sakura nodded, her smile slipping away and her eyebrows knitting together. "Yeah…" she sighed, rubbing her arm in a nervous, unsure gesture. "When I woke up in the hospital, Sasuke–kun had been so worried. I'd never seen him like that before! He was acting so out of character, but I can still remember how angry he'd been towards himself – still is! I can remember seeing this… flash in his eyes."

"A flash?"

Once again, she nodded, staring up at him uncertainly. "His sharingan was activated at the time and I can't be sure, because when I first woke up, everything was fuzzy, but I swear, Itachi, I saw a change in the tomoe."

Itachi's eyes widened a fraction. "Are you saying he managed to–"

"I don't know." she sighed, running a hand through her hair when the wind gently blew her bangs into her eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Itachi do the same. "Everything was blurry and disorientating back then, but I can still remember seeing a certain flash in his eyes, but it stopped the moment I made a sound, when he realised I was awake."

"If Sasuke has obtained the Mangekyō, he has not said a word about it." Itachi frowned in a rare show of confusion. "Have you ever seen that flash since then?" Sakura shook her head, biting her lip. He sighed. How could he bring something like that up to his brother? Sasuke would lose trust in Sakura if he did – he'd believe that he couldn't be himself around her, for she would tell Itachi. But if Sasuke had the Mangekyō, then he would need help. Those eyes were extremely dangerous and there were many risks that came with such a power. An idea hit him. "It would explain why his eyes are suddenly deteriorating."

It seemed she didn't appreciate the reminder. "I'm working on fixing them."

He bit back his smile at her disliking, at her pout. "No, I meant that if he only halfway managed to unlock the Mangekyō, it would explain why he is having so much trouble with his sight. Such a thing should not be possible, though it is obvious that almost losing his entire team was a great deal of stress for him. It would have been traumatic enough for his eyes to advance to the next stage of the sharingan." However, it seemed like they had frozen somehow during the transformation. Why? And how?

Holy shit. Sakura turned her head forward, staring out in front of her with eyes a fraction wider than usual. Sasuke? The Mangekyō? Like he needed another power up! He was ridiculously powerful as it was and now, he was going to be even further ahead of her. She had no hope in catching up. And the damaging effects of that power up! Oh God.

"Looks like I need to do more research." Sakura sighed.

"You will not be able to find anything on the Mangekyō." Itachi told her seriously. "Only those with advanced eyes can do such a thing." even some members of his clan could not read the ancient tablet. "However, I am sure Shisui would not mind sharing his research with you."

Shisui's research? "But haven't you also been researching it?" she asked in confusion and turned to face him once more. "I mean, you also have the Mangekyō, so wouldn't it be best for you to do your own research?"

Itachi tilted his head to the side, thinking it over for a moment and whilst previously, Sakura would have believed that he was ignoring her, she now knew different. He was merely thinking over all possible answers and the best one that would explain his thoughts more easily. "I trust Shisui's research." he answered eventually. "Whilst I have done my own, he has more experience with the Mangekyō and has been researching for much longer. He does not mind sharing that research with me."

That didn't seem like the thing he had been thinking so hard about, but Sakura knew not to push. If Itachi was holding back in the information, then she knew that it would be clan secrets. He could be classed as a traitor for sharing them.

"I will find a way to discuss this with Sasuke." Itachi told her after a couple of moments. "But I believe that, before our conversation focused on Sasuke, we were talking about what is happening or going to happen between _us_."

Biting her lip, she focused on the ground, eyes narrowing a fraction. There was no ignoring the fluttering in her stomach at his wording, at the fact he wanted to talk about them and where they could possibly be going. However… However, what, exactly? She was afraid of being hurt again? Partly. Yes, Sakura would say that she _was_ kind of scared of being hurt again. She didn't want to come to depend on having Itachi there to make her feel better, only to have him disappear a few months down the line.

So far, everything between them had been _real_. Every emotion and every interaction had been so very real and it had been intense to say the least. Last night was a perfect example of that. It was like his entire being called to her. And that was what scared Sakura. What if it was only a sexual thing? That made little sense, though. Okay, she would agree that there had been a lot of not–so–innocent flirting here and there, but everything else had been… Sakura couldn't find the word to explain it. All she could think of was that whatever was beginning to make her entire body feel warm, was powerful.

It didn't feel like love – at least she didn't think it did. To say that she was in love after so little time wasn't only doubtful, but it was also cliché. Like something she'd read in a book! No, whatever she could feel, it felt like it had potential to become something greater. It felt like it had the possibility of becoming so much more, something so very powerful that it could consume her.

Damn, she needed to stop reading romance stories!

"I know it's kind of late to ask, and that I was the one who instigated what happened last night…"

Much to her surprise, Itachi did not look disappointed. He looked understanding. "You wish to slow down what is growing between us."

In his mind, there was no use in denying the obvious attraction between them. There was no use in denying the fact that he could also feel something powerful building within him. Part of him was wary of accepting such a thing (need he repeat himself on the whole Curse of Hatred thing?) whilst a different part of him, the human side of him, wanted to see where their relationship would go. He wished to do things he never thought he would have, things he had sworn he'd never do as long as his village still needed his services as a shinobi.

Perhaps it would be best to slow their relationship? Last night could be a teaser, in a way. It could be a teaser of what could truly happen between them. Though saying that, it made it sound as though Itachi was only in this for the sex – which he wasn't. It had to be taken into account, however, that last night was the first time he had slept with somebody and it wasn't for the sake of a mission. Of course it meant something to him! And Itachi wanted to continue to find out new things about Sakura. Never had he ever had the chance to truly get to know a woman in such a way and he found himself wanting to learn everything about Sakura. He wanted not only to find out what made her writhe and moan, but also what made her smile and laugh.

"If that's not too much to ask, of course." Sakura mumbled, cheeks growing pink. "It's just… When… If things become official between us, I want to be certain of it, of _us_. You have to realise, Itachi, that with an official relationship, comes all the drama and the rumours and those petty outsiders who want to see that relationship crumble and break." she glanced up at him, giving him a small smile. "And I want to be independent. I don't want to be the type of woman who relies on her partner for every little thing. I did that before and when things ended, I was terrified of being alone because before then, I had somebody else to help me."

He frowned. Was she talking about Sabaku no Gaara, or Sasuke? "Help you?"

Eyebrows knitting together, Sakura nodded and took a deep, shaky breath. "Like after a stressful day at the hospital, where I lost a patient. Or after a mission gone wrong. Or anything like that! Whenever that happened, there was somebody there to put me back together, to comfort me and take my mind off of everything. I can't depend on someone that way again, not if this isn't going to last."

Still he couldn't be too sure on whether or not it was Sasuke or Gaara they were discussing, so Itachi decided to not mention any names and instead nod in understanding. Whilst he wanted to know more about how those particular relationships worked (and by doing that, learning more about _her_), it was obvious Sakura wasn't too comfortable speaking about it at that moment in time.

"I understand." Itachi told her quietly. "Just know that you don't have to bottle everything up. Even if you want to be independent, there are still times when you can depend on me and in return, I can learn to depend on _you_. I believe that is how a romantic relationship is supposed to work, is it not? We are supposed to be equals."

Sakura nodded again and gave a smile. "We are."

Equals.

This could work.

* * *

**A/N - I saw a picture of Madara and someone's OC and it got me thinking. Can you imagine how untouchable you'd feel as Madara's wife? Sure, there'll be scary moments where you're worried about what he'll do next, but if he loves you, then you're untouchable!**

**I've only gone and burned a frigging hole in my nose. Well, it's not an actual hole, but several layers of skin have been burned off and oh God it is horrendous! You know those cotton buds that you buy to clean your ears? I dipped one of the ends into hot water and pressed it against one of those under-the-skin, really painful and rock hard spots I sometimes get. My aunty gave me the tip and said that it helps make the spot go down. It's worked for me in the past! This time, however, I guess I just didn't realise how hot the water was and now there's a burn on the side of my nose, shaped just like the cotton end of a cotton bud. -.-**

**FML!**

**Anyways, to take my mind off of my blonde moment, I want to go on a rant about something I saw on a YouTube video's comment section. It's about the shipping wars (need I say more?)**

**SasuSaku vs NaruSaku. Seriously? And then, you get the NaruSasu or the NaruHina shippers getting involved, saying Sakura is the most useless character in Naruto. Um... Could the _be_ more wrong? Sorry, but the weakest female in Naruto has to be Matsuri. I think everyone knows I absolutely _despise _her. Oh and Karin. I can be really hypocritical like that. I hate it when people slag off or bitch about my favourite pairings or characters, but the moment somebody brings up something I hate, I _will_ rant about them.**

**You get people saying that because of how obsessed Sakura was with Sasuke in part one, she's pathetic and it's not real love. Okay... So what about the fact Hinata pretty much stalked Naruto? Sakura was simply more outspoken and didn't care about wearing her heart on her sleeve, whereas Hinata was too shy to say anything. Don't get me wrong, I really like Hinata and I think she's adorable, but I hate the way everyone bigs her up and makes her seem so much greater than she actually is. So what if she's a Hyuuga? Sakura isn't from some major clan like they are, so that makes her achievements so much greater! She had to rely on only herself, whereas they all have special eye techniques or things such as those. Plus, that little speech Hinata made during the war, like just before they went on the offensive against Obito (I think this was just after Neji died?), it just made me cringe.**

**That really seems like I'm hating on her, but I'm not. I can't see Naruto with anyone other than Hinata, but I just get so annoyed when people say Sakura's useless compared to Hinata. Ugh.**

**Don't know about anyone else, but I'm still hoping KakaSaku will happen ;-) I think I actually said that on the comment and then everything pretty much exploded. SasuSaku and NaruSaku fans going insane. L O L.**

**Okay I'll go now, even though I could keep on going hahah!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW :-)**


	18. No Longer A Secret

**Chapter 17 – No Longer A Secret**

He was feeling suspicious and uneasy.

For the past three nights now, Sasuke had discovered that Sakura was no longer sleeping in her own bed, but by the time he woke up in the mornings, she would be there, peacefully sleeping until it was time to wake up or reading a scroll.

At first he had thought that she was merely spending more time at Aiko's grave, but that thought had been completely ruled out the other morning when Sasuke had not seen Sakura at all until that incident in the showers. Clearly, she was spending the night with somebody. Was it Itachi? Sasuke honestly couldn't tell. His brother revealed very little and what little he did reveal, was cryptic and difficult to understand.

It didn't bother Sasuke – not entirely. He simply wished that somebody would tell him what the hell was going on. To wake up in the middle of the night and notice that your teammate's – your friend's – bed was empty, was rather alarming, especially considering their location and everything that had been happening lately. Waking up during the night and not finding her in her bed was one thing – he could say that she was at Aiko's grave. However, waking up in the morning and finding that her bed hadn't even been slept in, was beyond worrying.

Before waking Naruto, Sasuke had gotten dressed and made his way to the showers, nonchalantly searching them during his morning shower. Then, when it was painfully obvious that Sakura was not there, he went to Aiko's grave. There were fresh flowers resting against the headstone but there was no Sakura. His mind began to race as he stood still, trying to search for her chakra, but all he got were leftovers, telling him that she had been there before disappearing. Was she abducted? Oh God. If somebody had taken her, he would find that person and kill them, and then yell at Sakura for letting her guards down in a place like this!

Deep breaths. He was probably assuming the worst, but as shinobi, that was what you were supposed to do. You were supposed to expect the worst and have back up plans, have strategies. There was no plan or strategy right now. What could have possibly snatched Sakura out of nowhere and literally leave no chakra from doing so? Even if her guard was down, she was still tough. It was instinctual how Sakura summoned her chakra and when distressed, she had very little control over her strength. Somebody who could–

Shit.

Why hadn't he thought of him before?

Sighing, Sasuke turned back around and left the clearing, heading back to camp at a relaxed pace. There was no use in getting wound up.

That thought was completely obliterated when he returned to camp.

"Where's Sakura–chan?" Naruto demanded, fists clenching by his sides.

It seemed the blond had discovered the same thing as Sasuke. He growled with annoyance, realising how others were listening in, before making his way over to Naruto and Shisui, the former yelling at the latter. Why he was accusing Shisui, Sasuke would never know, although considering that this was the guy he also needed to question… Well, it saved a lot of trouble having Naruto yell at him. Wouldn't want to seem emotional or too attached to Sakura, would he? After all, Sasuke had a reputation to keep. Cold and distant, just like his family. Like his father.

"She has taken to sleeping in Itachi's cabin, Naruto–kun, Sasuke." Shisui sighed and kept his voice low so that nobody other than those two heard. This was a private matter, one that the entire camp didn't need to know about. "During the night, Itachi and I have noticed that she keeps going to Aiko–chan's grave and afterwards, she comes to us. Well, to Itachi. For comfort."

The younger Uchiha grimaced. "With you in the room?"

Shisui actually smirked and shook his head. "To sleep, Sasuke. Sakura–san sleeps in Itachi's bed." More like in his arms…

"Why didn't she come to us?" Naruto asked in a low murmur, looking as though he was pouting. Didn't Sakura feel like she could trust them?

Sasuke glanced over in the direction of his brother's cabin. He knew why Sakura hadn't and wasn't coming to them. She was opening up to Itachi, learning to trust him.

He was becoming her new safety.

And there was nobody who could protect her better than his older brother.

So, Sasuke accepted it.

Not that he really had much of a choice. When Itachi wanted something, he stopped at nothing to get it.

* * *

Removing his fingers, Itachi shifted in his position until their hips were aligned, his patience wearing thin and his control slipping. Never had he ever felt this kind of need, this craving, for somebody. For _anybody_. Beneath him, Sakura gasped against his lips, breaking away from their desperate, hungry kiss, when he entered her in one swift thrust.

Itachi liked how she didn't move because of him, but instead with him. They moved as one beneath the sheets, sharing kisses and caresses, sighs and heated, affectionate looks.

His lips travelled over her skin, littering kisses along her neck. It was when he reached the crook of her neck that Itachi quickened his pace, an intense shot of pleasure shooting down his spine when Sakura moaned in his ear and her nails scraped across his back. If the way she reacted to his hand suddenly gripping a tight hold of her thigh and roughly dragging her impossibly closer meant anything, she was in the mood for a bit of roughness. It was because of their time together (talking and sparring, not actually having sex) that Itachi knew Sakura enjoyed a little bit of rough sex. There were no misunderstandings there. He had also picked up on the fact that she liked being the dominate one sometimes. They could meet halfway on that last one, he supposed.

"Ride me." Itachi murmured to her as he rolled them over.

Sakura couldn't even deny that hearing those words passing his lips turned her on even further and in response, Itachi smirked when he felt her fluttering around his length, grasping at him.

She did as he asked, her hands falling to his chest for a moment before an idea struck her and she moved them behind her, using his thighs as leverage and giving him a view of them connected. Itachi growled, his hold on her hips tightening. Sakura grinned impishly. He didn't honestly believe that she'd let that teasing smirk slide, did he?

All thoughts of teasing him left her mind, however, when Sakura felt her orgasm creeping up on her, felt that coil in her stomach tightening. Itachi sensed it too and his eyes moved to her face, watching her expression. Moving her hands back to his chest, she moved harder, faster.

They had decided that it would probably be best to slow down the sexual part of their growing relationship. So how had they ended up like this? With her riding him almost frantically in a desperate attempt to bring them both to completion? Well. It had started with her waking up to Itachi trailing his fingers up and down her back and whilst it was completely relaxing, there was also a spot on her back that was rather ticklish. And when Itachi had found it she began laughing and squirming beneath him. Sakura had turned around just in time to have her lips claimed by a demanding, hungry kiss whilst something hot and hard pressed against her thigh.

The fingers curling on his chest soon straightened as she slipped her hands upwards until her elbows were pressing down onto the mattress above his shoulders, until she was lowering her body down onto his. Picking up on what she wanted, Itachi shifted beneath her and began meeting her thrusts more enthusiastically, only vaguely hearing the wet slapping sound that was joining Sakura's wanton moans.

Her forehead pressed to his, eyes sliding shut as she moaned against his lips, only able to continue with her movements due to Itachi's hold on her ass, grinding her against him and dragging out her orgasm.

Itachi chuckled as she slumped against him once her orgasm had passed, panting hard and loosely holding onto him.

"I am not done with you yet, Sakura." he smirked when she chuckled in response, lifting her head and biting her lip. The warm look in her eyes, the warmth in her smile, was beautiful to him.

It was with those words that Itachi sat up and kissed Sakura softly, though surprised her when he pulled out and turned her around. Placing a pillow beneath her, he gently pushed her legs together and placed his hand on her back, forcing Sakura to press her chest down onto the bed, her arms resting on each side of her head before they were stretched out. And when Itachi straddled and entered her once more, he kept up a slow yet forceful pace, his hand gripping her hip tightly, the other holding onto her shoulder.

Sakura bit down on the pillow when his pace increased, her hands clenching into fists and back arching. When her hips began to lift to meet his, Itachi shifted the position slightly to make sure she would be comfortable and was in awe of the sudden cry of pleasure that he heard, though it was muffled by the pillow.

In need of air, Sakura turned her head away from her pillow and shakily, her arms slipped beneath her to hold herself up, Itachi moving with her as he paused in his thrusts and allowed her to part her legs. It was like he couldn't get enough of her. Everything about her was driving him insane, was setting his body on fire! One of his legs lifted so that his foot was pressing down onto the bed and he was half–straddling her, his hand still gripping her hip tightly.

She bit her lip harshly, eyes squeezing closed, when Itachi fisted her hair in his other hand, forcing her back to arch elegantly whilst he continued to thrust into her roughly. Maddening. Absolutely maddening.

She loved it.

But then something happened that had Sakura tensing.

The door to his cabin opened.

Revealing her team.

Itachi's sharingan activated, glaring over at the two men stood in the doorway. He did not stop his thrusts. And to make a point of not stopping any time soon, he forcefully slammed his hips against Sakura's, causing her features to contort with pleasure, a loud sob–like moan ripping from her. "Leave."

Numbly, they did so and the moment the door was shut, he was leaning over Sakura and releasing her hair so that he could place his hands on each side of her.

"W–Wait, we should–"

"Continue." he breathed into her ear, grinding against her. As he spoke once more, his teeth grazed her earlobe. "They have already seen us now."

A single thrust was her undoing.

Every sense left her as her thighs began to quiver, as loud cries of Itachi's name left her shamelessly, despite the fact she knew the entire camp would hear her. Well that was until his hand covered her mouth, his hips moving more harshly against hers. A moment later, however, that hand left her mouth and fell to the bed, gripping the sheets tightly as his thrusts faltered for a moment, as Sakura's violent orgasm brought forth his own. He pressed his face into her neck, muffling his sounds of pleasure even though he was certain they would not be heard anyway, considering how loud his lover was being.

She was trembling beneath him, her hips squirming backwards into his and creating a delicious friction, one that dragged out their orgasms. And when Sakura's arms gave out on her, when her voice gave out on her, when her orgasm faded and she was left utterly breathless, her head dropped to the bed beneath her, a soft smile on her face when the bed shifted and Itachi's arms folded beneath her head, acting like a pillow. Whilst his arms acting like pillows, his body acted like a blanket as he lowered himself completely against her, his body pushing hers further into the pillow beneath her. Sakura didn't mind. It was oddly comforting.

"How many do you think we made uncomfortable?" Sakura whispered breathlessly, her eyes closing.

Itachi inhaled deeply, enjoying how her scent was mixed with his. "Possibly everyone." a smirk slowly lifted his lips. "I had no idea you would be so loud."

"I had no idea you'd lose so much control."

His smirk widened tiredly. "You cannot say anything about losing control, _Sakura_."

A shiver took over her body for a moment. "Maybe next time one of us should remember to put a soundproof barrier around the room."

"No, we cannot do that." he sighed, pressing a soft kiss to her neck. "I have to be prepared at all times in case of an emergency, even if I am not… decent." Sakura bit her lip, trying to bite back her smirk. "If I was to put up a soundproof barrier, that means they will not be able to hear me if I tell them to wait before entering."

"Wow. I never would've thought that you were body shy."

"It is not my body I wish to hide from them." Itachi whispered into her ear. "I do not want them seeing your body."

She chuckled, her body shaking with them for a couple of seconds. "Very romantic."

"Would you rather I allow them to see you at your most vulnerable?" at her pause, Itachi pressed a kiss to her temple. "Is it wrong of me to not want that to happen? That I feel…"

"Jealous? Possessive?"

"…Yes."

When Sakura shifted beneath him, he finally pulled out of her and allowed her to turn around so that they could look at each other. "Not at all." she murmured in reply and stroked his cheek softly. "I don't know what we are to each other, but… I like this. What I'd like even more is that I'm the only one you're doing these things with."

He frowned. "I am not homosexual, Sakura. Or bisexual."

Her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really? You haven't even experimented?"

"No."

She shrugged. "Your choice, I guess. But… I _am_ the only one you're doing these things with, right? I can remember you saying something in your letter about having a lover back in the village, but I couldn't tell if you were being serious or not."

"I said to you, '_I could have a lover back in the village, for all you know_' because you insinuated that I was a bachelor – or so rumours have been saying." noticing how she stiffened beneath him, how she pulled her hand back a fraction with wide eyes, he sighed. "I do not have a lover, Sakura. I am tool for our village, meaning I don't usually have any time to… relax."

"No girlfriend? Like, ever?" he shook his head and Sakura bit her lip. "I've had boyfriends before. Well, you can't really call them that. I think I was delusional growing up, because I pretended to my parents that Sasuke–kun was my boyfriend, even though he denied it every time he saw them." Itachi chuckled at the blush on her cheeks. "And then… There was Gaara."

He had wanted to speak about her relationship with Sabaku no Gaara for a while now, but hadn't known how to bring it up. Was that strange? Considering they had literally just had sex, most would consider it strange. However, neither of them were tired or in the mood to sleep and he wasn't needed for anything until much later on in the day. Now was the best time to talk about anything and everything. "How did your relationship work?"

There was a moment of silence as she frowned up at him. "You seriously want to know?"

A small smile curved his lips. "I don't see the harm in knowing."

Despite his words and knowing, hoping, that he would not judge her, Sakura couldn't help but bite her lip and avert her eyes. "It was physical. I mean, we _tried_ to fall in love with each other – there was heat between us, this electricity… a spark! But no matter how hard we tried it was just not happening." tears threatened to fill her eyes but she forced them back, although her lips pulled downwards as she spoke again. "It hit me hard when I realised that. And… It made me question what was wrong with me. Gaara, he… He told me so many times that he didn't think it would be possible for him to fall in love, but… me being the stubborn person that I am, accepted the challenge." her lower lip trembled. "…and I failed."

And it hurt them both in the end.

"Sakura…"

She shook her head. "I'm fine. We both agreed that it would be best to end it before things became more complicated, before the council and the alliance were brought into it. I think… Part of the reason why we even… tried… was simply to just… get away from it all."

"Were you not concerned by the fact he is a jinchūriki?"

Itachi was somewhat startled when Sakura's eyes snapped to his and narrowed. "No. Maybe when I was younger. But when he started changing, when he opened up and let people in, I realised that Gaara's a good person deep down. It's not his fault that Suna forced him into becoming a jinchūriki. Just like it's not Naruto's fault!"

"I didn't mean it like that, Sakura. I was stating the fact that there are a lot more risks with being the vessel for the Ichibi than the Kyuubi. Starting with the fact that he cannot _ever_ fall asleep. Were you not worried that something could have happened to you?"

Hearing his reasons, Sakura sighed and relaxed once more. "Sorry for snapping. I'm just protective of those two, you know? They've both had hard lives and I just want them to be happy. As for your question… Yes. There were times when I was a nervous he would fall asleep, but…"

"But?"

"I don't know." she smiled softly. "I guess after the first night I kind of accepted that if it happened, it happened. I simply hoped I would be fully dressed if Shukaku did plan on paying a visit."

Itachi shook his head. "That is a tasteless joke, Sakura."

She grinned, pulling him down against her. "Who said I was joking? He's a very sexual beast."

To stop himself from crushing her with his weight he put his hand higher on the bed, over her head, only to pause as he felt something odd. His eyes followed his arm and Itachi blinked in surprise at the sight of his sheets. "…You tore my bedsheets?"

A fierce blush swept over her cheeks the moment she lifted her hands over her head and felt what he was looking at. They were practically shredded. "…Sorry."

"This has happened to you before?"

"Sort of." she grimaced. "Um… Can we just leave it as…"

"As?" Itachi pushed, raising an eyebrow as he glanced down at her once more.

"Sometimes I can't control my strength." Sakura huffed and averted her eyes. "If I get too… excited – Itachi, don't smirk at me like that! It's not funny." his smirk grew, making her pout. "You won't be smirking next time when it's your back."

He actually chuckled at that. At least there was going to be a next time! "What is the worst that can happen? I am a sh–"

Giving him a blank look, Sakura stated, "I almost broke _Gaara's_ arms." And his ribcage. And his shoulders.

Oh, his hands too.

It took a lot to stun Uchiha Itachi but he could not deny that right at that moment in time, he was staring at Sakura with wide eyes. "You…"

"I didn't actually break them, but he had some nasty bruises not even an hour later."

"…I see." he paused. "But did his sand not protect him?"

There was another blush on her cheeks. They had made an agreement to keep sand out of the bedroom. "No. Sand burns aren't comfortable."

Sand burns? But how would she–

Oh.

Lowering himself completely against her and resting his hand at her hip, he gave her a smirk, but just as he was about to say something, she interrupted him. "So what about you? Any past flings I should know about?" Itachi shook his head. "None at all? Not even one night stands?"

"I never had the time and if I did, then I did not have the energy. You are forgetting that I was incredibly ill during my teenage years, Sakura. Add that to the amount of missions I was given…"

Her eyes widened. "Did I take your virginity?"

Itachi chuckled. "No."

A frown softly pulled at her features. "…I'm confused. You said you've never – wait. Did you lose your virginity on a mission?"

"We needed information, so I seduced the target. It was as simple as that."

"But doesn't that bother you?" Sakura asked and her frown deepened as she ran a hand through his hair. "That you lost your virginity to some stranger?"

"No." It was for the sake of the village.

Her eyes drifted up to the ceiling of his cabin, narrowing on the cracks in the wood. "I can't even begin to imagine what I'd feel like if I had to lose my virginity for a mission."

Shifting, Itachi leaned more onto her left side, his hand twirling pastel pink hair around his fingers. "You gave your virginity to Gaara–kun."

"…Yeah."

A deep exhale washed over her, sounding more like a sigh. "Sakura, I know about your history with my brother."

"W–What?"

"I've known for a while now, because of _Tsukuyomi_. Honestly, I thought you were aware of how much I knew, but… looking at you now, you're definitely surprised."

She closed her eyes, refusing to meet his. "Are you mad at me?"

Mad? Why would he be mad? Itachi frowned and gently cupped her face, making her eyes open when his thumb began stroking her cheek softly, soothingly. "No, because I have no right to be angry. It is in the past, Sakura. I will admit that, yes, it is odd for me to think of you with Sasuke in such a way and for a while, I questioned how you acted around one another, wondering if you were possibly still in love with him." her mouth opened, about to argue with him, but Itachi cut her off with a smile. "I know you are not in love with Sasuke, Sakura."

Her hand slipped away, dropping to his arm and holding it firmly, as though she was locking him in place. "It was more than a kiss."

"I know."

How could he be okay with that? Yes, it was in the past, but…

But what?

For the longest time, Sakura had been pushing from her mind what had happened that night on the Hokage Monument. No they had not had sex but they had almost had it. Gaara was the first man she had ever had sex with, but Sasuke was the first man to ever touch her sexually. The part about it being awkward was not a lie. Because it had been so very awkward. Their movements had been uncertain, had been clumsy. It was almost like they had been acting mechanically, on what they believed they were supposed to do. At first it had been somewhat easy to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of making out with one another, of a little bit of petting here and there, but when Sasuke had slipped his hand into her underwear, had touched her so very intimately…

It was like something had snapped in them. They had broken away from each other, panting hard and the previous uncomfortable feeling had nothing on the new one that replaced it.

But it had brought them closer together in an odd way. After talking, getting everything off their chests, they had grown more comfortable around each other. They felt like they could be themselves. He was her best friend! Never in a million years would her younger self had believed such a thing could happen.

"How can you be okay with it?" Sakura finally asked with a sigh. "If I had a sister and found out you'd done things with her, I'd… I don't know. I just wouldn't be okay with it."

"Are you saying you're not okay with this, with us?"

"No! Not at all." she practically yelled, her eyes widening. "No. Nothing… It's not like that between me and Sasuke–kun. We're best friends. But I know that not a lot of guys appreciate their lovers having male best friends who were somewhat former lovers – if you can even call him that. They get jealous and possessive."

"Sasuke is my brother, Sakura."

She frowned. "Yes, I know. But–"

"Which means I know him well."

"Yeah–"

"You may love each other, but you're not _in love_." he murmured. "That is why I am okay with this." shifting once more so that he was closer to her, Itachi cupped her cheek, marvelling at how she leaned into his touch, how she was so very accepting of him. "I acknowledge the fact that we may have possibly gone about this the wrong way. Usually, it is best to take the girl you're interested in on a date before any of this." her eyebrows knitted together, watching him nervously. "But if you don't mind, then I don't." Itachi then sighed, raising an eyebrow. "As for being jealous and possessive of your male best friends…" she bit her lip but smiled brightly when he smiled at her, telling her, "I trust you."

Not exactly 'I love you' but that wasn't too surprising. There was still a lot to find out about each other and just because they were having sex, it didn't mean they were in love. However, Sakura hoped that it worked this time. Third time lucky and whatnot.

"I trust you, too."

Itachi chuckled, feeling incredibly relaxed. After a moment however he grabbed the covers and pulled it over their bodies, sighing as he did so.

Not even a second later, there was a knock at the door.

Sakura tensed and her hold on Itachi's arms tightened to the point where it was painful.

"Sakura."

She winced. "Sorry. I'm just…"

"_Itachi_." hearing Shisui's voice allowed them to relax, seeing as he already knew about them and would know not to just barge in. "_A scroll from Hokage–sama has arrived for you._"

Now? But there should not have been anything to discuss. "Is it an emergency?"

"_No, but it may be best that you read it now._"

That was true. Reluctantly (although he did not show it), Itachi climbed out of the covers, Sakura immediately lifting them around her chest so that nothing was on show. Whilst she did he quickly pulled on a pair of pants before opening the door, revealing Uchiha Shisui. There was no awkwardness as he held out the scroll, not allowing his eyes to travel into the cabin, respectful of Sakura's privacy and Itachi's possible possessiveness.

Without saying a word, he made the seal to open the scroll, his eyes narrowing a fraction at the contents.

"We're all going home." Itachi stated, his eyes skimming through the scroll with hidden shock. "Tomorrow. More shinobi will be sent here to take over until Hokage–sama arranges new teams for each base camp, so that none of us will have to stay here as long."

"That's…" Sakura sat up slowly, holding the sheet tightly to her chest. "That's great!"

Shisui seemed to be stunned, though hid his shock just as well as Itachi. "It is. Should I inform the others?"

The younger Uchiha shook his head, closing the scroll and lowering his hand. "No. I will call for a meeting tonight before the perimeter runs and inform them all then." It was his duty as leader of base camp four, after all. "If they are told now, so early in the day, there is no telling how distracted some of them will become."

True. Accepting the orders, Shisui nodded once and Sakura was silently amazed by the fact that his eyes did not stray into the room once. If she had been in his shoes, she would have been too curious to _not_ look, even if it meant she would be mentally scarred for the rest of her life.

"Oh, by the way," Shisui gave his friend a smirk and even though his eyes didn't meet hers, Sakura could tell it was aimed at her, too, "you have caused both Sasuke and Naruto–kun to go into shock."

Sakura was certain her face could not grow any redder.

* * *

"You're coming home."

"So are you."

She gave him a soft smile as he pressed a tender kiss to her jaw. "But I haven't been here as long as you have. Sure, it's been a few months, but I kind of like it here."

A warm look filled his eyes. "I suppose it has a few advantages."

Chuckling softly as she was rolled onto her back, Sakura couldn't help but look up at him with affectionate eyes. "I'm surprised no one has complained about the fact their taichou hasn't left his cabin all morning and – _Itachi_!" she gasped, fisting his hair in one of her hands. "Already?"

Something very hot and very hard was pressing against her, grinding into her, making her body heat up and her breathing quicken. Her skin was twitching and tingling with anticipation, which only increased when Itachi littered hot kisses up and down her neck. It had only been ten minutes since Shisui gave Itachi the scroll – not even that! And he had knocked on the door mere minutes after their orgasms.

"This is what you do to me."

Not very romantic, but it certainly wasn't bothering her. All Sakura could focus on was the tip of his erection teasing her, was his length rubbing against her, was his teeth nibbling at her shoulder, his breathing quick as he panted against her skin, moistening it.

"I never would've thought…" she trailed off with another gasp when his hand cupped her breast and fondled her gently, though forced herself to continue speaking. "That you had a high sex drive."

He stilled, almost driving her insane. "Oh? And why is that?"

Had she offended him? It was hard to tell. Sakura glanced up at him from beneath her lashes when he pulled back to gaze down at her, unaware of the fact that she was almost causing his self control to completely shatter due to the sight she made. Pink hair was fanned out around her, fresh apple green eyes were hazy with lust and a pretty pink blush swept across her cheeks. "I don't even know. You're always so in control of… _everything_! I thought your sex drive and hormones would also be–"

Impatience made him cut her off. "Around you, I find myself not as in control as I usually would be."

"Because I'm your weakness, right?" she smirked teasingly.

"No." Itachi also smirked, making her bite her lip harshly and her eyes roll to the back of her head before they shut when he entered her without warning. "Because you're you."

A warmth caused her stomach to flutter, though not only with arousal.

She'd always been a hopeless romantic.

"Do we…?"

"Have time?" Sakura nodded, her nails digging into his back as Itachi rocked within her at a steady, yet gentle pace. "If we don't, we'll simply make time."

That wouldn't be a problem, however, because of the way she was currently fluttering around his length, telling him that she was already close.

Another thing learned about Haruno Sakura.

She enjoyed surprise sex.

* * *

Nobody had any idea what to say or what to do. They were trying their hardest not to stare at either of them, trying hard not to let their discomfort show, but it was difficult. And instead of it only being those who had yet to make it to ANBU, those who were still new to ANBU, the entire camp was feeling the same thing.

Sakura bit her lip, not meeting either of her teammates' eyes. Whilst Naruto looked upset and was pouting, Sasuke looked as though he had been mentally scarred for life, like what he had seen had traumatised him. No surprise there. Not only had he seen them having sex, but Itachi had refused to stop, meaning that Sasuke had literally watched them having sex, even if it was only for ten seconds. And as the rest of the camp all came to sit down, she noticed that she wasn't the only one avoiding meeting any gazes. Sasuke was avoiding meeting her eyes, just like he was avoiding Itachi's.

"Earlier today, I received a scroll from Hokage–sama." Itachi stated, ignoring some of the accusing looks he was being sent as well as the envious ones. It was no doubt because of the fact they had been told to leave Sakura alone and now, they all knew that Itachi was sleeping with her. "In that scroll, she gave me an update on some changes that are going to be made."

Already knowing what would be changing, Sakura fought back her smile.

"Tomorrow, we will all be returning to the village."

Silence.

They seemed to be stunned.

But then, the men began cheering and talking amongst themselves, talking about how they were going to surprise their wives and children, or for those who did not have either of those, they would be returning home and finally relaxing, sleeping in their own beds.

"What will happen to the camps?" Sai asked, ignoring the cheers behind him.

"Most likely, other teams will be sent in our place." Tenzo told him, looking to Itachi.

He nodded once. "Other teams will be taking over and whilst we are back in the village, Hokage–sama will be making a rota of sorts, so that nobody will have to stay here as long as we all have."

Naruto jumped to his feet, frowning. "What about the other camps?"

A small smile curved his lips. "Kakashi–senpai will also be sent home, Naruto–kun."

And suddenly, he was cheering just as loudly as the rest of them, Lee joining him as he realised that meant Gai, too.

"You hear that, Sakura–chan, Sasuke?" Naruto demanded, pulling Sakura to her feet and surprising her with a bear–hug. "We can finally get Kakashi–sensei back for ignoring our letters!"

"Hn." Sasuke had to fight back his smirk, though Sakura could see it clearly. "He only ignored you, Naruto."

"_Eh_?" he practically screamed, releasing Sakura and glaring at the youngest Uchiha. "You're lying!"

"I'm not."

"You are!"

"I'm not."

Sakura slapped them both upside the head, folding her arms over her chest once she had. "Stop arguing like children!" then, she smiled. "Naruto, just get Kakashi–sensei back during training." It's what she did. "When he returns, he can't ignore us forever. Sooner or later he's going to bump into us and then, we'll get him."

Naruto laughed evilly, his excited mind rushing through many, many pranks.

As her eyes met Sasuke's, he immediately averted his, making her sigh. It seemed despite giving her permission to be with his older brother (even though she didn't need it, it was nice to have his approval as Itachi was his most precious person), Sasuke did not want to know or see anything about their relationship. In all honesty, Sakura would have preferred that he and Naruto had not witnessed her having sex.

"It was your own fault." she said seriously after a moment of silence, his eyes snapping to her face and the back of his neck burning. "You should know better than to just walk into people's rooms."

Due to the others still celebrating, they weren't heard, though those who were close by could. Itachi smirked. Naruto paled and quickly took a few steps back. Shisui was as blank as ever, whilst Tenzo and Sai had gone to join the others.

In response to her words, Sasuke's blush increased, reaching the tips of his ears and his cheeks. "Who the hell has morning s–"

"We do. Clearly."

His blush increased, much to her amusement. "You should have locked the door."

"You should have knocked."

"You–"

"Sasuke–kun," she sighed, giving him an upset look, "it wasn't even as bad as you're making it seem!"

That haunted look returned to his features and the blush drained out of him, making him just as pale as Naruto, who answered for him. "We saw _everything,_ Sakura–chan. _Everything_!"

Her eyes widened and she suddenly felt extremely self–conscious, even though she knew her team had already seen her naked. That was not the same as being caught in such an intimate moment. Okay, doing it doggy style wasn't that intimate, but… "E–Everything?"

The Uchiha nodded. Naruto pouted again. "You said no to me when I offered–"

She punched him.

And when Sakura was standing up straight, she noticed Itachi raising an eyebrow at her, making her growl with annoyance and not even a second later, Naruto was on his feet, still pouting. "Why do you always go for the weird ones?"

"If I went for 'the weird ones', I'd be with _you_."

"Eh! Sakura–chan, that's–"

"The truth. You're weird, Naruto." Sasuke finally spoke up. If Sakura went for 'the weird ones', then that meant that _he_ was weird, which he was not. He would admit that Gaara was weird and perhaps Itachi could be a little at times, but he was definitely not weird.

The blond shook his head fiercely, glaring at Sasuke. "You're weirder than I am!"

His eyes narrowed. "There is no getting weirder than you."

"Teme!" Naruto growled, looking as though he was about to pounce. "I'm not weird!"

"And Sakura's hair isn't pink."

He paused and tilted his head to the side, frowning. "Yes it is."

Those watching suddenly slapped a hand to their faces. Well, it was only Sakura who did so, but both Itachi and Shisui fought the urge to do the same.

"Are you colour blind, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, eyes narrowing as he leaned forward, like simply looking into Sasuke's eyes would tell him that. "What colour does her hair look–"

Another punch to the face silenced him. However this time, it was from Sasuke.

"Idiot."

* * *

**A/N - I won't be able to update on Wednesday for personal reasons, so I'm posting today instead! I needed something to take my mind off of everything, anyway, so I thought 'why not?'**

**Sadly, my cat died last night. We had her for seven years, since she was just two weeks old. Still not too sure what the hell happened, but the vet said it was a long term illness and even if we had taken her to the vet last week, or even earlier, they probably would have suggested euthanasia. One of the saddest parts about it is that the other two cats know. One of them has been with Gizmo all her life and wouldn't leave her side until we took her to the vets, whilst the other enjoyed tormenting her. She loved it really! They were like an old married couple and he definitely misses her.  
**

**We just need to remember the happy times, right? My older sister made a joke because of how and where we found Gizmo. She said "she's definitely the best thing you can find in a bin". I agree. I remember one time when Gizmo lost it and took out all of the other cats _and_ me! Really going to miss her.**

**SIGH.**

**Anyways, sorry if I made you all sad or dampened your moods!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	19. We're Coming Home!

**Chapter 18 – We're Coming Home!**

"So…" Sakura said a little awkwardly, watching Itachi pack the very few things he had in his cabin. "What happens now?"

"What do you mean?"

Seeing that she didn't have his full attention made her bite her lip nervously, wondering if she would come off as clingy or annoying. At times she knew she could be clingy as hell. Like, to the point where it was impossible to get rid of her. But surely she wasn't that bad to be around? Nobody other than Sasuke had complained about it – well, to her face.

Finally, Itachi finished packing the last of his things and made his way over to the bed, sitting beside her. "Sakura?"

"What happens when we go back to the village?" she asked quietly with a frown. "I mean, what happens between us?"

What if he no longer wanted to continue what they were? Yes, Itachi had told her that he would like to date her – had _asked her_ to date him – but what if that was… What if that was just, what? So that she would sleep with him? She couldn't see Itachi doing something like that. He just didn't seem like the type of guy to lie about things just to get a girl to sleep with him. Oh, but what if he had? What if they returned to the village and he suddenly ignored her, going after other girls? Prettier ones with more curvaceous bodies and smaller foreheads?

Sakura hated those thoughts. The 'am I good enough' types of thoughts. She almost always had them and they made her feel so down about herself.

"I think," he paused, watching how her eyes snapped to his with barely restrained worry, "I should finally take you out on a date."

Her stomach flipped and a second later, she was smiling brightly. It faltered a moment later. "But the gossip. What do we tell people?"

"We tell them nothing." Itachi told her honestly. "This is between us and nobody else. If they see us together, then they see us together."

"So you're saying that… They're going to know about us, but we're not going to tell them anything?"

"Yes."

She was fine with that. And that way, nothing would be for sure. It would all be rumours based off the fact that they would be seen together. Nothing would be confirmed, yet nothing would be denied. Yes, Sakura liked that very much, although she could tell already that the questions would bug the hell out of her. Maybe she should just ignore anybody who asks those questions? Pretend like nobody had said a thing? If _Ino_ asked, however, there was no holding back. That girl got everything out of Sakura. _Everything_. She didn't study under Morino Ibiki for nothing, after all.

When Itachi cupped her cheek and turned her face in his direction, Sakura couldn't help but smile softly into the tender kiss he placed upon her lips, enjoying the way his lips moved against hers.

Her team would be setting off earlier than the others, along with team Gai. They hadn't been officially stationed there, so didn't have to wait for the other teams to arrive. Besides, having five teams moving through the forest would be worrying to anybody they'd pass, even though two of those teams would be hidden in the shadows, since they were ANBU.

There was no telling when she would see Itachi next. Would he come and find her? Would he turn up at her home? Sakura made a mental note to move out of her parents' house soon, as it was kind of embarrassing that she was still there. Oh! There was that nice apartment not too far from the Hokage Tower that had been available before she left for the base camp. If it was still available, she could move in there! Sakura had more than enough money due to living at home and not only going on missions, but also working in the hospital. Besides, she'd been meaning to move out for a while but never really got the chance due to missions and work at the hospital. It had been easier staying at home.

But that didn't answer her question. When would Sakura see Itachi next?

As their chaste kiss ended, Itachi pressed his forehead to hers, giving her a small smile. "Just say it, Sakura."

She blushed. Would she sound clingy if she asked him? "When… When will I next see you?"

His smile warmed, making her heart melt and thanking whoever was listening that she did not appear as clingy. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow night?"

Tomorrow night. "Uh, I'm not sure. Tsunade–sama said I'll be placed back onto the hospital rota, but I don't know when or what shifts she'll give me. Shisui–san's eyes are almost completely healed now, just like yours, so…"

"She will want you to finish that task first." Itachi murmured. Sakura nodded. "I will come and find you tonight, though I won't be able to stay long. There is no doubt in my mind that my mother will want me home for dinner after being away for so long."

"Such a mama's boy." Sakura smirked, though giggled when she was suddenly pinned to the bed, that giggling turning into a soft smile when Itachi hovered over her, using the arm beside her head to lean on. "I think it's sweet how much you and Sasuke–kun care for Mikoto–san." she paused for a moment. "I'm going to miss being here with you, though. It's so simple here despite everything."

A hand cupped her cheek once more, his thumb stroking her cheek gently. "I know."

Her eyebrows knitted together. "A–And… I'm going to be leaving Aiko–chan here."

It had definitely been easier for her lately but that didn't mean she didn't think of Aiko. That didn't mean it didn't hurt. Because she did and it does. All the time.

"Do you remember what you promised me?"

"…Yeah." she whispered in return, taking a deep, shaky breath. "You said that I had to promise to try and let go if you help me become stronger."

Part of him knew that it hadn't been a fair deal, but he had to try and do something for her. It hurt him seeing her in pain.

She gave him a pained look. "I'm trying. Really, I am. It's just the thought of her being alone out here…"

Lowering himself onto her, Itachi pressed his lips softly to hers. If he said what he was truly thinking, he believed it would seem like he was being insensitive. But in all honesty, it was hardly going to matter to Aiko whether she was alone or not. Just as the thought entered Itachi's mind, he immediately felt guilt envelope him, even though he knew that he shouldn't feel guilty. It was the way he had been brought up and all ANBU operatives thought that way. He sighed. That did not lessen the guilt any and he couldn't fully understand why he was even feeling it.

"Aiko will be with her parents now, Sakura." Itachi told her softly, brushing the hair from her face. He was so very glad for his emotionless mask, as it wouldn't do any good for her to see his guilt. Who knows what Sakura would think if she knew what he truly thought? "She won't be alone."

Sakura nodded quickly, willing the ache in her chest to go away. "Yeah." in a desperate attempt to change the subject, to get rid of that ache, she suddenly smiled up at him. "I'm going to miss sleeping with you."

Wait.

"I don't mean like that!" Sakura quickly added, her eyes wide and her embarrassment only grew when Itachi smirked at her. "I meant… I meant sleeping in your bed with you. It's… soothing."

Soothing? Itachi watched her for a moment, his smirk slowly slipping away into a blank expression. If Shisui had been in the room (thankfully, he wasn't), he would have said that that particular look meant that he was thoughtful, that Itachi was thinking something over. And in truth, he _was_. Sharing a bed with him was soothing? How? Before Sakura, only one person had slept in his bed and that was Sasuke when he was a child and scared of the dark. Others _feared_ him. They avoided him and certainly never approached him the way Sakura more or less had.

"Soothing." he repeated, silently telling her to explain when he couldn't find an acceptable answer.

In response Sakura blushed. "I'm sure somebody's told you before…"

It took a lot to keep back his uncertainty, his confusion and growing impatience. "No."

"Well…" she started sheepishly, her fingers not for the first time playing with his hair to distract herself. "It's… It's the feeling you radiate. You know, your aura? It's so calm and peaceful. And it… It makes me feel safe."

Soothing.

He understood.

Itachi gave her a gentle smile. "No, nobody has ever told me that before."

"That's because most of the time, you're not as approachable like you are right now." she teased quietly, though gave him a small smile a second later when Sakura finally looked up into his eyes. Eyes that were so beautiful and mysterious to her. There was a high chance she'd never see even half of the things those eyes had seen – she didn't want to. After all, you couldn't be an ANBU captain, be in charge of an entire camp, unless you knew what you were doing and had pretty much seen it all. "When you're fighting, for example, the feeling you radiate _then_, scares me a little. It's unnerving."

Yes, he had been told _that_ before. Itachi found that he preferred the soothing comment, though said nothing.

"You're so calm…" she shook her head, seeming to be disbelieving. "It's unnerving how calm you can be. There were so many Iwa–nin that day when team seven arrived, yet you stood there and demanded answers from them without breaking composure once. You didn't even seem all that angry when they disrespected your clan or Sasuke–kun!" Sakura gave him another smile. "I know of a few people who could do with something like that."

"Is that including yourself?" Itachi smirked, avoiding answering her and pressing his forehead to hers. "You have a rather bad temper, Sakura."

"You're kind of stating the obvious." she told him with a roll of her eyes, though couldn't help but laugh. After a moment Sakura brushed his hair out of her eyes by brushing it over his shoulder and smiled when his eyes warmed.

She liked this Itachi. The warm one, the one who would look at her with such a tender look. It seemed so odd having him act that way – well, at first it had. At first Sakura had believed Itachi would always be a serious person. A little bit of flirting here and there was okay, but nothing too much. However that thought changed when he allowed her to sleep in his bed, when he started to take care of her without a word of complaint or acting like it was the most annoying job he'd ever had before. Without even trying, Itachi could make her feel so special.

That and the sex was _amazing_.

It didn't mean that Sakura didn't like the other versions of Itachi, because she did. She liked how protective he could be of his village. She liked how he put everyone else before himself. Over the past several months, Sakura had noticed many times how Itachi always not–so–discreetly made sure Sasuke was okay, that he was comfortable, before even bothering to take care of himself. Every day he had checked up on his little brother when Sasuke had no sight and every day, he did so without complaining. He helped Sasuke out, taking him to and from the bathroom, bringing him food. Things like that.

Maybe that was just who Itachi was? A kind, caring person, though he obviously kept that side of himself hidden for who knows what reason. It could be for many reasons. The first being that he was a shinobi. Whilst it was okay to have a caring, emotional side, it was best to keep it hidden unless with your precious people. The second reason being that perhaps he wasn't entirely comfortable with people viewing him as caring or gentle. Who knows? No matter how much Sakura got to know Itachi, she accepted the fact that he would always remain a mystery to her.

But that didn't mean that Sakura wasn't going to try and find out everything about him. It was a challenge and she wanted to learn all about him. What made him laugh, what made him smile. What made him think hard and what made him think of every little past thing that he had done. Oh! And what made him squirm, too. That would be amusing.

"I don't know if I want to leave."

What was going to happen now? Sakura was aware of how they had spoken about this only minutes before, but she was still unsure. And she definitely knew she wouldn't see him half as much as she did right now. That was what was bothering her so much. The unknown. Sakura had never liked not knowing things. It made her uncomfortable.

Inwardly, Sakura groaned.

She was acting like a clingy girlfriend!

"We have routine here." Itachi told her quietly, making those thoughts in her head seem so normal. "You should stop worrying so much," he sighed, kissing her forehead, "nothing will change between us. Only our routine and surroundings will change."

"Promise?"

Itachi gave her a gentle smile and pressed another chaste kiss to her lips. "I promise."

* * *

The journey back to Konoha was uneventful, yet pleasant. As always, Naruto was at the front with Sakura and Sasuke behind him, flanking him. Flanking _them_, were Lee and Tenten, two of the four members of team Gai. Due to him being officially stationed at the border, Neji had to leave with his temporary team.

Whilst chatting quietly amongst one another, they kept their guards high and were definitely on the lookout. Just because they were close to home it did not mean that they were safe. If anything they were more vulnerable for several reasons.

"So…" Tenten spoke up as they swiftly jumped over the halfway mark, hopping from branch to branch. "What's going to happen between you and Itachi–san, Sakura?"

Sasuke had to bite back a growl.

Sakura was silent.

"Sakura–san?" Lee called to her in confusion, wondering if she had possibly not heard Tenten. It would be so unlike her to ignore them!

Again, there was no answer.

"Sakura–chan?"

Finally getting annoyed, especially now that Naruto was getting involved, Sasuke sighed. "Whatever is going on between my brother and Sakura, it doesn't concern any of us. If they want to keep their relationship a secret, respect their privacy."

Tilting her head slightly to the side, Sakura gave him a small, grateful smile. There had been no choice in his words. Sasuke was warning the three that they had better give Sakura and Itachi privacy, or else. Or else what? Anything. Anything could happen when Sasuke got pissed off and Naruto knew this, as he fell silent. There were some battles that he could win and some he knew for a fact, would lose. This was one of those battles, so Naruto knew not to push his luck. Whilst he could be a total idiot at times, there was also a part of Naruto that was extremely observant and smart.

It felt like hours went by before they finally reached the gates, the chunin stationed there smiling politely as the five signed in.

"Sakura–san, Hokage–sama wishes to see you once you have rested." the man told her, giving her a smile. He was fairly tall with light brown hair which fell in his left eye slightly, giving it a floppy look whenever he nodded or shook his head. Sakura knew him, but at the same time, she didn't. Whenever she saw him, she would always watch how his hair flopped about. It secretly amused her. "The rest of you are also to rest before handing in your reports. Naruto–kun," his smile was less genuine now and more sheepish, unsure, "Tsunade–sama also told us to tell you not to take too long with your report this time."

Unnoticeably, Sasuke's eyes narrowed a fraction as he sensed the slight fear in the air, especially since he knew Naruto would pick up on it in a split second. It angered him how Naruto was pushed away like that, when he saw those certain looks aimed at him. When he was younger, it hadn't bothered Sasuke all too much as he had been more bothered about getting stronger, about being the best, but one night, Itachi had sat down with him and they talked. Really talked.

There were certain things that the villagers of Konoha were not to discuss. The tailed beast that resided within Naruto was one of those things. Why had Itachi told him? His brother had been concerned, apparently. It had started with a history lesson of sorts, with Itachi calmly explaining how their clan had once been ostracised from the village, how they had not been trusted. To say that it confused him would be an understatement. Sasuke had never received looks of distrust or dislike before. At least not from higher ups or people that mattered. But then Itachi explained even more about what had been happening over the years, told him things that made Sasuke's head ache for days afterwards, but in a way, he was glad to know.

Sure, Sasuke had had… negative feelings, of sorts, towards the village for a short while afterwards, but as more time passed, he truly thought about everything. His clan had, in a way, deserved to be distrusted, as they had been plotting against the village. However, the elders should not have been so rash about how they wanted to strike back. And in the end they came to an agreement. Thankfully.

It was during that history lesson from Itachi, though, that it was let slip just what exactly was inside of Naruto. It explained so much to him, it made things so much clearer. And Itachi taught him a few genjutsu that would stall Naruto, should the Kyuubi's chakra ever leak out of the seal. He had assured Sasuke that that shouldn't happen, that the Yondaime had been very talented, but it was a just in case. Itachi had hated the thought of returning home from a mission to find out his little brother had died by the hands of the Kyuubi. Not by the hands of Naruto, but the Kyuubi.

Sakura also noticed the fear and it had her blood boiling, but instead of showing her anger, she threw her arm over Naruto's shoulder, trying to ignore the flash of hurt in his eyes. "Come on, Naruto. Sasuke–kun said he'll treat us to ramen!"

"Really?" the blond exclaimed excitedly, though narrowed his eyes in suspicion not even a moment later. "_Why_? It's not my birthday."

Realising her plan and seeing that it had definitely taken his mind off of the chunin, who now looked more than a little guilty, Sasuke scoffed. He had more than enough money for it, so why not? Just this once, anyway. "Take it or leave it, dobe."

Naruto grinned, planning to take full advantage of the offer.

* * *

Reports were handed in, she had spoken to Tsunade about the sharingan and how far along she was in terms of progress and now, all she had to do was relax.

"_I'm impressed, Sakura._" Tsunade had told her with an affectionate ruffle of the hair, smiling down at her. "_I'm proud of you._"

Sakura had never felt so amazing before. Okay, slight exaggeration, but getting that sort of praise from Senju Tsunade, a woman who kept everything close to her heart, or as close as those breasts will allow them to get? It was just… surreal. It made her feel great about herself, proud of herself. Naruto had smirked proudly at her and even though his expression was blank, the moment they were outside, Sasuke also smirked at her.

That proud, amazing feeling multiplied. Her shishou and her team believed in her. They had believed she would be able to help the Uchiha. Of course, Sakura had warned her shishou that there was still a little more work to be done on those with the Mangekyō, but she was so close to saving their eyes that Sakura could _taste_ the victory. Until she managed to find a way to do that, all she had to do was make sure they didn't have a repeat of so much built–up chakra.

And then once they were alone, that amazing feeling slipped away like sand in her fingers when Tsunade asked her, "_How are you feeling, Sakura? And don't try lying to me. I have always been able to see right through you_."

"_I'm coping, Tsunade–sama_." Sakura had responded quietly, giving a small smile.

It hadn't seemed to be the right answer, but Tsunade hadn't argued. Instead she had given Sakura three days to rest up fully and in the next day or two, several teams of shinobi were going to be spoken to, her own included – though Sakura was supposed to keep that part to herself as well as the reason why.

So now, with nothing else to do, Sakura sat at the dining table in her parents' home. She was supposed to be looking at apartments, but at that moment in time, her heart just wasn't in it. Once more she was being reminded of why it was simply easier staying at home instead of moving out, although Sakura knew that once her parents returned, she'd remember why she wanted to move out in the first place. They drove her insane.

In front of her on the table was a magazine, one of Ino's, in fact. Perhaps later on she should go visit the blonde? Maybe. It depended on whether or not Sakura felt as though she could deal with Ino at that moment in time.

Flipping a page, something caught her eye.

Honeymoon phase.

Were she and Itachi in the 'honeymoon' phase?

Sakura hummed thoughtfully to herself and flipped the magazine page again. It definitely sounded possible. Every chance they got since they began sleeping together (after their second time), they took every opportunity that they got. Hell, four o'clock this morning, before anybody else would be using the showers, Itachi had pinned her against the wall and made love to her until the sun began to rise. Not really a romantic setting, but what with Shisui in the cabin, they couldn't exactly do anything sexual there, could they?

It wasn't like Shisui hadn't offered to move cabins, because he had. He'd asked them several times if they would be more comfortable if he moved. However the only other place for him to go would be with Tenten and Neji, or Lee and Sai. Of course, there was always her bed in team seven's cabin, but Naruto had been extremely territorial about having a man sleeping in her bed, no matter how temporary it was. Sakura sighed.

As stupid and as strange as it sounded, it was almost like Naruto had periods.

Okay, that sounded incredibly silly to Sakura. No, he did not have periods. It was just… Well, he had a 'time of month', in a way. She believed that it was the Kyuubi within him – Sasuke believed so, too. It hadn't really started until they reached 'of age', which then led to them both saying it was his 'time of month'. His lasted for two weeks instead of one, though. And instead of having a menstrual cycle, he instead had intense mood swings. Nowhere near as bad as Gaara's, but still intense.

Those who were really close with Naruto knew of them. For example, she, Sasuke, Kakashi, Tsunade and others such as those, were all under Naruto's protection. It was like he became in tune with them. If he so much as sensed a threat, or if he sensed that somebody was getting a little too close to his precious people, he would snap (which was why Sakura being stabbed all those months ago by Iwa–nin had caused such a problem). It drove Naruto insane when they were sent on separate missions. The instinctual need to protect his precious people would almost drive him insane.

She felt sorry for him. Naruto never had it easy, did he?

And why did he accept Sakura and Itachi's relationship? It was because _she_ wanted it. He could feel that in the pit of his stomach, could feel it deep in his heart. He could feel the potential. He knew what could grow between them.

Don't even get Sakura started on how territorial Naruto could become. One lingering, suggestive look and he would be snarling out threats. Put an intensely territorial Naruto and a possessive, horny Gaara in the same room when it was the blond's 'time of month' and you had some of the most frightening entertainment ever.

Anyway. She had been thinking about her and Itachi, hadn't she? Well–

A knock on her door followed by the opening of it silenced her thoughts, causing Sakura to look up as Sasuke entered slowly, slipping off his sandals and neatly placing them next to hers (whilst, of course, straightening hers out and sending her a slightly annoyed look). There was something different about him, Sakura noticed after a moment and during that moment, Sasuke made his way over to her and sat down beside her.

"My mother would like to invite you and your parents over for dinner."

What?

_What_?

"Has Itachi…?"

"No." he sighed, sitting back in the wooden chair and glaring down at the table. "I don't know what she is thinking, but she wishes to invite the three of you as well as Naruto for dinner at our home. I think she's happy to have Itachi home and wishes to celebrate."

Sakura gave him a soft smile. "I'm sure she's happy to have both of her boys home."

He closed his eyes and sighed again. "…Yeah. Shisui is also invited."

That was something that always upset Sakura. Ever since they were children, since she first noticed, it upset her. Sometimes, despite it seeming impossible, Sasuke felt like he was being pushed out of his own family. Sometimes he felt like a guest in his own home. That pained her so much. It pained her when Fugaku would unknowingly cut Sasuke off just as his son had been about to speak (like he wasn't even there), so that he could ask Itachi a question or something of the sort.

"Hey," Sakura's voice was still soft, her smile still present, "he's been away for a long time, Sasuke–kun. And even if they _are_ giving him more attention, just remember that Itachi gives most of his attention to you."

It made him smile reluctantly. Her words were true. Whenever Sasuke would be cut off, whenever his nose was pushed out, Itachi would say something that made it obvious he disapproved of his father's ways. His father would apologise with a nod of his head, telling Sasuke to continue. It was like the time when they were younger, when it was Sasuke's first day at the academy and Itachi had rather bluntly told Fugaku that he would not be attending a clan meeting or a mission or whatever it had been, because somebody had to be there for Sasuke's inauguration. Itachi had downright refused to have nobody at all there. And in the end, Fugaku had gone to Sasuke's inauguration as well as Mikoto, Shisui and, of course, Itachi.

He sighed. "You don't have to dress formally – I doubt any of the others will. Just make sure you're presentable."

She already knew all of this and the Uchiha family had already seen her at her worst, but Sakura knew that appearances meant everything to them. No doubt Sasuke would beat the hell out of Naruto if he turned up completely filthy again like he had when they were younger. Oh Sakura had thought Sasuke would have an aneurysm!

With that, he got up and walked over to the door, though paused on his way out. "Itachi came back around an hour ago. He said he'll find you later, before dinner."

Sakura smiled gratefully at his message.

* * *

And he did find her.

At a completely inappropriate time, no less.

However, it warmed Sakura's heart how Itachi stayed on the other side of the shower curtain, how he didn't even attempt at peeking on her. Through the small gap, if she leaned to the side a little, Sakura could see him as he was standing near the counter. If he turned his head to the side, he'd be able to see her, though. Not properly, but he would catch a glimpse of her through the curtain.

"A little warning may have been nice." she told him with a soft laugh, tilting her head back and rinsing out the shampoo.

"Did Sasuke not pass on my message?" he asked in return, voice as blank as ever. How could he stay composed like that? "I asked him to tell you–"

"That you'd find me before dinner." Sakura cut him off with a small smile as she started with the conditioner. "Yes, he told me. I just thought that you'd have better timing than this. How did you even get in here?"

Just as the words left her lips, a gentle breeze entered the bathroom and Sakura realised how. She'd left the window open. Usually, she enjoyed letting the steam from the hot water build up so that it would be warm when she got out of the shower, but other times, Sakura preferred not doing that. It depended on her mood, really. But that still didn't answer her question! How could Itachi have managed to climb through her window without being seen?

"Henge." Itachi smirked to himself, folding his arms over his chest and leaning back against the counter. "I merely disguised myself as an animal."

Clever, Sakura concluded and made quick work of washing out the conditioner, going onto scrubbing her skin clean. After returning, she had washed quickly and efficiently, but since she was going to be spending the evening with the Uchiha family, Sakura had thought it would be best if she cleansed more deeply, more thoroughly. They were a prestigious, proud clan, after all. Not to mention most of them were perfectionists.

"So what's this dinner actually about? Sasuke was rather cryptic earlier." Sakura murmured.

His smirk faded for a moment, thinking back to the moment he had returned home. They had all been in the kitchen, his father included. When Itachi had entered, it had been like he'd been away for years – they had acted like he had been, too. How many hours had it been since he returned home? At least four. It had been four hours and it was still aggravating Itachi how Sasuke had been practically pushed out of all conversations. Granted, Itachi had been away for longer and Sasuke returned this morning, but that didn't give their parents the right to ignore him. They didn't do it all of the time, of course, but if Itachi was away for a large amount of time, then they did.

Eventually it had become too much for his younger brother, who had stood up slowly and muttered something along the lines of "I'm going to find my team". Itachi disliked having to rely on others, but as their eyes met and he gave Sasuke a certain look, Sasuke nodded once. To say his parents were aggravated and curious as to what they had been discussing would be an understatement, but Itachi had kept his lips sealed. They would understand how frustrating it was for Sasuke, to be kept in the dark or pushed out.

Mikoto understood him clearly and the pained look that flitted over her features as she realised what she had done, had caused Itachi a small amount of pain, but not nearly enough to make him feel guilty. In a way, he understood that she was happy to finally have him home and wanted to hear about everything that had happened (as a mother would), however he still didn't agree with the way Sasuke was sometimes ignored.

Technically, the dinner was his idea. Itachi had brought up Sasuke's team and Shisui into a conversation they had been having and knowing how to work his way around his own parents, Itachi had planted the idea of a dinner into his mother's head. Within minutes, she had everything planned. That was what he liked about his mother so much. Everything she did, she made it seem so simple and easy – flawless, even – when in fact it's anything but. The dinner she would be hosting tonight, the dinner that had taken her less than two minutes to plan, would have taken other women at least a day or two to plan – right to the last detail, of course.

"To celebrate a safe return." Itachi only half–lied.

Sakura paused and poked her head out of the shower curtain, raising an eyebrow. "And…?"

He couldn't help but allow the corners of his lips to lift ever so slightly. It seemed Sakura was beginning to pick up on the small things about him, things only close members of his family knew. "I wish to inform them of our relationship."

It was a good job that Itachi was quick, as Sakura came dangerously close to breaking her neck on the side of the tub.

"Sakura?"

"My mom," she growled, glaring down at the floor of the tub whilst holding onto Itachi tightly, "has taken the mat thing off."

Itachi glanced over the side of the bath and noticing what she meant, he gave Sakura a small smile. "The mat thing." he repeated.

Sakura nodded once, her eyebrows knitting together not a moment later. "You want to tell our parents about our relationship?"

Noticing how Sakura had finished washing, Itachi helped her out of the tub, wary of the bathmat being gone. After all, just because they were shinobi, it didn't mean that they were unaffected by slippery surfaces. He sighed and placed Sakura down carefully onto her feet, grabbing the clean towel that was on the rack before wrapping it around her.

The decision on telling their parents hadn't only just come to him today. It had been swimming around in his mind for two or three weeks now. "Even if we are not going to be saying much to the villagers, our parents deserve to know the truth." Itachi told her simply. "That way we will not have to sneak around."

She smiled. That sounded nice, but… "Will they accept me? I mean, they accepted me as Sasuke–kun's friend and teammate, but will they accept me as your…?"

As his what?

"Lover." Itachi told her with a gentle smirk, stroking her cheek affectionately. "We are in an exclusive relationship and you are my lover."

Her knees threatened to weaken.

* * *

"Why are you smiling so much, Sakura?" an exasperated voice asked. "You would think that we have never been invited for dinner before!"

Rolling her eyes, Sakura watched as Mebuki turned to face the front and once they had privacy, she smiled up at the blond by her side. These sorts of things were always uncomfortable for Naruto, even if he didn't show it. Family events always got to him in one way or another. Either he'd be angry at ungrateful children who didn't realise how lucky they were, or he'd be envious of the families who seemed so perfect. Sakura believed that having him hanging around her own family for so long would lead him to believe not all families were perfect.

She was wrong.

Despite how intense and unbearably _there_ her parents could be, Naruto practically thrummed with happiness when he was around them all. Despite their arguments and disagreements, he enjoyed spending time with them. Sakura just couldn't understand him. She'd probably never understand him, giving the fact her parents were alive and she didn't have a beast living within her.

"Oi, Sakura–chan?" he murmured, leaning down slightly just in case Mebuki or Kizashi heard them. "Why _are_ you smiling so much?"

Her smiled widened for a moment before she forced herself to calm down. "You'll see."

In response, Naruto frowned in confusion but nodded nonetheless, standing up straight once more. His smile was back a moment later when Kizashi told a lame joke and even though it wasn't funny in the slightest, it made him laugh whilst Sakura once again rolled her eyes. He'd grown used to the way she acted around them, although there was no use in denying the fact that Naruto had actually snapped at her a few times to respect her parents more.

Man, he hated it when kids didn't understand that their lives could be so much worse than a nagging mother constantly on their case, or a father who told lame jokes. Naruto would give anything to have something like that and he knew several others who would, too. However, he was pretty sure that, had his parents still been alive, he would understand how Sakura was feeling, too. There were simply some things they'd never truly understand about each other.

At that moment in time, they were all headed towards the Uchiha District, Naruto having tagged along when they went by his place. Mebuki and Kizashi were leading the way and walking fairly quickly, as they always did, whilst Sakura and Naruto were walking at a more relaxed place and conversing quietly.

"When do you think Kakashi–sensei will be coming home?" Sakura asked him just as they entered the Uchiha District.

As usual, everything was neat and tidy. Perfect, even. There was something about it that had always made Sakura's skin crawl, but she'd never admit it to Sasuke. It was simply something about the way everything was so… coordinated and well–placed that had her feeling uncomfortable. She had no idea why. Maybe it was because everything held a purpose here? And by purpose, she meant weaponry. Pretty much everything in the district could be used as a weapon. Take the child running with a toy in her hand not too far from them, for example. Despite the fact she only looked eight years old, there was no doubt in Sakura's mind that, should there be an attack, not only would that child suddenly whip out a weapon of sorts from that toy, but she would also be skilled in hitting her target with it.

Maybe that was what made her so uncomfortable about the Uchiha Clan. None of them had a choice in becoming shinobi. It was a decision made by their parents, going on for generation after generation after generation. So on and so forth. Even Sasuke had no choice in becoming a shinobi, just like his father didn't. Just like Fugaku's father didn't. None of them had a choice in becoming who they were today – not entirely, anyway.

"Sakura–san, Naruto–kun."

Naruto was grinning as Shisui fell into step with them, seeming to appear out of nowhere. It was so casually that he joined them that neither Mebuki nor Kizashi noticed.

"Shisui–san." Sakura smiled in return.

Naruto was grateful for Shisui joining them. Like him, Shisui was also an orphan. It meant he would not be left out tonight. Eating with two families could be rather awkward, after all. It worked the other way, too. Whilst he had definitely been invited into their family, it reminded Shisui of what he did not have when he spent a lot of time with them. Don't get him wrong, because he would be eternally grateful for the way they opened up their home to him – especially since Fugaku was head of the clan – but that was just how he felt. It was easy to hide from most people. Only two people had managed to pick up on it – three if you included Naruto. They were Itachi and Mikoto.

"Say," Mebuki spoke up to Kizashi, tilting her head in his direction, "do you think they want to discuss something important?"

Damn, Sakura inwardly growled. Even though her mother was not a shinobi, she was still smart and easily caught onto things. "Mikoto–san simply wishes to celebrate having us all home, mother." she sighed with feigned annoyance. No, it wasn't fake, but Sakura was forcing it to be more obvious so that her mother would drop the subject.

She did not.

"I know that–" the older woman cut herself off when she turned around, seeming stunned for a moment by the extra person walking with them. "Hello, uh…"

"Uchiha Shisui." he smiled politely. "It is nice to meet you both, Mebuki–san, Kizashi–san."

It aggravated Sakura how her mother blushed and waved her hand at him in a dismissive way, the other covering her mouth in a shy gesture. Honestly! The woman had been married for over twenty–five years now. How she could flirt (no matter how innocently) with her husband right by her side (even though he was smiling at Shisui) was beyond Sakura. It had been pretty much the same reaction when Mebuki had first met Kakashi. Oh, don't even get Sakura started on when she had met Kakashi!

Naruto snickered at Sakura's expression.

"Will you be joining us all for dinner, Shisui–kun?" Mebuki asked him, slowing in her walking.

Sakura's expression darkened.

"Yes." Shisui replied.

"That's wonderful." she told him with a smile. "And are you a relative of Sasuke–kun's? I heard you say your last name is Uchiha?"

He nodded once. "Although we share the same name we are not related. Perhaps somewhere down the line we are, but not closely. However, I think of Itachi and Sasuke as my brothers."

Mebuki appeared to be thoughtful for a moment before she glanced up at her husband. "Say, Kizashi. I've heard that name before, haven't you?"

"Sasuke?" Kizashi chuckled. "Of course I have! Our Sakura used to go on and on about him–"

"No, no." she also chuckled at their daughter's childish crush, not noticing the dark waves coming from Sakura – such darkness that it had Naruto picking up his pace so that he wasn't walking beside her and instead had Shisui in between them. "I meant the other boy – Itachi. I'm certain that I've heard of him before!"

Sakura's dark anger evaporated like somebody had just blown out a candle.

Oh no.

"Itachi's well known around the village," Sakura muttered with a roll of her eyes, "so obviously you've heard of him! He's Sasuke–kun's older brother and one of Konoha's most powerful shinobi."

Mebuki's eyes narrowed at her daughter's tone and lack of respect. "Careful, Sakura," her voice and expression appeared to be teasing, but Sakura knew better. This was a warning, "one might think you're in love with this man."

"Yeah, Sakura–chan." Naruto continued in the same lilting, teasing tone. "Somebody might–"

"Shut up!" she silenced him with a punch to the face, despite the fact Shisui was in between them.

* * *

Sasuke wasn't surprised when he opened the front door to find a politely smiling Sakura, a bruised and beaten Naruto, an expressionless Shisui and Mebuki and Kizashi bickering in the back.

"You're early." he stated, stepping to the side and sliding the door open wider.

"Better than being late!" Sakura smiled cheerfully and entered, slipping off her sandals and walking in the direction of the kitchen. "Does your mother need any help?"

Those who had also turned up at the Uchiha home removed their shoes and made their way into the home, following Sasuke. "No." he replied, gesturing with his head for Sakura to follow him. "She told me to tell you to stay out of the kitchen. You're a guest this time."

"Fine, fine." Sakura sighed. She wanted nothing more than to help Mikoto, to try and get in her good books. Sure, Sakura knew the woman liked her already, but this was just in case. Later tonight, they would be revealing her relationship with Itachi. A little sucking up wouldn't do any harm. "So, where's–"

"In here."

Right. Sakura inwardly cursed herself. Thankfully, Sasuke had cut her off before she asked "where's Itachi?" as speaking of him in such an informal way definitely would have roused suspicion. Actually, no it wouldn't. They could have just gone along with it by saying since Itachi was Sasuke's brother, they spoke often, therefore knew each other well enough not to need any added suffixes.

Seeing both Itachi and Fugaku sitting at the low table, they came to a stop, but just as Sakura and Shisui went to lower their heads respectfully to Fugaku, her mother spoke up.

"Itachi!"

Sakura tensed, staring at her mother with wide eyes.

"I _knew_ I had heard that name somewhere before – and not through gossip!" Mebuki shot her daughter a dry look.

It was at this moment that Mikoto entered the room, though she paused at the scene she stumbled upon.

Itachi stood up and nodded once in acknowledgement. "Mebuki–san, Kizashi–san."

"We haven't seen you in a while, Itachi–kun!" Many looked to Mebuki curiously, making her smile widen. "Didn't he tell you? Oh that boy must still be so modest! He helped our Sakura out years back, when she wandered off during a festival. You should be very proud of your son, Mikoto–san, Fugaku–san. He was very sweet and caring to our Sakura and looked after her until she was ready to come back to us."

Sasuke and Naruto stared with wide eyes, unable to form a single thought or control their emotions.

Sakura blushed. "I didn't wander off…"

Grinning, Kizashi patted Sakura's head, making her hold back a growl and seeing the tick in her brow, Naruto instinctively took a step back. His head was still hurting from earlier. "I think she's right, Mebuki. I remember that night like it was yesterday! We got separated in the crowd, remember?"

"Yes!" she sighed after a moment, remembering clearly. "We were so worried about you, Sakura."

"So I've been told." Sakura also sighed, sending Itachi a certain look that her boys and Shisui did not understand.

Mebuki chuckled with a shake of her head. "We thought that he even brought us flowers!" this time, it was Fugaku who looked shocked and Itachi fought the blush that was fighting to the surface down fiercely. "But, we were wrong. It turned out that Sakura picked them for him!" she sighed sadly. "Sometimes I wonder where our little angel went. Now she has an awful temper."

The blond chuckled, though quickly paled and stopped laughing at the glare sent his way.

"We thought she had a crush on him." Kizashi continued with a bright smile, completely unlike other fathers, who would have been worried and startled by the fact that their six year old daughters developed crushes on boys who were five years older than them. "Turned out it was the younger brother she liked!"

She blushed. Heavily. Was there any need to bring that up? What made it worse was that she and Itachi would be telling them all of their relationship later! "Mom, dad! Do you have to say all this?"

"Please, Sakura–san." Mikoto gave her a small, understanding smile, already knowing how intense they could be. "It is fine. I actually enjoy hearing about these things. Sasuke doesn't say much about his teammates, so it is nice to learn new things about you."

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Naruto shuffle awkwardly and her heart ached for him, although she honestly had no idea what she was supposed to do. It had to be painful for him, though. Without knowing what else to do, Sakura grabbed his arm and dragged him over to her, smiling brightly. "What about Naruto, huh? He's working on some new jutsu that's supposedly even better than chidori."

Naruto brightened instantly. "It _will_ be better than chidori!"

Like she had been expecting, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "No it won't."

"It will!"

"It won't."

Fugaku's eyebrow twitched, hinting at his annoyance at their childish argument. Sasuke didn't notice or, if he did, he didn't care.

"It will! I swear it will kick chidori's ass!"

At least the attention was finally off her! Sakura sent Itachi an apologetic smile, but she was surprised to find him already staring at her in a way that made her fight back another blush. His eyes were warm and a barely even noticeable smile was trying to widen further, though he wouldn't allow it. He seemed… happy. Or was it proud? She couldn't tell. It was a good look, a warm and tender one, so it didn't bother her too much, although Sakura wouldn't mind knowing what she had done to deserve such a look. It made her stomach flip with happiness.

"You can try." Sasuke scoffed, pushing his fists into his pockets. "But I've been working on a new jutsu, too."

He had his father's attention immediately and the annoyed flash in his eyes disappeared. "You have?"

Sasuke faltered for just a moment but it was hardly noticeable. "Yes. I guess you could say I'm 'upgrading' chidori."

Looking away from Itachi, Sakura frowned. "Is Kakashi–sensei helping you?" He shook his head. "Does he know you're changing his jutsu?"

"I don't need permission, Sakura." he rolled his eyes, but she could tell he wasn't annoyed with her. "Besides, when he taught me chidori, he knew that the jutsu would no longer belong to only him. He may have created it, but now he's not the only one who can use it."

True, she supposed. Sakura wished that she had an affinity with one of the elements. For her it was so much more difficult learning ninjutsu, but that could probably be excused by the fact Sakura had focused more on medic–ninjutsu and taijutsu. Oh and a little bit of genjutsu. Maybe Itachi would help her with that? It would come in handy to have more jutsu and surely, like Kakashi, his sharingan had copied many?

It unnerved her how he seemed to be able to read her thoughts, or something similar to that, because when she looked back up, Itachi discreetly nodded once, as though he was silently telling her that yes, he would teach her some new jutsu. Just the thought made her stomach bubble with excitement, however. What would Itachi be able to teach her? First, they'd had to find out what element she was. Sakura kind of hoped that she would either be water, fire or wind. And maybe he'd even help create a signature move for her! Like Kakashi had his chidori or like the Yondaime had rasengan.

"Well," Mikoto spoke up once Sasuke was done speaking about updating chidori, "dinner should be ready in five minutes. So please, everybody take a seat and relax until then."

Mikoto was seriously the perfect hostess, Sakura noted as she moved over to the table with her parents. At the head of the table, still seated from when they had entered, sat Fugaku. On his left was Itachi, Sasuke and then Shisui, who all sat silently. Sakura sat on Fugaku's right, much to her inner's horror (she could clearly remember the absolutely horrific dream they'd once had about Fugaku acquiring Zabuza's executioner's blade and attempting to kill Sakura with it), and her parents sat beside her with Naruto beside them. At the other end at the table, directly opposite of Fugaku, was Mikoto's currently vacant seat.

Sitting opposite of Itachi was difficult, she realised after only a minute of sitting there. It was so hard not to look up at him in the way she usually would. How did Sakura usually look at Itachi? With gentle, affectionate smiles, of course. It would become blatantly obvious that they were an item. How Itachi could seem so untroubled and at ease was difficult to understand.

"So, Fugaku–san," Mebuki smiled politely, "how is the police force doing? I heard there was quite the commotion in the village last night."

There was a pause before he replied. "Yes, there was."

"Nothing too troubling, I hope?"

"No. It was merely a group of drunken shinobi getting rowdy and wanting to show off their skills."

Kizashi shook his head with a disappointed sigh. "It makes you wonder if they're really cut out for the job, doesn't it? Shinobi are supposed to be secretive about what they do. Not get drunk and have competitions about who is the greatest."

In response, the head of the Uchiha clan nodded, seeming just as disappointed and annoyed. "There was not much to brag about. They were just a bunch of kids acting like powerful adults. It was laughable."

Naruto snickered. "I wouldn't be surprised if you said it was Konohamaru and his team!"

Silence.

The blond's eyes widened as all laughter left him. "_Eh_!" he slammed his hands into the table, sitting up quickly and leaning forward so he could look at Fugaku more clearly. "It _was_ them?" Fugaku nodded once, making Naruto growl. "I swear I'm going to smash their skulls together!"

Recently, Naruto had been teaching Konohamaru how to use rasengan. _Rasengan_! Had that idiot tried it out whilst in the village, _whilst drunk_? Naruto had honestly thought the brunet was better than that. He thought that he was smarter, that he would know better. Clearly, he had been wrong and clearly, he was going to have to teach Konohamaru many more lessons. Even Naruto knew better than to recklessly use jutsu such as rasengan. He was so very disappointed in the younger boy. What if somebody had gotten hurt?

"The Hokage beat you to it." Fugaku told him tonelessly, almost like he was bored. "The moment she heard that he was using a highly ranked jutsu, she–"

"Rasengan!" he yelled angrily. So that idiot _had_ used it!

"You taught Konohamaru–kun how to use _rasengan_?" Sakura demanded, sounding just as angry as she glared at the blond. "He's just a kid!"

"We were much younger when we were taught rasengan and chidori." Sasuke shrugged. "What difference does it make?"

"A lot, apparently." she snapped in return. Turning to Fugaku, Sakura frowned. "Was anyone hurt, Fugaku–san?"

"No." he sighed, folding his arms over his chest. "Just the kid's pride when we stopped him in front of his friends."

Served him right, Sakura thought with annoyance, her teeth gritting together. Rasengan was a dangerous jutsu when used properly, so how deadly could it be whilst using it when drunk?

"Let's not talk about that." Mebuki smiled at them.

"What should we talk about, then?" Shisui asked politely.

Aggravation once again wound tightly in Sakura as her mother blushed. _Again_! "Something cheerful, of course!" the woman replied. "How about…" looking thoughtful, Mebuki tipped her head to the side and tapped her lips. "I know! The fact that our Sakura is finally becoming independent and has decided to move out!"

"After three years of saying she will." Kizashi added with a chuckle.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her when he caught her eye. "Why the sudden change of mind, if you were wishing to move out for three years?"

By his side, Sasuke gritted his teeth. Really? Flirting at the dinner table? At their _parent's_ dinner table? No, it wasn't all that obvious and neither of their parents seemed to have caught onto the hidden meaning of his words, but he had. So had Shisui, if the smirk he was biting back meant anything.

"Oh, you know." Sakura blushed, feeling all attention on her. "Got to grow up some time."

"That's not what you told us!" Mebuki frowned, clearly unhappy. "You said that we were smothering you with our overbearing ways."

Her blush deepened. Perhaps she had been a little harsh with her explanation…

"At least now I won't have to yell at you to keep your shoes together." the blonde continued with a shrug. "And when you trip over them in your new home, you'll wish you had listened to me all along."

Kizashi shook his head with a grin. "The amount of times your mother has tripped over your shoes is unbelievable, Sakura. She'd have made a terrible kunoichi–"

"Shut up!" Mebuki glared at him. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

Sighing, Sakura glanced up at Itachi once more. "So now you can probably understand why I decided to move out?"

He nodded silently, watching the exchange between Mebuki and Kizashi. Beneath the anger in Mebuki's eyes, however, Itachi could clearly see the love in them. He could also see that she was trying to fight back her laughter, too.

"Itachi, Sasuke." their mother called from the kitchen. "Please come and help me with dishing out the food."

* * *

Dinner was quiet, with only Mebuki and Naruto speaking up every now and then, trying to get everyone talking. It worked around five minutes into eating, although they all eventually became too immersed in eating the food Mikoto had served to them. It was delicious. All of it was simply delicious. Sakura had even asked for seconds of a certain dish as it had been the best she'd ever tasted!

However, that hunger that kept making her eat more and more of the food, disappeared when Itachi finished his meal and cleared his throat politely, wanting everyone's attention.

"What is it, Itachi?" Fugaku questioned, setting down his chopsticks as he finished his meal and a moment later, others were doing the same.

"We thought it would be best to inform you all now, before you hear about it through gossip."

Sakura sucked in a deep breath when she noticed just how much attention was on him. How could Itachi handle all of that attention? She would have broken!

Mikoto tilted her head to the side. "We?"

Glancing down at Sakura, he murmured, "Sakura and I are romantically involved with one another."

Silence.

A fierce blush raged on her features when they all stared down at her in shock, before turning back to Itachi with the exact same look. Her parents' expressions were not hidden, which meant she got them at full force, however, the fact that even Mikoto and Fugaku appeared to be stunned meant a lot, too. Sasuke, Shisui and Naruto only looked shocked because of the fact that they hadn't been expecting them to announce their new relationship.

Unsurprisingly, it was Mebuki who spoke first. "How long has this been going on?"

It was like a slap in the face as she immediately clicked onto her mother's thoughts and Sakura's blush faded as her face paled. "Itachi isn't like that, mom!" she snapped, glaring at her angrily. "This hasn't been going on since I was a child, so please drop the look and stop thinking that way. It started recently at the base camp. We… He helped me through a lot there and… I guess…"

At her awkward expression, Itachi sighed. He had known that it would be an uncomfortable discussion, however he also knew that it was best to get it out of the way as soon as possible. "You do not need to know the details, but we _are_ romantically involved now."

"When you say 'helped you through a lot', Sakura," her father spoke up, narrowing his eyes, "what do you mean?"

He was a retired shinobi, so he knew just how dangerous the job could be. That didn't mean that her mother didn't also know, but Kizashi was more aware. He knew exactly what the job entailed. And knowing that Sakura couldn't lie to them, knowing that this was his 'serious, no nonsense' expression, she sighed, looking pained but fighting it back. "A little girl… Aiko–chan… She was badly injured when we found her…"

"Sakura–chan looked after her." Naruto spoke up when he noticed the pained look in her eyes, when he heard the quickening of her heart thanks to his boosted senses. "Healed her and stuff. It was only a short time that Aiko–chan stayed with us, but she became a member of team seven! But then…" he also frowned. "Then Iwa–nin attacked the camp." Mebuki raised a hand to her mouth, all of the colour draining from her as she turned to look at her daughter. "Sakura–chan was being hurt… They were using some kind of new weapons that none of us knew even existed, let alone how to handle!"

"Aiko was out there the moment she realised Sakura was losing." Sasuke continued, since he had been there. "She took the attack head on to protect Sakura, who had become like an older sister to her."

Mebuki's expression saddened as she lifted her hand and pushed a stray strand of hair behind Sakura's ear. "You've always had a medic's heart, Sakura. I'm sorry that you had to go through something like that."

There was a pause before Shisui spoke up. "In her malnourished and weakened state, Aiko–chan couldn't handle the poison that had been used and died shortly after. It has been difficult for Sakura–san to accept what happened."

"But Sakura–chan's been getting better!" Naruto exclaimed, sending her a bright grin, one she returned weakly. "Itachi's been training her and helping her get stronger! And next time, we're going to make sure that Iwa don't screw with Konoha!" he smack his fist into his palm. "We'll get them!"

She shook her head. "It's a tempting thought, but Aiko–chan wouldn't want that, Naruto. She preferred peace over conflict."

He frowned, his hands dropping and his confident demeanour disappearing. "They hurt her, though. Twice!"

"Twice?" Mikoto repeated quietly.

Sakura felt like slapping Naruto. "Aiko–chan lived with her parents in the forest." she told them all softly. "And one day, Iwa–nin attacked their home and killed her parents, which is how we found her. She was barely even alive."

Shisui gave Sakura a small smile before looking at her parents seriously. "You should both be proud of your daughter. If it wasn't for her, that young girl would have died that day."

But at the same time, if it wasn't for her, Aiko would still be alive, Sakura thought sadly.

"She taught Aiko that the world isn't as bad as it seems." Shisui frowned when he noticed Sakura's saddened expression.

"Itachi," Fugaku spoke up, making a good fraction of those at the table tense, "your relationship with Haruno Sakura–"

"Will continue whether or not I have your approval."

All eyes snapped up to Itachi's, widening at his words.

Fugaku huffed with amusement and gave a small smirk, closing his eyes. "It is a good thing that I approve, then."

Sakura couldn't help but look up at Itachi with a bright smile when Mikoto, Mebuki and Kizashi all stated that they approved too.

They approved.

* * *

**A/N - Um. I was called a 'Tsundere' yesterday. Think I've got the meaning of it, but I'm not too sure. Basically, it means I'm a bitch on the outside, but all soft and clingy and loving on the inside, right? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!**

**I might be posting more often as writing helps me, in an odd way. It sounds silly, I know, but it calms me down and keeps me sane! ;-)**

**Thank you to those who sent their support about my cat, Gizmo. It's still really strange walking around the house and not suddenly being hissed at for absolutely nothing, and it's even stranger not hearing her running all they way through the house just for her cat biscuits.**

**Is anyone else disappointed with how Naruto ended? I won't post any spoilers, but I'm just saying that whilst I do like some parts of the ending, I also don't like it. It just kind of seemed a little rushed to me.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	20. A New Routine

**Chapter 19 – A New Routine**

"We understand, Hokage–sama."

"Good. You will be base camp one. That puts you right between Konoha and Suna, although they should not cause much of a problem, if any at all." Tsunade told the group before her. "The Kazekage has agreed that if it really comes to war, he will back us up. Remember that there will be a much smaller village between you, also. Do not cause any disruption or harm to that village if possible and report it to me immediately if they _are_ harmed."

The teams before her nodded.

"You leave tomorrow morning. Rest up until then. Dismissed."

Just like that, they were gone.

Sitting back in her seat, the blonde sighed. Things were heating up dramatically between Konoha and Iwa and even though she wouldn't say it out loud, Tsunade was feeling extremely on edge and stressed. It had gotten so bad that she couldn't even eat or drink. That included her sake. Nothing would stay down long enough for it to have any effect, meaning there was no point in having it at all since it would only be a waste. Shizune was worried and hovering over her much more than usual, though Tsunade tried her best to ignore her. She meant well.

"What are you thinking, Tsunade–sama?" Shizune asked quietly, hugging her precious Tonton closer to her chest. The pig oinked in agreement, also wanting to know what would be happening. "Are we going to attack, or…?"

"No." she replied tiredly. "Let Iwa make the first move. They'll see as soon as they have that it's a fool's errand. Like Shikamaru said, they will not win against us."

Shizune nodded silently, looking out of the window. "But there will still be many casualties, even if we do win. Is it really worth the risk?"

Honey coloured eyes snapped up to the dark haired woman. "What am I supposed to do? Sit back and do nothing? Allow Iwa to conquer us? Allow them to make stupid accusations such as the one they're currently spewing?" Tsunade shot up out of her seat, her hand lashing through the air angrily. "No! I will not have my shinobi accused of such things!"

"Forgive me, Tsunade–sama." Shizune sighed and lowered her head.

Tsunade also sighed and fell back into her chair. "I need a drink." too bad it wouldn't stay down… "What base camp am I seeing next?"

"Base camp four." she told her in response. "The teams for two and three are still away on missions, though are due back this afternoon."

Base camp four. Tsunade's eyes unnoticeably saddened, though snapped straight back into her focused leader expression when there was a knock on her door.

"Enter!"

They did so quietly and in a way that had her holding back a smirk. Predictable. They came in the exact same way she had been expecting them to. Most of them were focused, expressionless, whilst the others were all relaxed yet still ready and focused. It just showed how differently they were all brought up.

"Captain of base camp four," Tsunade spoke up, her voice laced with the authority of a leader, "step forward."

Itachi did so without a word.

"How do you think you handled being the captain of such a large camp, including the teams that joined you more recently?"

There was a short pause before Itachi replied. "Adequately." Tsunade gritted her teeth and her eyes flashed, prompting him to continue. "However, being in charge of a large group such as base camp four, with many separate teams coming and going, was difficult by myself for that amount of time. Towards the end, I made mistakes that could have been avoided."

Tsunade nodded once, accepting his answer. That was why she liked Itachi. He understood clearly where he went wrong and knew what to do should he be faced with the same decision or situation again. Hell, he'd know what to do so he _wouldn't_ be faced with that situation again.

"And how many captains do you think would be best suited for base camp four?"

"That would depend on who those shinobi are, Hokage–sama." he told her honestly. "If you wish to only have two captains, I would suggest somebody who is around my own level in power and authority."

"What about three captains?"

He was thoughtful for a moment. "That could work."

She nodded once, glad that others agreed with her decisions. "For now, you are to rest. In four months' time, however, along with Uchiha Shisui and Hatake Kakashi, you will be in charge of base camp four once more. We will show Iwa that we are taking this seriously." Tsunade told them, folding her hands in front of her mouth. "From now on, we will not make any camp appear as weak. We will not have any identities hidden. We want them to fear us from now on, to know that we will not hold back if they plan on continuing with their laughable accusations."

Standing further back with his team, a part of Sasuke relaxed as he realised the Hokage believed him, that they all believed him. Yesterday, Tsunade had informed him and the other two in his team of what he was being accused of so that it wouldn't be too much of a shock today, although they were all definitely still angry about it. He hadn't attacked Iwa. When would he have had the chance to do that and what would be his reasons? Sakura had said so herself that he would not go through with something like that unless he had a solid reason.

"And the teams, Hokage–sama?" Shisui asked.

Leaning back in her seat, she regarded those before her silently. "I was considering team Gai, Kakashi's previous ANBU squad, your official jonin team as well as Itachi's official ANBU squad. For the medic–nin, there will be Shizune and a select few of highly skilled medic–nin. One for each team."

Naruto glanced down at Sakura, noticing her grimace and inwardly smirking at her.

"Tsunade–sama," Sakura spoke up once the blonde was finished, looking slightly sheepish, "I don't mean to call you out, but perhaps I would be better suited for this mission?"

"Oh?" Tsunade questioned, raising a fine, blonde eyebrow as she rested her elbows on her desk and brought her folded hands to her lips again. "And why is that? Shizune is more experienced than you and knows what war is like."

It took everything in her not to shift. "Yes, but Shizune–san has a life here and is in charge of the hospital. She's married! Yes, we're shinobi so we should deal with this, but… What's the point in sending somebody who has bonds like that when somebody without such strong attachments can go in her place? I've seen what the border is like, shishou." she told her quietly. "Please allow Shizune–san to stay here. I will go in her place."

There was a sigh. "I don't know whether to be impressed by your selflessness and bravery, or angered by your stupidity." Sakura had to hold back a grimace, knowing she had annoyed her shishou. "Just because you're not married, it does not mean you do not have bonds, Sakura. People care about you just as much as they care about Shizune. As a friend, as your shishou, I wouldn't have either of you go to the border. But as your Hokage, I have no other choice and have to go through with such difficult decisions. What makes you think you are suited for life on the border?"

"I have the _Byakugō_." Sakura tapped the seal on her forehead, something Tsunade also did when speaking of the rhombus mark. "Whilst I am not doubting or underestimating your abilities, Shizune–san," the woman shook her head and smiled gratefully in understanding, "I can heal much more quickly with this and the jutsu you taught me, shishou. Also," her eyebrows knitted together for a moment, "I know what it's like out there. Like you said, Shizune–san already knows what war is like. It's childish of me to think this way, I know, but my ninja way has always been to protect my precious people. I don't want this war to officially start. If I can help keep the peace with those at the border by keeping them safe and alive, then I will."

"And your position as Uchiha Sasuke's personal medic?"

Sakura tensed, her breath leaving her as she felt all eyes on her. Damn! She had completely forgotten about Sasuke. Whilst his eyes were definitely almost one hundred percent repaired, Sakura was still his medic. His _personal_ medic. Nobody else was allowed close enough to him. He didn't trust them like he trusted her. They had never risked their lives, jumped in front of him to take on a jutsu or kunai, like she had. Healing chakra could be rather intimate, too. Having somebody else's chakra invading your body, moving inside of you, was considered intimate by many. It was why some stuck to seeing only one medic.

"I will go, too."

She looked up at the hard voice of her teammate, of Sasuke. He was stood casually with his hands shoved in his pockets, looking almost relaxed. It was almost exactly how Kakashi would stand on occasion.

"Team seven works best as a team, right?" Naruto asked after a moment of silence, looking around the room for confirmation. He got it in the slight smile on Tsunade's lips, like she was proud of the three of them. "Just send us as a team, Tsunade–baa! And we'll have Kakashi–sensei there, too. Now I can beat the shit out of him for ignoring my letters!"

"I'd ignore your letters, too, Naruto." Sakura rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her chest. "You would probably end up saying something I find offensive and then I'd have to come all the way back to Konoha just to punch you."

"See?" the blond grinned. "We _have_ to go! Not only because Sakura–chan loves me so much that she'll abandon her post to look for me, but because we look out for each other!"

Her eyebrow twitched and Sakura closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"But we'd need our own cabin, of course. It'll be awkward having Sasuke there. He'd be like the third wheel. Oi, Itachi, you don't mind sharing with him, do you? He's _your_ brother."

Those who had been at the border understood what Naruto really meant by sharing.

Her fists clenched tightly.

Itachi remained stoic, but Shisui could literally feel the possessive anger building within him.

"And ramen! Oh, Sakura–chan! I had this dream the other night where you were bringing me bowl after bowl of ramen and–"

"Let me guess, she was wearing a bright orange apron?" a voice drawled and Sakura realised it was Kakashi. When had he turned up?

"No! She wasn't wearing anything at all! And then let me eat my ramen _off_ her–"

"Naruto!" It wasn't her usual growl, it was a bloodcurdling shriek that had him growing deathly pale, taking a trembling step back as he picked up on the large waves of killing intent rolling from her. "Say one more word and you'll never look at ramen the same way again once I'm done with you."

If it was possible, he grew more pale.

Sasuke smirked. "Idiot."

Sakura tilted her chin up, turning her head away from Naruto to give Kakashi an unhappy stare. "He picks up most of those perverted tendencies from you, you know!"

"_Most_." he emphasized with an eye crease which they knew to be a smile. "He got the rest from Jiraiya–sama."

"You're all as bad as each other!" Tsunade snapped. "It's as though it's a disease being passed down through generations. I can only begin to wonder how Sasuke isn't affected by any of this." like she had been hoping, the tips of his ears turned pink. Sakura felt like slapping a hand to her forehead. Tsunade always enjoyed teasing him! "But from the gossip _I've_ heard, you're certainly just as–"

"Must we discuss my younger brother's sex life, Hokage–sama?"

Sasuke had never been so grateful to have Itachi around _in his life_.

"I have to agree. Sasuke–_chan_ hardly has anything to brag about."

And never had he been so _un_grateful to have Shisui around. What was with the guy? He had a completely blank face, as emotional as a rock, and his voice was just as easy to read, yet he could still crack 'jokes' like those and make others laugh? Shisui never teased anyone to the extent he teased Sasuke! It wasn't fair, he inwardly growled.

"And how would you know?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow. "Been spying on Sasuke–kun have you, Shisui–san?"

Once again, Sasuke found himself smirking when Shisui tensed _almost_ unnoticeably. After all, no mask was perfect and some emotions were bound to slip through. Trust Sakura to be the one to do that to him.

Itachi's eyes narrowed a fraction, surprising them all as he came to Shisui's defence. "You speak like you know he has something to brag about, Sakura–_chan_."

Just to aggravate him, Sakura smirked impishly. "Well, I _am_ his medic, aren't I?"

He deadpanned.

Tsunade smirked behind her hands. _That_ was the girl she had taught. _This was her apprentice_. It took a lot to stun not only one Uchiha, but all three who were in the room, including the usually indifferent Hatake Kakashi, Sai and Tenzo. Naruto looked as though he was choking on air, as did Shizune, but it was never difficult to get a rise out of those two. Unless they were away on missions, Tsunade got reactions out of them daily.

"S–Sakura–chan!" Naruto finally managed to force out his words, a deep blush on his cheeks. "Will you be my personal medic, too?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "You're not as fussy as Sasuke–kun, Naruto. He doesn't let anyone but me touch him, whereas you don't care."

"I'm not a whore." he pouted.

Realising what he meant, Sakura took yet another deep, calming breath, forcing her anger to the back of her mind. "I don't give any of _those services_!" she hissed, eyebrows knitting together with anger. "I've _never_ touched Sasuke–kun in such a way." Well, not after she became his personal medic. "It'd be unprofessional of me! I was merely stating that I've seen him naked. It's all part of being a medic."

He was still pouting. "If you saw _me_ naked, you'd fall in love with me."

"I _have_ seen you naked." Sakura rolled her eyes and once again, her arms were folding over her chest. "I've seen all members of team seven naked."

Silence.

And then Naruto was spluttering. "E–Even Kakashi–sensei? You've seen _Kakashi–sensei_ _naked_? _Eh_! When the hell have you seen _me_ naked?"

"Physical exam, Naruto." Kakashi sighed.

"Same for me." Sasuke added with a shrug.

Sai and Tenzo nodded when Naruto looked over at them.

"I'd say just before you left with Jiraiya–sama and I was still learning how to use medical–ninjutsu. Our team was attacked, remember? Kakashi–sensei overused his sharingan and wasn't much help, so Sasuke–kun had to drag him to the nearest cave whilst I had to drag you." that had definitely not been a fun experience. "You were unconscious and bleeding heavily, so I had to undress you."

He was pale, his eyes darting between the original members of team seven. "Completely?"

Sakura nodded once. "Completely. The wound went from your right thigh all the way up to your left shoulder."

Now Naruto could remember! Sakura had been targeted, so he had jumped in front of her before anything could happen and took the blow that would have killed her instantly. Due to him having the Kyuubi, it wouldn't have killed him and he knew he would be healed in no time. It had been painful, but no matter how badly the Kyuubi despised him, he would not let Naruto die. It had always been that way.

"But those two didn't see anything, right?" he practically begged.

Part of her felt sorry for Naruto. "We were in a cave, Naruto. And you were _incredibly_ heavy for me back then. I hadn't mastered the strength Tsunade–sama taught me until much later and I used most of my energy dragging you to the cave. No matter how badly he argued, I forced Sasuke–kun to help me."

Shisui couldn't help it. He just couldn't.

Laughter filled the room.

Sasuke twitched.

"He didn't see anything, though." Sakura told him more softly this time. "He refused to remove your pants, only helping with your jacket and shirt since I couldn't lift you and undress you at the same time. After that, he stayed by Kakashi–sensei's side the whole time. Besides, I don't know what you're so worried about." she shrugged. Perhaps a small ego boost wouldn't kill anyone? Hopefully. "I've seen worse."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Naruto demanded defensively. "Are you saying it's ugly?"

It didn't even occur to her that they were discussing Naruto's penis in front of a room filled with people. To say that their team was close would be an understatement, as Sasuke and Kakashi were completely unaffected by their conversation. Sai and Tenzo, too. The others, however… Well, even Tsunade looked a little stunned and that was saying something.

"No." Sakura replied slowly, knowing how sensitive men were about their penises. One time she'd made a dumb joke about a certain Kazekage's sand armour and penis and in response, he had refused to speak to her for at least an hour. "I'm just saying that I've seen worse, so you have nothing to worry about."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously, wondering if she was lying to him. "Tell me who has a worse looking penis."

Silence. Sakura blinked once, twice. Even a third time. But as the silence dragged out for a couple of seconds, she began to realise that she had _not_ heard wrong. Naruto had really just ordered her to tell him who he beats in a penis–looking contest or whatever the hell was going through his mind. "I can't tell you that." she spat out through clenched teeth. "Patient confidentiality."

"But you just brought up–"

"That doesn't count for you!"

"But–"

"No."

"But–"

"_No_!"

Naruto looked utterly broken as he stared down at the ground sadly. "Okay." he replied with a more genuine looking pout, one that had Sakura instantly feeling bad. "I understand."

A grimace pulled at her features and Sasuke inwardly groaned. She was going to give in to him again, wasn't she? Seeing her hands raise a fraction into the air, like she was reaching out to him, he sighed. Yes. Sakura had always had a soft spot for Naruto once she discovered that he wasn't as bad as the village made him seem when they were younger. And then realising how hard he really had it only made that soft spot even softer.

"Naruto," she groaned, "I _can't_!"

He tilted his head even further towards the ground and sniffed once. "It's fine, Sakura–chan."

Damn! It was the tone in his voice. The tone that told you just how hard his life had been.

Noticing her dilemma, Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, stop with the kicked puppy act. Have you forgotten that Sakura's superior is in the room? If she told you such a thing, she would lose all trust her patients have in her and not only that, but I am certain there will be a severe punishment from Tsunade–sama."

"Tsunade–baa–"

"Don't even try that tone with me, brat."

* * *

It didn't take too long to sort out a rota and the teams. And, much to Sakura's inner relief, her team would be at the base camp at the same time as Itachi's. Why was she so intent on being there at the same time? Two reasons. His safety and her training – no, three reasons. His safety, her training and because she simply… wanted to spend time with him.

The thought of one day receiving news that Itachi had died in battle upset her greatly, especially if there was a way she could have prevented it, had she been there.

So, with the teams sorted (team seven as well as team Shisui and Itachi's official ANBU team), they went on to discuss the rota. All three teams together would be known as 'team two' for base camp four. That was because they were second on the rota. Itachi offered that they stay there for four months at a time, which would give each team eight months in between to rest, relax and do other, smaller missions. Or, in Sakura's case, work at the hospital.

They would be sent to the camp in four months, giving them more than enough time to rest up. The team already there was team one and including themselves, there would be three teams altogether.

"So," Kakashi spoke up, sounding conversational as the door to the Hokage's office shut behind them, "what have I missed?"

Naruto smirked and folded his arms behind his head, glancing at Itachi and Sakura and doing a suggestive hip thrust.

Sakura blushed.

Itachi remained blank.

Kakashi blinked, looking utterly stunned.

"Yeah." Naruto smirked. "And the entire camp knows that they like it rough, if you know what–"

"Shut up!" Sakura punched him, sending Naruto flying backwards. "One more innuendo from you and I swear…"

Her growl trailed off, threat not even needing to be said.

Then, Kakashi sighed. "It seems the rumours are true, then." at their confused stares, he smirked. "Our dear Sakura–chan has a thing for powerful men."

Shisui also smirked. "I believe I once said something along the same lines."

Slapping her hand to her forehead, Sakura groaned with annoyance, that annoyance only growing when Sai tilted his head to the side and asked, "_Do_ you have a thing for powerful men?"

"Look what you've started, sensei." Sakura muttered darkly, glaring at him.

"I was merely stating facts." he chuckled, enjoying how her entire face was turning red. It had always amused him greatly to embarrass his students, especially as they got older and he realised he had more to hold against them.

Her expression darkened further.

"Oi, Kakashi–sensei!" Naruto's voice suddenly boomed through the hallways and inwardly, Kakashi sighed. He'd hoped that returning meant he got away from overly loud, energetic men. Apparently not. His eye was lidded with boredom and exhaustion as he gazed over at Naruto, who was standing tall with his chest puffed out. When had he even gotten up? "I think it's time team seven had an all–out spar! Tenzo–taichou and Sai included."

That sounded exhausting, Kakashi thought despairingly, though was somewhat grateful when Tenzo and Sai excused themselves for ANBU duties. Despite only being back a day, they couldn't rest for too long. There was no doubt in Kakashi's mind that Itachi would also be sent out on a mission soon, as well.

"Maybe some other–"

"No!" the blond growled, narrowing his eyes.

Had he offended Naruto somehow? Kakashi watched him silently for a moment before glancing at his other students. They seemed equally unimpressed, though Sasuke hid it better – or genuinely didn't care. It was most likely the latter. "…Naruto?"

"You ignored my letters, Kakashi–sensei!" he yelled, but despite all his anger, there was a hint of hurt in his tone.

He deadpanned. "You didn't even write to me, Naruto."

Naruto also deadpanned. "Really?"

"Really."

There had seriously been no post from Naruto. There also had been none from Sasuke, although that wasn't surprising. Sakura had sent quite a few letters, checking up on him and making sure he was taking care of himself, but other than those and the reports he sent to Tsunade, there were no letters.

"Idiot!" Sakura and Sasuke muttered at the same time.

Pouting for a moment at the name–calling, Naruto then turned to Kakashi with a hopeful smile. "Can we still spar?"

Kakashi sighed. How was he supposed to reject a face like that?

Quite easily, actually.

"Sorry, but I'm busy." He had a date with a certain book that was simply dying to be read for the hundredth time – or was it the thousandth?

It was with that thought that Kakashi gave his three former students an eye crease and, much to their annoyance, he disappeared in his signature poof of smoke.

"You know," Shisui smirked, a smirk that only widened at the nod Itachi sent him, "if you want to find him, all you have to do is ask."

Naruto grinned wickedly.

* * *

**A/N - I was watching a Madara AMV on YouTube the other day, and it got me thinking. Can you imagine how safe you would be if you were married to him? Like, you'd pretty much be untouchable!**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	21. I Can't Get Enough Of You

**Chapter 20 – I Can't Get Enough Of You**

The first month of being home seemed to fly by.

Both she and Itachi were sent on separate missions with their teams, though it was mostly his. Sakura remained at the hospital most of the time. He had been given his first mission mere days after returning home, although thankfully, it was only a two–day mission and not a lengthier one. That meant he would be capable of resting more fully once he returned – and he had! Itachi had spent an entire week after that mission strolling around the village, eating dango and spending time with his family or Sakura.

It was an odd thought, but Sakura had never really seen Itachi so at peace in their village before. Well, in all honesty, she had never truly seen him around the village to know such a thing.

In five minutes, Sakura was going to go and take a look at an apartment that was available to rent. It was pretty basic, but close to the hospital, meaning she'd be there in no time if there was an emergency. Besides, it would only be herself living in the apartment, so it didn't need to be huge and luxurious. Just enough for her to get by between missions. If Sakura was to rent this place, she'd be able to decorate it however she wanted to, so that was a bonus, too.

Naruto had questioned her the day after the Uchiha dinner party, asked to know if she was only moving out so that Itachi would move in with her. No, was her reply. No, Sakura was not moving out for that reason. Taking care of Aiko had made Sakura realise that she was much too old to still be relying on her parents, as she could definitely take care of herself by now despite it not always seeming like she could.

In between missions and working at the hospital, Sakura and Itachi saw each other often. Whether it be for training or for a date. Either way, they had gained the villagers' curiosity and were watched closely. It didn't seem to bother Itachi in the slightest and honestly, it didn't bother Sakura that much either. The questions were annoying, sure, but it wasn't as bad as she had thought it would be.

Like he had silently promised, Itachi was teaching Sakura some jutsu he had copied with his sharingan. They had learned after he returned from his mission that her element was water – something Sakura was happy about. That made it easier for Itachi, also, as he was skilled in using water–type jutsu. They started off with smaller jutsu, the easy ones that required less chakra, and had worked their way up. He told her she was a good student, a quick learner. Now, as a treat for all of her effort and hard work, Itachi was teaching her a much bigger jutsu.

"Are you ready, forehead?"

"Why don't you ever knock?" Sakura sighed, grabbing her purse from the table.

From the opened glass doors of Sakura's balcony, Ino smirked and placed a hand on her hip, stepping into the bedroom without permission and not caring in the slightest. "I never have before, so why start now?"

Shaking her head with annoyance, Sakura made her way to the balcony doors. Unfortunately, once discovering that she was planning on moving out (finally), Ino had demanded that she be there to view the apartment, so that she could decide on what furniture her best friend and rival should buy. It had to be stylish, but not too stylish. After all, Ino didn't want the pink haired kunoichi to have the better apartment now, did she?

"So," Ino spoke up as they left her home via the balcony, "anything you want to tell me?"

"Nope."

"You sure about that?"

"I'm sure."

"Nothing at all?" the blonde scowled darkly, her blue eyes narrowing. "Not even about a certain Uchiha?"

Playing dumb, Sakura sighed. "Sasuke–kun isn't interested in you, pig. You need to move on to someone else."

Just like she had been hoping, Ino dropped the subject and instead all but exploded in anger. "Move on? For your information, _forehead_, I _have_ moved on! And you know what? He's better than Sasuke. He's better than Itachi! He–"

She was easily drowned out as Sakura allowed her mind to drift during the walk to her (hopefully) new apartment. Like she had thought earlier, it was much easier than she had believed it would be to ignore nosy gossipers. That included Ino!

Halfway through the journey, however, Sakura zoned back in as a certain name entered the conversation. Kiba. Ha! Ino thought that she had no idea what the two were up to, but how could she not? They were hardly discreet about it and had eye–sex every single time they saw each other. What Sakura couldn't understand was whether they were simply friends with benefits or not. If there had been an official date, she would have been told about it, as Ino would never be able to keep such information to herself. She'd want to show off!

What could be going on between them? Sakura looked at Ino from the corner of her eye. Whilst the blonde was by no means a whore, she _had_ been with a fair amount of men. All were failed relationships, ones where she ended up being hurt. Would this be the same? Sakura hoped not. It was awful seeing Ino in pain, seeing her crying. It took a lot to make her cry, so knowing just how badly she had been hurt, agonised Sakura.

"Oi, Sakura?" Ino suddenly mumbled, frowning softly. "Isn't this near Kakashi–sensei's apartment?"

How would Ino know such a thing? Well, for an entire year when they were younger, Ino had had an obsession with the jonin. That was all that needed to be said. "Yeah." she replied with a shrug. "It's about a floor down and seven doors to the right."

"Those places are tiny!"

"I don't need a big place."

"But–"

"I'm the one living there, not you, Ino." Sakura rolled her eyes with annoyance. "Besides, I'm hardly ever home, anyway."

That was true. Either Sakura was on a mission, or constantly at the hospital, so it would be rare for her to be at home. Once again she questioned why she was moving out. If she stayed with her parents, not only did they keep the place clean, but they also stopped the food in the refrigerator from going bad. But that was easily sorted! All Sakura had to do was give her food to Naruto, who'd have it all eaten in no time. Either that or invite her boys around for an all–you–can–eat.

Humming, Ino's eyes drifted up to the block of apartments. "I just can't understand why you'd want to live so close to your sensei. I mean, I like Asuma–sensei and all, but I wouldn't live near him."

Well, that was where they differed, wasn't it? Yes they both loved their teams dearly but as Ino just stated, there was such a thing as spending too much time together. That just didn't make sense to Sakura. Too much time? How could you spend too much time with your precious people considering what their occupations were? That's not even adding the fact that she felt so much safer having them near her.

Even though she didn't need permission, Sakura had asked Kakashi about the apartment a couple of days ago. She had asked him if he was uncomfortable with her moving in so close. "_Not at all_," he had replied with a shrug. There _was_ the teasing tone in his voice when he asked if she had some ulterior motive, like tricking him into her bed, but that was all. Kakashi didn't seem bothered by having Sakura moving in quite close to him. It must mean he was planning on gatecrashing every now and then for a meal. Or to be healed. Yeah, Sakura was guessing it was the latter.

Finally, a block of apartments entered their view and Sakura felt her excitement growing. No matter how much Ino put this place down, and no matter how small it was, she couldn't wait to make it hers! Nobody else's, just hers.

Standing outside of the building was an elderly man, although he looked no older than sixty and seemed to be in quite good shape for a man of his age. Sakura was guessing that he was a retired shinobi, especially if the scars that littered his arms and the one on his cheek meant anything. His hairline was receding and the colour of his hair was clearly not what it used to be when he was younger, but all in all, he appeared to be a nice guy. At least he smiled when he greeted them.

"Haruno–sama!" he bowed his head respectfully. "I was happy to find out that the Hokage's apprentice was willing to take a look at my apartments. My name is Arata and as you have most likely already figured out, I am the owner of this building. If you ever need anything, my office and home are both on the bottom floor. The same goes for any of my other staff."

Sakura smiled politely, her insides fluttering at being addressed as 'Haruno–sama'. It made her feel so important! "Thank you, Arata–san."

"Come, come." Arata gestured to the two women. "My wife is usually the one to show possible tenants around, but she is currently on bed rest after a rather nasty fall she had."

"Is her name Fumiko–san, by any chance?" Sakura asked softly as Arata granted them access to the building. There wasn't much to look at. As soon as you entered the main door, you were greeted by an old, worn–out looking elevator and beside it, were stairs. To the left of the room, covering a good amount of the wall, were many letterboxes with the number of the rooms written on in clear handwriting. "I treated a civilian woman the other week after she had a fall down some stairs."

Arata nodded, sending her another smile. "My wife was very happy with you, Haruno–sama. She said you acted very professional, though kept up a friendly environment to help her relax. I regret not being there, myself, but our eldest son, Botan, escorted her to the hospital."

Yes, Sakura could recall meeting him, too. He was around fifteen years older than herself – so around Kakashi's age. Looked quite like his father, now that she had met the man.

"Do you have much trouble around here?" Ino questioned, glancing down the hallways as Arata led them up the stairs.

He shrugged. "Nothing serious. You get the occasional drunk trying to find his apartment, but they're harmless, really. It's mostly jonin living here, ones who are always away on missions or thing such as those. They're all mostly professional, so you needn't worry." Arata gave a throaty chuckle. "My wife often states that she feels much safer living with so many admirable shinobi in our building."

The hallways were just as plain as the main entrance, but it didn't bother her much. After all, Sakura wasn't exactly going to be spending much time out in the hallways, was she? Maybe the odd chat here and there in the main entrance when coming and going, or collecting her mail, but that would be it. It was what her apartment looked like that mattered most.

For an old man, he was definitely in shape, Sakura thought once more as they reached her floor. It was the sixth floor and the apartment right at the end of the hallway.

"Would you like for me to show you around?" Arata asked, pulling out the key to the door when they came to a stop in front of it. On the faded navy door was the number 'forty–two'. Sakura was guessing there were forty–nine apartments altogether, as there were seven to a floor and seven floors in total. "Or would you prefer to take your time and find me after?"

Ino answered for her. "We'll lock up once we're done looking around." she assured him with a brilliant smile. "Will you be in your office?" Arata nodded, handing Sakura the key. "Perfect! Thank you for showing us this much already."

Nodding once more, Arata left them to it.

"He _so_ prefers me over you." Sakura laughed as she pushed the key into the lock, turning it to the left and unlocking it was surprising ease. She'd thought that it would be rather stiff, giving how old the place looked. "Not once did he address you or smile at you!"

Huffing, Ino folded her arms over her chest. It wasn't every day that somebody preferred Sakura over herself and the blonde felt her ego take a vicious bruise. "Whatever. He's just an old man who doesn't know how much better I am than you–"

"Clearly, he knows that I'm the one who's the best out of the two of us."

With that said, Sakura opened the door, biting her lip with excitement.

It definitely was not luxurious, Sakura noted as she and Ino examined the place with a feminine eye, but it was liveable. Comfortable, even. There was a small living room, just big enough for a gathering of around seven people and on the right, conjoined to that, with only an archway separating them, was the kitchen. The kitchen was not spacious and would be a tight fit for three, though that hardly mattered. What mattered most about it, was that it was clean. No fungi or damp growing behind any of appliances, or covered by wallpaper.

The bathroom was decently sized, giving her a three–step space between her toilet and counter and then the bath, too. Oh! There was a shower over the bath. Sakura smiled to herself. No fungi or damp in the bathroom, either.

Finally, came the bedroom. It was the same size as the bedroom at her parents, much to her surprise. All rooms were currently bare, but all lights worked and as Ino fiddled with the boiler, they realised the heating worked, too. She switched it off as it began to warm up, as they realised it did in fact work. Turning on the tap, Ino was surprised to find that the hot water worked, too. She had expected the place to barely be clinging together.

"Well, I have to say," the blonde sighed, placing her hands on her hips as she looked around the living room, "it's a decent looking place. All it really needs is a paint job."

That was true, Sakura agreed as she looked around the room. It even smelled like somebody had been in to open the windows! There was no musty, dust smell and the air wasn't stale. Either the previous tenants had only just moved out, or Arata took care of every apartment here. Even the floors were sparkling clean! Like Sakura had been hoping, the floors were wooden throughout the apartment except from the kitchen and bathroom, which had tiled flooring.

"People are always saying that these buildings are such dumps," Sakura murmured, "but I really like this place!"

"Doesn't Shizune–san live in this building?"

Sakura nodded absently, running her hand down the plain, white wall. Perhaps a nice cream would look nice in here? "Yeah. She's on the second floor with Genma–san."

"I think you should paint it cream in here." Ino told her, glancing around. "Blue in the bathroom, red in the bedroom and cream everywhere else."

It was scary how alike she and Ino thought. "I was just thinking that."

"Are you paying the deposit and first month of rent today?"

"Yeah. I want to start painting today, too. That way I can move in by the end of the week, maybe even tomorrow if we can get some help."

Ino hummed thoughtfully. "We can start with the bedroom first. It's only just gone ten, which gives us plenty of time to paint the entire room and leave it to dry. Just leave the windows open and then you can sleep here tonight." she shrugged. "It's what I did with my apartment."

That didn't sound like a bad idea, in all honesty. And if she did that, she could leave the windows open overnight, too. Could also get an early start on the kitchen or the bathroom depending on how long it took to paint the bedroom.

"I'm going to go and pay for the apartment now." Sakura told Ino, patting her pouch. "Then, I think we should round up the boys, get the paint and have them help us."

"Sasuke? Painting?" Ino scoffed, but followed Sakura out of the apartment anyway. "I'd pay to see that!"

* * *

It was hers!

Much to their disappointment, Sasuke refused to do any painting, although he did help move some of her bedroom furniture from her parents' to her new home. It probably would have been much simpler and easier to put it all into storage scrolls, but Sakura wanted to see them all struggle whilst she carried everything else effortlessly.

By late afternoon, she, Ino and Naruto managed to paint not only her bedroom, but also every other room, thanks to Naruto's misuse of his shadow clones. For once Sakura was not complaining. And despite how quickly it all went by, they didn't make a mess of the paint job! It was all even and neat and very pleasing to Sakura.

"You seem very happy."

She glanced up from her food. "Should I not be?"

Itachi paused in his own eating, but realising that Sakura was joking, he gave a small smile. "Of course you should be. I was simply stating facts. Did something happen?"

Oh she hadn't told him yet. Sakura practically beamed. "I got the apartment!"

"Congratulations." he told her with a smile. "Have you moved in already?"

"Not completely." she answered, continuing with her eating when Itachi did the same. "I'll be staying there tonight, but I won't officially move in until all of my belongings are there."

"Would you like any help?"

Sakura blushed and waved her hand dismissively. "I'm sure you're too busy–"

"Not at all."

"Oh… Then, sure." Sakura smiled shyly. "If you could come by tomorrow, around noon?" An idea struck her. "Unless… Unless You want to help me with a little unpacking tonight?"

Itachi couldn't help but smirk, barely suppressing a chuckle at her antics. "Unpacking?" his smirk widened fractionally as her blushed increased. "Is that your way of asking me to spend the night, Sakura?"

Deciding that she most definitely did not appreciate being teased, Sakura leaned forward on the table and gave Itachi a sultry look, her foot slowly raising and stroking his leg. Basic seduction – everybody knew it. "So what if it is? Are you rejecting me?"

He wanted to shake his head with amusement, but settled on smirking once more. "I would never reject you, _Sakura_."

Whatever she decided to throw his way, he would double her efforts.

Sakura's heart warmed. Damn it! He _knew_ she was a hopeless romantic and instead of returning her seductive look, Itachi was instead giving her a look filled with tenderness. _Damn it_! There was no comeback. Sakura's mind couldn't think of anything to say in return to his words. So, instead of replying, Sakura looked down at her food and continued eating like nothing was happening, even though her foot was currently sliding higher and higher up his leg. It made her smile innocently when she heard Itachi's breathing hitch. "Is something the matter, _Itachi_?"

Much to her disappointment, other than the hitching of his breathing, Itachi showed absolutely no emotion. "Should there be?"

Her lips pursed. "No."

Fortunately, when an Uchiha man took his lover on a date, he didn't hold back in anything. An example of that would be the fact that they were in the back of a restaurant, meaning that they had privacy. There were other people there, sure, but they couldn't stare at Sakura and Itachi unless they physically turned around to do so and even then, they'd catch nothing more than a glimpse, for there were dividers positioned in certain parts of the restaurant.

She could seriously get used to being spoiled like this.

When her foot angled slightly, Itachi's eyes flashed. "Do not start something you cannot finish, Sakura."

"Is that a challenge?" she smirked, looking up at Itachi from beneath her eyelashes. Finally! A reaction. "I think we both know by now that I enjoy being challenged."

"Just as we both know you almost always lose at those challenges."

Sakura's smirked widened, grew more sultry. "_Almost always_." she repeated his words, adding emphasis to them. "And who says I don't lose on purpose? For all you know, I could be incredibly happy with being dominated."

Luckily, the hum of chatter covered her words easily, meaning no one other than Itachi heard them. "For all I know?" Itachi threw her own words back at her, smirking down at his meal as he ate it. His eyes slid up to hers languidly, lidded with desire. "We both know that is a lie." A blush swept over her cheeks. "I know your body just as well as you do, _Sakura_."

Another shiver ran up her spine from the way he kept saying her name. "And I know yours, just as well as you do."

To prove her point, Sakura continued her foot's previous movements, though moved it in a certain way that had Itachi forcing himself to remain composed. "That you do."

Just as she opened her mouth, about to tease him, two figures appeared out of what seemed like nowhere. Sakura slowly lowered her foot. ANBU. Oh God, were she and Itachi in trouble for indecent behaviour?

"Uchiha Itachi, Hokage–sama has a mission for you."

Her heart plunged into her stomach and Sakura had to hold back a sigh. When Itachi nodded once and the ANBU operatives left, he gave her an apologetic smile. "Forgive me, Sakura."

"Yeah, yeah." she gave him a small smirk. "You'd better make this up to me when you get back!"

He returned her smirk, standing from his place and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I will."

With that, after paying for the meal, he left.

* * *

It was cold.

Sakura wrapped her robe around herself tightly, falling back onto the sofa in her living room. _Her living room_. She smiled to herself, feeling proud of all the work that had been put into the place – and it was definitely worth it.

If only it was warmer!

The heating had been switched on just a minute ago, so it would take a while to heat up unfortunately. She couldn't understand why it was so cold when they were entering summer soon! Usually around this time of year, people would be shedding layers of clothing, not putting them back on. Yet here she sat in her warmest pyjamas and thickest bathrobe and Sakura was _still_ freezing her ass off.

Switching on the television and putting on a soap opera, Sakura tried to ignore the slight tremble in her bones.

It would simply take some getting used to. Normally, when she returned, the heating would be on (if it was a cold enough day for it) and dinner would be either on the table, or being prepared. That was just something she was going to have to learn not to expect any longer. Now, Sakura had to prepare all of her own meals as well as be responsible for things such as the heating. Leaving it on all day just to warm the place up would be foolish and a waste of money, since she was rarely ever in.

"A storm's heading this way."

Having sensed their chakra before, Sakura nodded, only slightly annoyed that neither of them had knocked and instead silently slipped through the door. "I guessed that."

"It's so warm in here, Sakura–chan!" Naruto sighed happily, removing his black and orange jacket and hanging it up on one of the hooks beside the front door. The other day, he'd learned the hard way not to throw his jacket on the floor or the back of the sofa.

Perhaps it was just her, then?

"It isn't that warm." Sasuke rolled his eyes and hung up his flak jacket before sitting next to Sakura. "It's the contrast of being outside that makes it feel warmer."

"Whatever." he groaned, pulling out a sake bottle from his recently hung up jacket. "Tsunade–baa–chan asked me to give you this!"

Sakura raised a brow, reluctantly opening herself up to accept the bottle. "Really?"

Sasuke nodded once. "He didn't steal it from her."

"Eh?" the blond snapped, glaring at them. "Why–"

"To mess with her." Sakura smirked and in return, Naruto grinned wickedly. "You've done it before."

"Yeah, well, not this time." he stated, sitting at her other side with his grin still in place. "Tsunade–baa said she hasn't seen you around, so asked me to give it to you."

"More like ordered you to."

Naruto shrugged, giving her television a disgusted look. "What're you watching?"

Something that she was missing a lot of! There was so much drama on the soap opera that, if you missed an episode, you may as well have missed half the series! So far, the main characters, Ai, Satsuki and Dei, were stuck in a love triangle. Ai and Satsuki were not allowed to be together because, in their village, same sex relationships were frowned upon. That was where Dei came in. He decided to pretend to be involved with Ai, his best friend, because he didn't like seeing her in pain, but then after a night of unexpected passion, they began to realise that it was more than just friendship between them. It was heartbreaking.

She was rooting for Dei and Ai. Of course, Sakura didn't agree with how Ai was keeping her affair with Dei from Satsuki, as it was always best to get things out in the open, however, she should not have been in a relationship with Satsuki in the first place. Now, Sakura was most definitely not against same sex relationships, _but_ if it was seriously against the law, to the point where they would be killed for their actions… Sakura sighed. It wouldn't make any difference, if you were in love. You'd do anything to be with that person. Though they probably should have just left the village. Then again, Satsuki couldn't leave behind her younger sister, Yori, because she meant the world to her.

"My favourite show." Sakura muttered in reply, giving him such a look that made him pale. It always worked. "So don't complain about it."

Sasuke sighed and stood up. "I'll go and get some cups."

"Oh bring in some of the food out of the snack drawer!"

It was beginning to get warmer now that her boys were there. Maybe that was why it had felt so cold to Sakura? Because she had been alone? Whatever the reason, she was now warming up, had her favourite soap opera on and was having a few drinks with her boys. That seemed like a decent enough Friday night to her! Ino had invited her out to celebrate on finishing her new apartment, but Sakura hadn't been in the mood to go out. The blonde would only end up ditching her halfway through the night to go and find Kiba, anyway.

When Sasuke returned, he was frowning. "These are Uchiha sake cups."

His tone was questioning, not accusing. Sakura blushed. "Itachi took me out for dinner the other night, but was told he had a mission halfway through. When I got home, Arata–san told me that somebody had dropped off a gift for me."

But they had the Uchiha Clan's emblem on the bottom of the cups. Sasuke continued to frown as he glanced down at the cups, placing them onto the table. They were a dark navy colour and other than the emblem at the bottom of the cup, they were plain. That didn't mean they were inexpensive, though. What was Itachi thinking, buying Sakura things with the Uchiha insignia on it?

He stayed silent and poured them all some sake.

He'd question Itachi later on his intentions.

"Oi," Naruto smirked just as they had been about to drink up, "who's in the mood for a bet?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the challenge and sat up straighter, whilst Sasuke merely stared. "Go on." she urged.

"Whoever drinks the most, wins."

"Wins what?" Sasuke questioned.

"Whatever the winner wants, the two losers have to do it." Sakura grinned.

She would win this bet and when she did, she was going to make those two suffer.

* * *

A shift in her bed had Sakura groaning, especially when the sheet was lifted and cold air came into the bed, making goosebumps litter her arms and back.

The last thing Sakura remembered was beating those two idiots before they had even finished the bottle and, once they had left, she had stripped down into a oversized nightshirt and drank the rest of the bottle. It was safe to say that her head was swimming.

"I see you had guests."

She smiled at the voice. "It feels like it's been forever since I've seen you."

Arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against a strong chest. "It does."

"Sasuke and Naruto…" she breathed out slowly, her smile growing more tender at the affectionate kiss placed onto her neck. "They thought they'd win…"

"Win, what?" came his husky reply when she trailed off.

"A bet." Sakura whispered, shifting against him slightly. "Drinking."

It wouldn't be hard for him to connect the dots, after all, Itachi was a genius. That didn't even include the fact that she reeked of sake! Even in her intoxicated state, Sakura could smell it clearly.

"I gathered." Itachi sighed.

Entering her apartment had been uneasily simple. No seals had been placed around the apartment and the lock hadn't even been used on her front door. It seemed Sakura was still not entirely used to living alone, still expecting her parents to lock the door at night. He hoped she would remember to lock it at night and place the seals around her apartment – it was easy for it to slip your mind, but still, the thought of losing her over something as silly as that was painful for him to even think about.

Then, once Itachi had entered the living room (or seen it from the front door, since there was no hallway), he had been surprised to find an empty bottle of sake on the coffee table as well as the sake cups had purchased for her not so long ago. Itachi could tell she hadn't been alone, for Naruto had left his overly bright jacket on the hook by the door, so he was comforted by the knowledge that Sakura hadn't been drinking alone.

After clearing up her living room (it was a bad habit of his to clean up annoying messes, although Itachi certainly wasn't extreme about it) he had followed her chakra into the bedroom, where he had found her curled up under the sheets.

"Itachi…?"

Hearing the question in her tone, he tightened his hold. "You are drunk, Sakura."

"I still know what I'm doing."

It had been well over a month since they had last been together in such a way and Itachi could definitely feel the need to have her, to take her, but would it be right of him to do so whilst she was drunk?

As if hearing his thoughts, Sakura turned around and smiled at him.

However, just as she went to kiss him, the stench of pure sake on her breath had Itachi sighing. Not tonight.

"Another time, Sakura." he murmured, stroking her side softly. "I want you to be fully aware of everything and not smelling like you have just downed the entire contents of that sake bottle."

She pouted, but because that was pretty much what she _had_ done, Sakura did not argue.

* * *

**A/N - I only quickly skimmed through this, so if you find any spelling errors or mistakes, please let me know! I've been over it like ten times already, so my eyes got lazy in reading it again.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


	22. Be Careful

**Chapter 21 – Be Careful**

"This is our last healing session," Sakura sighed with mock sadness, "are you upset?"

Hearing her teasing tone, Shisui smirked. "Utterly heartbroken."

She enjoyed spending time with Shisui. Despite his serious nature, his blank features, there was simply something about him that reminded her so much of Naruto. Itachi had mentioned it once before, too. His fighting spirit, his determination and his _need_ to protect their village. They were traits both Shisui and Naruto shared. Sakura smiled softly at that. Knowing that Konoha had such fierce and powerful shinobi protecting it made _her_ feel so much safer when she slept at night.

It had been a month since she had moved into her apartment now, meaning they had two more months before going back to base camp four.

During a team meeting, team seven had asked Sakura why she was so determined on going back to a place that had caused her pain. Did she really have to explain herself? Yes. To her boys, yes, she did. They deserved to know the truth. So Sakura told them the truth. Not only did she want to protect the shinobi out there, but she also wanted to try and prevent the war from officially starting.

For the past month, she and Itachi had spent a decent amount of time together and just thinking back on how much of his time he spent on her, how he had treated her like she was so precious and special, had Sakura smiling softly to herself and her heart warming. It was no secret that she was a hopeless romantic – understatement of the century. However, it seemed Itachi could be quite the romantic when he wanted to be, too.

"How are things going?"

"Well, actually." Sakura told him with a smile even though he couldn't see it. "I've been able to focus more and my mind isn't as weighed down as it was."

"Would going back to base camp four not bring back all those painful emotions?"

She sighed. Sakura had considered that several times after Sasuke asked her the very same question. He'd been concerned about her, wondering if she would go back into the state she had been in again. However… "Sometimes you need to face things head on." she said in return, frowning softly. "No, it won't be pleasant being back there, but it's for Konoha and I'll do anything to protect our village." He gave her a small smile. "Facing those feelings is daunting, I won't deny it, however…"

Shisui knew where she was going. "Aiko–chan preferred peace and you wish to help keep the peace between Iwa and Konoha." Not just the more well–known villages, but also the smaller ones that were often looked over and trampled on during wars.

He knew Sakura wanted to make peace with herself by going back there.

"Yeah."

When Sakura extracted her chakra, silently telling him that she was done, Shisui was startled by the difference in his vision. Up until that session, it had been slightly blurred and only when his sharingan was activated was it clear (although he shouldn't know that, because Sakura had ordered him not to use it). Now… Now he could see _everything_ again and it felt like such a relieving feeling. There was no explaining the weight that suddenly left his chest and shoulders.

Looking down at the kunoichi, Shisui couldn't help but smile at the look on her face. Despite being the one to have done all the healing, it looked as though _she_ was the one being rewarded with some sort of fantastic gift. The way she was looking at him…

Shisui shook his head and chuckled. She had such a kind, gentle heart and he couldn't think of anyone better to be with Itachi. Whilst he kept his hidden, he was just as kindhearted and sometimes, even if he did not want to admit it, he needed somebody there for him. To heal him. Not just his physical wounds, either. Shisui knew that man better than anyone else, after all. "You must let me treat you to lunch for your services, Sakura–san." he murmured with a smile. "I can never repay you for all the work you've done on my eyes, even though I kept telling you it was pointless."

"That just spurred me to go on!" she told him cheerfully. "_Just_ so that I could prove you wrong."

"Well, you have definitely done that." he nodded in agreement. "What do you say, then? Can I treat you to lunch?"

"I don't see why not." she shrugged, smiling up at him. "My break should be coming up soon and as long as I don't eat too much, it should be fine."

"Plans with Itachi?"

He'd heard all about how Itachi was spoiling her. Inwardly, Shisui shook his head and chuckled. When they were younger, Shisui had always known that Itachi would spoil his lover or future family. Why? It was the way he had spoiled Sasuke. It hadn't been enough to make the younger Uchiha bratty, but since then Sasuke had definitely had a certain taste for things.

Then again, if you had more money than you could spend and hardly had any spare time on your hands, Shisui supposed that he would also do what he could to make the evening special and memorable.

"Yeah, my parents want us both to have dinner with them and knowing my mom, she'll cook more food than necessary." she sighed, frowning softly. "They want to know more about my relationship with him and plans for the future."

"Plans for the future?"

Sakura shook her head with a groan. "They've been trying to marry me off since I turned of age." Which was sixteen, in Konoha. "I never listen – I just want to warn Itachi before he gets interrogated by my parents. You've seen for yourself how intense they can be."

He had indeed. Shisui smirked inwardly. It was a shame he wouldn't be able to see Itachi's face or his reactions when Mebuki interrogated him, though there was no doubt in Shisui's mind that the younger Uchiha would come and find him once they were done. "It will take a lot to scare him off," he smirked down at her, "however, your mother may just be enough."

It took a moment for the words to register but when they did, Sakura looked torn between laughing, hitting him and widening her eyes with worry. Quite a strange combination when she tried to do all three. Thankfully, there was no chakra in her slap as it hit his chest, making him inwardly sigh with relief. It still hurt though.

"So," Sakura spoke conversationally, somewhat letting that small, teasing remark about her mother slide, "where will you be taking me?"

Just as he opened his mouth, there was a hasty knock on her office door a second before it was slamming open, the chunin medic falling ungracefully into the room. She looked utterly startled, that fear only increasing at the sight of an Uchiha. Instead of apologising like her gut instinct was telling her to, however, she immediately looked at Sakura.

"There's an emergency, Haruno–san! We need you in surgery right away."

"Where's Shizune–san? Or Tsunade–shishou?" Sakura demanded, grabbing her hospital coat.

"Tsunade–sama is in a meeting with the council and Shizune–san is away on a mission with her team."

Sakura nodded once, turning to Shisui was an apologetic expression. He cut her off and pushed her gently towards the door. "Go and do what you do best, Haruno–_sensei_."

Making a mental note to get him back for that teasing remark, Sakura smiled gratefully and darted off after the chunin.

* * *

The surgery had been a success, thankfully, and at that moment in time, Sakura was currently sitting in the Hokage's office with Tsunade, helping her with paperwork. God knows that the woman needed it! The amount of work she had was bordering on ridiculous and downright unfair. There wouldn't have been half as much paperwork if it wasn't for Iwa and their stupid accusations. Damn it! Sakura was still pissed at that.

However, there were other things on her mind. Things that she had been thinking of for the past week or so now. All she needed was somebody to talk to, somebody who wouldn't immediately try to push her into anything she wasn't ready for. Somebody like Tsunade.

"Shishou?" Tsunade hummed, taking a moment to look up at her and Sakura bit her lip worriedly. "How…"

At her grimace, the blonde rolled her eyes. "Spit it out, Sakura."

"How do you know when you're in love?"

Silence.

All emotion suddenly left Tsunade's features and on the desk, her fists slowly clenched. It wasn't long until emotion finally returned, until her eyes were tightening and her teeth were gritting. No matter how hard she was fighting back those feelings, no matter how badly she was forcing herself to remain stoic, it just wasn't working.

"I–I'm sorry," Sakura frowned, glancing away to try and give the older woman a moment to reign in her emotions, "I just… I thought you would be the best person to ask."

"And why is that?"

Tsunade's voice was sharp, but at the same time it was rough and low with the weight of her feelings, of her pain. "Even after all this time," Sakura gave a small, small smile, "you still love him, Tsunade–sama. And I admire that. I was wondering… How you learned–"

"You don't learn." she cut her off harshly, but there was a sudden softness to her features, her eyes warming as the seconds passed. It was like she was going back in time, recalling whatever had happened back then. "You simply… know." Her head tilted to the side and her eyes returned to Sakura's features, regarding her. "Why do you want to know?"

"I think…" she shook her head, a shy smile pulling at her lips. "I _know_ I'm falling in love."

The blonde had to bite back her urge to smile at the look on her apprentice's features. "Sakura?" The younger woman looked up, eager to hear whatever was said. "Be careful. Remember that we are shinobi and just…" This time, it was Tsunade who grimaced. "Just remember that we're not invincible and sometimes, bad things happen to good people." There was a short pause. "Who is it?"

She was hesitant to answer, her fists clenching and unclenching nervously. "…Uchiha–"

"Sasuke?" Sakura shook her head. "Shisui?"

"Itachi."

Tsunade burst into laughter, slapping her hand to the desk. A second later, when Sakura did not join her in her laughter, she calmed herself, staring down at the girl with wide eyes. "You're serious." She nodded, biting her lip once more. "What is with you and choosing powerful, emotionally retarded men?"

Sakura frowned. "Itachi isn't emotionally retarded, shishou."

"What about Gaara?"

Her frowned deepened. "Gaara isn't either. He just can't fully understand love."

"And you believe that you do?" Tsunade smirked, shaking her head. "Love is a tricky thing, Sakura. It is unpredictable. It causes happiness and gives you the feeling of safety, of comfort, but it can also bring you some of the most agonising pain and suffering."

Those words seemed to be the end of their conversation, as Tsunade was suddenly turning back to the paperwork and going through it much more quickly, trying desperately to ignore the ache in her heart that was relentless and refusing to give her a single break.

* * *

"You look tired."

Glancing up, Sakura gave Itachi a small smile. Whilst his features were blank, because of how well she had been getting to know him, she could see the concern in his eyes. "I just had a pretty busy day today." she told him quietly as they made their way to her parents' house. "After working on Shisui–san's eyes this morning, there was an emergency surgery and Tsunade–sama and Shizune–san were both busy already. I had no choice but to step in. After that I was helping shishou with paperwork."

That didn't sit well with Itachi. After healing somebody's eyes, he had noticed how Sakura always needed an hour breather to allow both herself and her chakra to settle and calm down. To go straight from healing Shisui's eyes, to doing major surgery, wasn't only dangerous for Sakura, who could run low on chakra, but also for the patient. They need the medic who was in charge of their surgery to be at their best – no, all of the medics should be!

He didn't blame Sakura, however. If she was the only one around who could perform the surgery, exhausted or not, she was going to do it. If both Tsunade and Shizune were not in the hospital, it unofficially fell onto Sakura's shoulders, because of her position as Tsunade's apprentice. Sure, there were more experienced medics there, but they did not have Sakura's skills.

"How did it go?" he asked when they turned a corner.

Sakura took a deep breath, nodding to herself. "It went well, thankfully. But it was one of the most difficult surgeries I've done in a long time. I don't think I would have been able to perform a surgery like that one without my seal."

Of course. Itachi had almost forgotten about her seal. Whilst it hadn't been activated, the first time it _was_ activated, it boosted one's chakra permanently. All of that saved up chakra would mix with their everyday chakra, boosting it. From then on, not only would Sakura have a larger chakra capacity, but she would also have the chakra she had saved. Itachi made sure to keep that in mind for their training. If that was true, he could teach her more riskier jutsu, especially now that he didn't have to be concerned on her chakra depleting greatly.

"You doubt yourself too much, Sakura."

She blushed before seeming to remember something. "Oh, you should probably prepare yourself for when we arrive."

"Why is that?" he asked, glancing down at her.

"My parents will probably interrogate us, ask inappropriate questions and feed us so much food that we'll be okay without it for at least three days."

Itachi couldn't tell if Sakura was because serious or not. Well, until she smirked he couldn't. Yes, she was being serious, but she was also trying to make light of the situation. "They cannot be any worse than the elders of the Uchiha Clan." Itachi told her with a small smile. "I am sure that I can handle myself."

Her smirk widened teasingly. "If you say so."

* * *

It was just as Sakura had warned him.

From the moment they entered her family home, Itachi had just managed to remove his sandals before Mebuki attacked. Question after question after question – it was never ending! What was his date of birth? What was his favourite food? Colour? Shape? When he was older, would he take over his father's position at Uchiha Police Force? How was his mother? Well, she hoped. And what about little Sasuke–kun? How was he doing nowadays, because she hadn't seen him in a while.

There wasn't a moment of break.

And as dinner was served, as they all sat around the table (Kizashi half–heartedly telling his wife to give Itachi a break), those questions became more personal. What were his plans for the future? Did he plan on marrying, having children? What did he think about children? How many did he want? Would they also become shinobi?

"I _do_ hope Sakura is behaving properly for you, Itachi–kun." Mebuki said seriously, ignoring the glare coming from her daughter.

"Excuse me?"

"Behaving the way a woman who is being courted _should_."

"He's not–"

Itachi uncharacteristically cut her off, nodding once to Mebuki. "She is, although I don't mind her temper. By being so outspoken, Sakura is nothing like the other women in our village."

Partly a lie, considering quite a few kunoichi spoke their minds. However, Itachi meant in their relationship. If Sakura had a problem with something that was happening in their relationship, she would not sit back the way most women would. No she would simply tell him what he was doing wrong. Rather bluntly, too.

Mebuki's eyes narrowed a fraction and she paused in her eating. "Not like the other women?"

"He means she doesn't let him walk all over her, Mebuki." Kizashi sighed. "We always knew our Sakura wouldn't allow such a thing to happen."

"I _knew_ that!" she snapped in return, glaring over at him.

"Then why ask?"

"Oh, just eat your food." the blonde growled, shaking her head with annoyance when he chuckled at her. "So, Itachi–kun. How long have you both been in this relationship, then?"

That made him think. It made them both think. Neither of them had really been keeping track of time – they just took it day by day. Definitely, it had been a few months. He knew that for sure. It only took him half a minute to figure it out. Three months officially (since their first time together), but was Itachi supposed to include all of the times Sakura stayed in his bed, even though nothing went on? Everything that had happened before their kiss had been almost completely innocent. It would have been completely, but he could still remember how badly she had teased him, how much she had flirted with him. The sexual tension that had been building between them for months had almost been suffocating.

After only a short pause, Itachi replied, "I would say just over four months, now."

He was going back to when Sakura first slept in his bed. No, it wasn't the truth and no, they hadn't been in a relationship then, however, it had been building. There was no denying the fact that they had been fairly intimate with one another during those times when she slept in his arms. In a way, they had even acted like husband and wife, although Itachi tried to stop that thought as soon as it started. He had promised Sakura that they would take their time, that they would go slowly. That meant no rushing into lifelong commitments that perhaps neither of them were ready for.

Unaware of his thoughts, Sakura smiled softly up at him, agreeing. "Four months."

"I can't help but wonder, however," Kizashi spoke up cautiously, knowing that he could be speaking out of place by bringing such a subject up, or that he could be causing unnecessary arguments, "what will come of this relationship? I understand that both your parents support your relationship, just as Mebuki and I do, but what about plans for the future? You are heir of the Uchiha Clan and I have heard many things about your clan."

Itachi allowed him to finish, listening with a blank expression and nodding when Kizashi paused, unsure if he should continue.

"Dad…" Sakura grimaced. "Leave it."

"Allow him to continue, Sakura." Itachi murmured quietly.

Kizashi did so. "Will those in your clan accept this, Itachi? I support you both, of course, but I don't want our Sakura getting hurt when it turns out nothing will ever come of this. What if you one day ask her to marry you, but your clan does not allow it? Sakura has such a big heart and she's easily crushed."

In a way, it made Sakura feel so warm and loved hearing her father expressing his concern for her, though in other ways, she felt like he was looking way too much into the relationship between her and Itachi. They hadn't spoken of anything such as marriage yet and he hadn't given any signs whatsoever of asking her to marry him (not that Sakura was all too surprised about that, as he was a private person and never gave any indication as to what his thoughts were). And Sakura liked how things were going at that moment in time. Slowly, yet not too slowly that it felt like they were bored or stuck.

When he was finished, Itachi gave a nod. "I have considered the fact that the elders of my clan may not agree with my choice of being with Sakura."

Everybody was sitting on the edges of their seats when he stopped talking, prompting Kizashi to ask, "And?"

"And nothing." he told them rather simply. "If they do not agree, then they don't agree. It won't change my mind and it won't change how I feel about Sakura."

Kizashi blinked in surprise, before giving Itachi a look of great respect.

Mebuki was practically trembling with happiness for her daughter.

Sakura could only stare at him in shock, a faint blush over her cheeks when he smiled down at her slightly.

"And," Mebuki asked with a cheerful smile, feeling excited, "when is the wedding?"

"_Mom_!"

* * *

"I'm _really_ sorry." Sakura chuckled sheepishly as Itachi shut the front door, locking it behind him. Her stomach flooded with warmth at that. It meant he would be staying the night. "I knew they'd ask personal questions, but I didn't think they'd be _that_ bad."

"Don't apologise for your parents, Sakura. They are looking out for you."

Taking her hand, Itachi guided her to the bathroom, wordlessly switching the shower on and dressing them both down. It had been a stressful day for Sakura, he could tell just by the look in her eyes, and he was determined to take her mind off of that building stress. Not only the stress of taking on such a major surgery so soon after healing Shisui's eyes, but also the stress her mother was putting on her.

Itachi had always believed that she was over–exaggerating when she complained about her parents. Well, about her father, yes. Sakura _did_ over–exaggerate, because he honestly wasn't all that bad. There were worse fathers out there who refused to have anything to do with their child or children, or, they abused their own children. It was mostly her mother that got to her, and Itachi could see so very clearly why that was, now.

Most civilians were married and having children by the time they were sixteen, even though it sounded wrong – kids having kids, he meant. It seemed Mebuki was one of those civilians who had been brought up properly, although she had clearly rebelled at one point to marry Kizashi, for Itachi had a feeling that it could have been much worse. She had strict and traditional beliefs, yet the woman was also casual and open.

Whatever Mebuki was, she was pushing Sakura. She was putting pressure onto her daughter.

In the beginning of their relationship, Itachi had noticed how Sakura went out of her way for him, how she always wanted to be around him like she was afraid he would forget about her. Now, he understood why. It was Mebuki's fault. Perhaps not intentionally, but the blonde had been putting way too much pressure onto her daughter. Was that why Sakura could be quite clingy at times? Most likely. It wasn't like he was complaining, as it made a genuinely pleasing change to have somebody who was so very accepting of him, wanting to be by his side all of the time. He was used to people cowering in fear at just the mentioning of his name.

Cupping her cheek once they were in the shower, Itachi stared down at the beautiful woman before him. There was so much more to her than becoming a housewife. No matter what her mother believed, Sakura was not meant to be a housewife. She was a kunoichi and Itachi could see the potential in her. He could see how powerful she could truly become if Sakura just _believed in herself_.

Whilst Fugaku pushed both himself and Sasuke into becoming the 'perfect' shinobi, Mebuki had pushed Sakura into becoming the 'perfect' housewife and civilian – leading her to often get confused between civilian and shinobi, even though it seemed impossible to do so. However, in Itachi's eyes, there was no such thing as perfection. And Sakura sure as hell would never become a boring, stay–at–home housewife. He'd personally make sure of that.

"Do not take any notice of your mother when she says such things, Sakura." he told her quietly, the hot spray of water warming them both up. "It is unfair of her to put so much pressure on you."

He could see the pain in her eyes at his words. "I know."

Sighing, Itachi pulled her closer and rested his cheek on the top of her head, closing his eyes when her arms wrapped around him. "I will tell you something I have always told Sasuke." Itachi murmured to her after a couple of minutes, one of his calloused hands trailing up and down her side soothingly whilst the other did the same but with a sponge. Not too long later, Sakura was doing the same for him. "Never change who you are, what you want to be, or your beliefs, to please others. There is a reason why your dreams differ from others', and that is because you are your own person." There was a short pause and at his next words, Sakura felt her body heating up, felt her heart melting, "And I love you for who you are, no matter what your choices and beliefs are."

He loved her.

Sakura pulled back and stared up at Itachi with wide eyes, her heart beating incredibly fast and despite the temperature of the water, the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck were all sticking up and her skin had broken out in goosebumps. _He loved her_. Yes, it had only been four months (three months officially), that they had been together, but she and Itachi had been getting to know one another long before that.

Leaning down at her silent order and the tugging of her hands, Itachi closed his eyes once more, relaxing in her hold and the kiss she placed on his lips. It was warm and tender and loving. How was it that Sakura could make him feel emotions as powerful as love? It was honestly best not to ponder those thoughts too much, in Itachi's opinion. They left him feeling annoyed and frustrated that he couldn't fully understand them.

It wasn't until he gently pinned her against the wall that Sakura whispered to him, "I love you, too."

The words had his heart racing and his blood boiling for reasons that escaped him completely. Why would those three – four – words, have such an effect on him? Sure, they were by no means simple words and Itachi had made sure that he was certain on his feelings for her before saying that, not wanting to give her false hope or lead her on, but…

But, what?

Feelings could not be explained. However, seeing that look in her eyes, made Itachi understand just a little. He'd never seen Sakura look so happy before.

Switching off the shower, he pulled her closer to him, lifting Sakura easily and carrying her out of the bathroom. He could hear her heart pounding, her quickened breathing and in response, his body began to ache with anticipation. His heart pounded just as loudly and his breathing quickened just as much.

They entered the bedroom silently, neither taking the time to switch on the light. It was way past ten in the evening now so it was dark in the room, but that didn't bother them in the slightest. It would only be a pain to get back up and switch it off. Besides, he knew that sometimes, Sakura preferred having them off.

Itachi lowered her onto the bed softly, following not even a second later and capturing her lips in an affectionate kiss.

The first time they had made love – not their first time together, nor the second, but the fourth time they were intimate – Itachi noticed that Sakura was not completely comfortable with her body. How did he find out? The cabin that had been his, had been lit up and whilst undressing her, he noticed how she had avoided eye contact and attempted to divert his attention from certain parts of her body.

He made sure to pay a lot of attention to them.

Sakura trembled beneath him when his hands cupped her breasts and he couldn't help but think that they were just the right size for his hands. So what if they weren't overly large like her friends' were? Personally, Itachi didn't like anything to be over–exaggerated, whether it be words, actions, jutsu or, in this case, a woman's body. He loved that with her clothes on, Sakura's curves were so very subtle (though at certain angles, they were more obvious), but without them… He smirked down at her as Itachi broke the kiss. It was like this was only for him – which it was, but it felt more like she hid her body from others so that only he could look at it. It made him feel… special and honoured, in a way. Nobody else got to see his Sakura in such a way. Former lovers did not count, for they were in the past. He meant now. Only he got to see Sakura like this. She was his.

When he lowered his head once more, trailing kisses along her neck and moving further down her body, Sakura's breath caught and she bit her lip. He knew she secretly enjoyed it when he paid attention to her breasts after she got over her feelings of insecurity, which was why he always did so. Hopefully one day, those insecurities would be forever banished from her mind, even if it meant he had to do this every day for the rest of his life. It certainly wasn't a chore or something he disliked doing.

Moving on from her breasts, Sakura's eyes widened a fraction, fisting his damp, dark hair in her hand when he pressed a lingering kiss onto her hip. "I–Itachi…"

He knew what she was about to say. Even though they had been intimate many times now, Sakura was not comfortable with the thought of him orally pleasing her. "Do you trust me, Sakura?" His lips brushed against her stomach with his words, making her skin tighten and tingle deliciously.

"Of course I do." she frowned softly, biting her lower lip. "It's just… down there's not…"

Clean? Hygienic? Sanitary? Itachi couldn't see the problem. From his place at that moment in time, there was no smell that was putting him off (only one that was turning him on further – the smell of her arousal) and they had just showered. Sure, it hadn't really been much of a shower, but they had gently and lazily scrubbed each other's skin whilst embracing and talking.

"_Sakura_," he used the tone of voice he knew she couldn't resist, "I want to taste you."

No matter how hard Sakura fought the reactions her body had, there was no use in trying to hide the fact that her hips bucked softly and her hold on him tightened. There was also a very quiet whimper that came from her, making him smirk.

It was when her hand loosened on him that Itachi continued with his path, laying passionate kisses on every inch of skin he came across. On the odd scar he would find on her body, despite those being rare as Sakura always rid herself of them, his tongue would slip out and trace them, earning Itachi gasps of surprise and pleasure.

It took him a few moments to part her thighs, noticing that Sakura's nervousness was creeping back in, but he soon erased all traces of worry or anxiety by leaving more lingering kisses, though this time, against her inner thighs. She was trembling by the time he reached her most intimate area and not out of fear. This time, it was from anticipation and pleasure. That pleasure only grew when Itachi languidly glanced up at her, fresh apple green clashing with deep onyx, and slowly pressed his mouth to her.

The response was immediate and he couldn't help but force his groan back when Sakura moaned his name in such a way, that it had his erection throbbing with the need to take her. He didn't. Instead, Itachi took his time. The hand that was simply laying on her thigh, keeping it parted from the other, stroked its way up her body, once more massaging her breast, whilst the other hand joined his mouth.

Her hips rolled, occasionally bucking softly into his mouth with a silent plea for more and in return, Itachi gave her more by slipping a second finger inside of her and sucking on her bundle of nerves, making Sakura see stars. Already, he could feel her tightening around his fingers as he continued to slowly thrust them inside of her.

Why hadn't she ever agreed to this before? That was all Sakura could think of – well, other than the pleasure building steadily within her.

When her hand tightened in his hair, the hold becoming slightly painful, Itachi's hand slipped from her breast. It was easy de–tangling her fist from his hair and even though she was holding his hand just as tightly, it was more bearable. He'd learned already just how much Sakura could lose control of her strength when she got too excited. That warning hadn't been just talk. It had been serious. Because it came to her so naturally, sometimes her strength just couldn't be controlled.

Itachi banished those thoughts from his mind and closed his eyes, grunting with pleasure in response to the way she called his name. He slowly pulled out his fingers a final time before taking one thigh into his hand, pushing it further apart from the other. He needed more of her and at the sudden cry coming from above him when Itachi's tongue replaced his fingers, he knew that she was more than happy to give.

Her hand was shaking as she pulled it from his, instead clenching the bed sheets tightly so that she didn't accidentally hurt him and when she did, Itachi gripped her thighs just as tightly, burying his face into her heated skin. Intoxicating. Even after all the times he had taken her, Sakura was still intoxicating to him and Itachi couldn't see himself being without her for even a second.

Words were falling from her lips, her thighs were trembling in his hold, back was arching elegantly off of the bed and hips bucking uncontrollably until he pinned them down, all signalling what was about to happen. The growl that came from him was one he could not control and if Itachi had been thinking of anything other than the basic, primal instincts within himself, he would have been shocked by just how much he was losing his self–control.

He pulled away a second time, ignoring Sakura's whimper of protest as Itachi suddenly yanked her further down the bed, directly beneath him. There was no telling who initiated the hungry kiss, but neither were complaining as their tongues glided along the others, as their hands roamed one another's skin until they were both aching for release.

It was without warning that Itachi entered her, his mind going blank and it only fell further into that blankness when he began thrusting within her, holding her body close to his so that he could feel all of her.

And it was with the way he was holding her, the way he was looking at her, that Sakura knew neither of them would be getting any sleep that night.

* * *

**A/N – Sorry that I didn't update yesterday! I had an exam, but then it got cancelled due to technical difficulties and meh. I've been quite ill the past couple of days. Nothing serious, but still. I think everyone's coming down with something really, as my classes aren't even half the size they usually are.**


	23. A Balance

**Chapter 22 – A Balance**

It had been seven months since they told each other that they loved them.

The border had been hard work at first, for they had had to find that balance between professional lives and personal lives. That was certainly easier said than done, but eventually, after over a month, they found that balance.

Like before, it was three to a cabin, though captains had their own space – something she knew Kakashi was eternally grateful for. Well, Kakashi and Shisui had their own cabins. Itachi preferred to share his with Sakura, to keep her close and by his side in case of a surprise attack, especially during the night. Nights were the most difficult for him to relax and it was during the night that he would grow even more alert, ignoring Sakura whenever she tried to tell him to keep his sharingan deactivated. It was because of this that she was once again working on his eyes, eradicating any chakra that built up.

Everything was much more real now. There was no joking around, no sitting by the camp fire and telling stories or having a laugh. There were no males trying to get the females of the camp to sleep with them. Everybody understood perfectly just how serious and deadly the situation between Konoha and Iwa had become and not a single one of them were willing to risk something happening to their village or precious people.

During the four months at camp, she and Itachi had slept together three times. Again, it was difficult resisting that urge to just launch themselves at one another and throw everything else to the wayside, however, they had jobs to do. They had to be professional. It was no easy task ignoring their body's natural reaction to one another, hence why they had slipped up three times. Those were always when they were in bed and supposed to be sleeping, though, so at least it wasn't whilst out doing a perimeter run or keeping watch.

They kept to their training, but didn't work on it nearly as much as they had the last time. Like she had just stated, they had jobs to do and people to protect.

Now, Sakura was currently watching her lover dress into his ANBU uniform, much to her sadness. This wasn't his first mission since returning and definitely wouldn't be his last, but she had hoped he would have more time to rest. There was no telling how long Itachi would be gone for and he could never go into details about his missions – if any at all. It made her anxious and worried, though those thoughts were always pushed away when Sakura worked at the hospital or went on missions of her own.

Thinking of missions, it had been while since team seven were given one…

Sitting up and holding the sheet to her chest, Sakura smiled softly and returned the tender kiss Itachi placed upon her lips once he was fully dressed.

"Be safe."

He gave her a small smile, stroking her cheek. "I will have to ask the same of you."

She never outwardly complained about his missions and the fact he was hardly ever around. No, instead, Sakura took advantage of when Itachi _was_ around.

After nodding in agreement and Itachi left to meet with his team, she finally dropped backwards onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Things were getting serious between them. They knew it and the village knew it. How? Something _had_ to be happening for Itachi to put Sakura before his own family – well, mainly his parents – and he _had_ to care about her if he always went out of his way to take her out for lunch or dinner during her breaks at the hospital. That wasn't even mentioning the fact that the villagers often saw him entering and leaving her apartment. They were hardly discreet, but they didn't want to be. It didn't matter to them. They were comfortable in their relationship, their closest and most precious people knew about them, and they were happy.

Deciding that she wouldn't be able to sleep anymore, Sakura threw back the sheets and got out of bed, searching through her drawers for some clean clothing. Once she had them, she went into her bathroom to begin getting ready.

* * *

"Don't you ever miss him?"

Looking up from the charts she had been reading, Sakura raised an eyebrow at the blonde, silently telling her to go on. Lately, Ino had been hanging around more and more often. Don't get her wrong, because Sakura was all for spending time with her precious people, but something was definitely off in the way Ino was currently hanging around her. It was almost like she had nowhere else to go. Hell, the blonde had even donned a nurse's uniform and began following her around, saying she was 'helping and assisting' Sakura for a while. Bullshit. Something was bugging Ino and she couldn't find the right words to explain.

"Like…" she frowned, leaning forward on the desk. "Whenever he's away? I know that Itachi's a busy guy and he's important to the village and all, but don't you ever wish he… I don't know, tried harder?"

"Itachi _does_ try hard." Sakura replied with a sigh, not allowing herself to be baited or angered. "We may not be able to spend all our time together, but when we do, Itachi is always making me feel special one way or another."

Something flashed in Ino's eyes. "I rarely see you together!"

Sakura rolled hers in response. "Just because you hardly see us around the village, it doesn't mean we're not together. It's nice to go out and _not_ be gawked at."

"Damn it, Sakura!" Ino snapped, bringing her fist down on the desk so suddenly that it honestly startled them both. She didn't allow it to keep her distracted for long, however, because the blonde was feeling too angered and frustrated. "How the hell do you get through all the time you spend away from each other? Aren't you in the least bit curious as to what those missions entail? What if he's out seducing other women? Or_–"_

"_Enough, Ino_!" Her voice was sharp, cold and definitely not friendly. "Whatever the hell is going on between you and Kiba has _nothing_ to do with my relationship with Itachi, okay? You may not be able to trust the guy you're with, but I can trust Itachi!"

Around a month ago, he had approached her with one of 'those' missions. What kind of mission? A seduction mission. Itachi had been ordered to seduce a suspicious target and find out anything he could about Iwa. However, he told her that he refused the mission. It was the first mission he had _ever_ refused!

That was why she could trust him.

Previously, up until that day, Itachi had never refused a single mission, but he had told Sakura that despite it only being a mission, he vehemently refused to be unfaithful. There was only one thing he would hate more than being unfaithful and that was causing Sakura pain. He would be causing her pain by seducing both women and men and luring them into his bed for information. Again, they could have said that it was 'only a mission', but that mission would still include being with another when they were supposed to be in an exclusive relationship. _When they loved one another_.

"What makes you think I don't trust Kiba?" she yelled in return, glaring viciously at Sakura.

"Don't even try bullshitting me, Ino. I know you."

All of the anger suddenly deflated in Ino and she grabbed Sakura's hand, dragging her away from the public area and to her office. They had been grabbing too much attention for her liking and if she was going to open up to anyone, it would be Sakura, and Ino refused to have others listening in. Oh, the blonde could hear the gossip now! '_She's vulnerable really, so just attack'_ or something of the sort. After all, it was no secret that she had a few female enemies in the village thanks to previous lovers and affairs.

Once they were in Sakura's office, Ino locked the door and breathed in deeply, trying to find the words to say, but they wouldn't form, so she was left to angrily stare down at the ground, gritting her teeth together.

Seeing this, Sakura sighed. "What did he do?"

"More like what _hasn't_ he done." There was a brief pause, one where Ino's lips pulled downwards. "We've been together for well over a year, but he still hasn't told me that he loves me and…"

It honestly broke Sakura's heart when her best friend burst into tears, when she let out a strangled–sounding sob.

"W–We had an argument… about him going on a seduction mission… I–I didn't want him to! I haven't accepted any since we began what we were. But…" The blonde shook. "It wasn't just this once… Kiba's been going on them for the entirety of our relationship!"

Sakura moved forward without a word and pulled Ino into her arms, holding her comfortingly as she cried.

"Why d–does it never go right for me?" Ino whispered sadly once she had calmed down. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you haven't." she told her in return, gently running her hand through the long locks of blonde hair. The softness of it, the feathery feeling of it, had always made Sakura jealous. "Some men can be pigs – even bigger ones than you!" Ino chuckled shakily. "It's been rumoured that men have a… biological urge, of sorts. To mate and impregnate women. Utter bullshit if you ask me, but what if it's true? Think about it, Ino. Think about the clan Kiba's a part of."

Inuzuka. They were all like animals, like dogs. Ino had noticed that from the very first moment she met a member of the Inuzuka Clan. However, she had always hoped that they didn't actually think the way a dog did. There had always been an animalistic feeling to the way Kiba took her, to the way he dominated her, but Ino had always thought that that was simply who he was. A dominant guy who enjoyed being alpha. What if he _did_ think the way a dog did? Not exactly like one, of course, but just enough that he had animal urges.

One time, when over at his place, Kiba's mother had told her that she never had much of a connection to her children's fathers. In fact, Kiba and Hana had different dads. Of course Tsume had some feelings for the men, however, it wasn't enough to make what they had a lifelong commitment. In a way it had almost been like Tsume was giving Ino a warning, a heads up. Don't get too attached. It'll only hurt you in the end.

She should have listened to the older woman.

"I thought he was different." Ino told her quietly, finally pulling away and wiping at her eyes. "I really thought he cared."

"Kiba does care, Ino. I don't know how he acts when it's just the two of you, but whenever I see you together, he always looks protective of you."

"Protective."

Hearing the scoff, she sighed. "Talk to him about it. Make him see things from your position."

"I don't know…"

"You need to try if you want your relationship to work, Ino. You need to be open with one another."

Ino looked utterly disbelieving. "Oh, and I suppose the almighty Uchiha Itachi is open with you, is he?"

Despite the harshness of her words, Sakura forced herself to remain calm. It was a difficult task. "Yes, actually. That's how relationships are supposed to work. You're supposed to trust each other enough to be vulnerable around one another. What's the point if you can't be yourself? If you can't say what's on your mind? There _is_ no point and until you realise that, until somebody comes along and _shows you_ that it's okay to be vulnerable, then you're going to continue having failures for relationships."

A look of absolute anger settled on the blonde's features and she unlocked the office door, glaring viciously at Sakura once she had. "What the hell would _you_ know? This is your first real relationship – anything before now was just sex. And when Itachi breaks your heart because you're stupid enough to leave yourself vulnerable around him, don't come crying to me. I'll be too busy with my _failures_."

With that, she slammed out of the office, leaving Sakura to roll her eyes and sigh with annoyance.

* * *

Dropping to the grass on her behind, Sakura sighed. "And that's it."

Not even a second later and two others were dropping down in front of her. One had his legs crossed Indian style, hands resting on his knees, whilst the other had his legs parted, knees bent upwards and his elbows resting on them. It wasn't hard to tell who was sitting in the brooding position. Sasuke glanced up at her for a moment with an unimpressed look before one of his hands dropped to the grass behind him and he leaned back, keeping his balance with that hand.

"Why is she so interested in your relationship with my brother?"

Naruto nodded quickly. "To me, she seems jealous."

Sakura grimaced. She'd known that discussing something such as her situation with Ino would cause confusion for the boys, but honestly, Sakura had no one else to talk to. Itachi was away on a mission still and would most likely rather not hear about Ino's apparent jealousy, whilst anybody else was either busy, or just as uncaring. Well, not exactly uncaring, but… There was no other word for it. They simply weren't concerned about Ino's love life.

"It's not that she's jealous," Sakura sighed with patience, "it's just that Ino's had a really tough time when it comes to relationships. I honestly don't blame her for being so defensive or protecting herself like the way she currently is."

"So then why are you complaining?" Sasuke drawled.

"Because unless Ino learns to open up to the guy she's with, how can she expect it to work out?"

There was silence for a moment before Naruto shrugged. "Maybe she doesn't know how to open up? Like this bastard!" He gestured to Sasuke with his head, either ignoring or not noticing the fact that he received a vicious and annoyed glare. "You've always said that some people have a harder time opening up their hearts, Sakura–chan! Maybe Ino still remembers all the times she _did_ open up her heart, and is scared it'll happen again."

Sasuke blinked once in astonishment. Had Naruto seriously just come out with that? Was this genjutsu? Was somebody impersonating the blond, like somebody had impersonated himself? Instead of questioning it, however, he instead added onto Naruto's previous statement, "And maybe _that's_ why she seems jealous. You have what she wants. Not necessarily Itachi himself, but your relationship with him, your bond. She wants that."

She'd worked that much out the second Ino began laying into her, but it was nice to know that she wouldn't have to explain everything to them. "I want to help her, really I do, but I don't know how to–"

"You need to stop trying to fix everyone, Sakura." Sasuke shook his head with annoyance. "Focus on yourself for once."

That would take far too long to do and throughout the duration of 'fixing' herself, Sakura could have helped so many other people. They needed her. She _had_ to help them. It simply wasn't an option.

When she remained silent, Naruto jumped up to his feet and folded his arms behind his head, grinning. "I'd say it's around the time Kakashi–sensei will turn–"

"Sasuke."

The voice had Sakura tensing, had her head whipping around. Sasuke seemed just as startled.

Only a few feet away stood Shisui and two members of his team, all looking deadly and serious as they regarded the younger Uchiha. It was obvious who was captain, as the other two were flanking Shisui. However, that wasn't the only reason why. The other two members of team Shisui did not hold themselves the same way he did. They did not look as tall or as proud, or have an air of superiority. They were all powerful, yes, but Shisui was in a league of his own and it showed clearly.

"You are to join my team for the duration of the mission we are about to leave for."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Join Shisui on a mission? That was something that had never happened before. "I was just about to ask for a mission with my team. Do I have a choice in the matter?"

"No. You will want to join us." Shisui stated with his ever calm, emotionless mask in place, with his voice just as empty. "We are being sent to back up Itachi's team. Hokage–sama received an emergency scroll via Itachi's crow, informing her that his target is much more powerful than he expected and that there is more than just one. Two members of his team have already lost their lives."

Sakura's breath left her and she quickly stood up, Sasuke a second behind her. "Itachi…?"

"Is alive." Shisui told her, his eyes softening slightly so that she could see the genuine look in his eyes. "However, his teammate will not survive much longer by the sounds of the scroll. We cannot go into much detail, as this is supposed to be a highly classified mission, but we can confirm that this is the target we have been warned about. Our mission is to assist Uchiha Itachi in taking down the target and bringing at least one of them to Konoha for interrogation."

A hand rested on her shoulder, giving a comforting squeeze. "C'mon, Sakura–chan. We'll go get ourselves and Kakashi–sensei a mission to take your mind off them all." When she looked over her shoulder at Naruto, he gave her the grin he always did whilst trying to cheer her up. "Then when we get back, they'll already be home! And you can kick Itachi's ass for making you worry!"

When their eyes met, Sasuke nodded once. "I'll make sure he comes home, Sakura."

Some of the worry eased off her shoulders, making it slightly easier to breathe.

"Come, Sasuke." the older Uchiha ordered. "We will be using my transportation jutsu to get to Itachi." Then, he reached behind him and grabbed something before holding it out. "I also stopped by your home and retrieved this for you."

His katana.

Nodding once to his teammates and inwardly rolling his eyes at the grin and thumbs up that Naruto gave him, Sasuke accepted the katana. He showed no surprise when Shisui placed his hand on his shoulder, holding onto him, whilst the two behind him placed their hands on Shisui's back.

Not even half a second later and they were gone.

"_Man_," Naruto sighed with annoyance, glaring up at the sky, "I need to learn how to do that!"

Sakura rubbed her arm restlessly, eyebrows knitting together as she continued to watch the spot team Shisui and Sasuke had just vacated.

"Oi, Sakura–chan," the blond called to her, grabbing her hand, "come on! We have to go and meet Kakashi–sensei now! He should be at the meeting place by now, since it's an hour after we agreed to meet him there."

That was true.

"Let's go." she agreed with a nod.

Until Itachi eventually returned, along with Sasuke, Shisui and his team, then all she could do was try to distract herself.

* * *

"Ah, so Sasuke won't be joining us, then."

Naruto nodded quickly, filling Kakashi in on the mission the Uchiha had been given before going on to say, "It's going to be strange not having him on the mission! I think this is my first mission without him."

Thinking back on all of team seven's missions, Sakura was shocked to find that the statement was in fact true. If you didn't include the three years he spent with Jiraiya, then Naruto had never been on a mission without Sasuke backing him up.

"There's a first time for everything." Kakashi shrugged simply before walking forward. "It's about time we go to collect our mission, don't you think?"

"You're the one who was late!" they both yelled from behind him, pointing angrily.

* * *

Tsunade was looking highly stressed, Sakura noticed with concern as they entered her office, standing in front of her desk in a single line. Naruto was standing in between herself and Kakashi, hands on hips and waiting arrogantly for his mission. It took everything in both women not to reach out and hit him.

"We're ready for our s–ranked mission now–"

"Hokage–sama!" a woman cried as she burst into the room, frantically waving a scroll.

It was the decoder. Sakura watched with building unease, her stomach in knots as the woman approached Tsunade's desk and handed her the scroll. Tsunade's expression as she read it only had that creeping fear growing. Something bad had happened. Something very, _very_ bad had happened.

"I have your s–ranked mission right here." she muttered to the three.

Naruto leaned forward eagerly, Kakashi's single eye narrowed, whilst Sakura had to fight the feeling of fleeing from the room when Tsunade's hard eyes fell onto hers.

"The Kazekage has been abducted by a highly dangerous organisation called Akatsuki."

Her heart stopped.

* * *

**A/N - Not my best chapter, I'll admit that! Hopefully it doesn't seem too rushed, though.**

**I'll be going on hiatus for a short while! I have a few assignments that need finishing and an exam coming up in one of my classes, so I need to focus on those. Hopefully it won't be too long, though!**


	24. Akatsuki

**Chapter 23 – Akatsuki**

This was it.

Sakura stared at the large boulder that was blocking the entrance, her eyes narrowed and beyond angry.

Akatsuki.

From the very brief explanation Kakashi had given not only herself and Naruto, but also to Temari when they came across the blonde, Akatsuki was an extremely dangerous organisation, made up of only s–ranked criminals who were internationally wanted for one crime or another. There were ten members altogether, although they only knew of four of them – and one of those members had defected. Since he had, nobody had heard from the bastard.

Orochimaru.

Her fist clenched tightly as Kakashi reached the seal, crouching low and preparing himself for the signal to tear it off.

The other three members, one of which team Gai had had to battle, were all powerful. They didn't have too much information on them, but they had enough. And thanks to the elder from Suna, Chiyo, they knew a lot more than what they previously had done about a certain member.

Sasori.

He was highly skilled, she'd warned them. At a young age, he had surpassed her easily and began to work on his own puppets. Making them out of what? Human sacrifices. It started simply with fixing a friend's arm when it was lost in battle, but then Sasori started experimenting more and more, growing a liking for changing things into what he thought was art.

According to Kakashi, Jiraiya had been spying on Akatsuki for a while now, ever since he returned Naruto to Konoha – before then, even. Those three years hadn't only been to help Naruto become a greater shinobi. They had also been for the blond's protection. Whilst with Jiraiya, he had been untouchable. No harm had come to him. The only member of Akatsuki (the ones they knew about) who would have dared to go up against Jiraiya had defected.

Remembering the horrors Sasori could cause with a simple poison had Sakura's eyes narrowing dangerously. She had just barely made it in time to save Kankuro. What would have happened if she couldn't? He would have died. Gaara's older brother would have died. How could she look him in the eyes, if that had happened? They may have been intimately involved before, but Kankuro was his brother. They were _family_.

"Sakura!"

Seeing the seal being ripped off, Sakura darted forward, drawing back her fist and the second it connected with the boulder, she let out a loud yell and Kakashi leapt away from it, landing easily back onto the water. They watched silently as it shattered like nothing more than fragile glass, as the entrance was finally cleared.

"_Gaara_!"

She was right with Naruto as he ran into the cave.

He hadn't been able to calm down once. Everything about the blond was tensed and angry. What made it worse was that his watcher, Sasuke, wasn't around. Already Naruto's eyes were bleeding red, the whiskers on his cheeks becoming much deeper and thicker. Even his hair seemed more wild! If things continued the way that they currently were, then they would have an even bigger problem. Damn it. They really did have bad timing, or at least, Sasuke did.

Sakura shook her head angrily. No, it wasn't Sasuke's fault that he had a different mission.

The second that Kakashi and Chiyo joined them in the cave, and the woman's breath left her like she had suddenly been punched, and Kakashi froze in his spot, Sakura realised something. It was something that made her breath leave her like somebody had punched her in the gut, or slammed her into a solid wall. She felt winded. And sick. And her chest was _aching_.

Gaara was dead.

How was that even possible?

Before she knew it, Sakura took a step forward. And then another. And another, until she was running at full speed towards the bastard sitting on Gaara as though he was nothing. _Gaara was not nothing_! Deep down, he cared. He was kind and caring and could be so very sweet and these bastards had _murdered him_!

Her fist slammed into the blond's face, stunning them all as Deidara was sent flying backwards and into the wall, causing the entire cave to shake. The second guy, Sasori, put some distance between them, watching her emotionlessly.

"Sakura!" Kakashi yelled, having been too busy stopping Naruto to stop her too. "Don't let your emotions–"

"She has every right to be angry!" Naruto snarled, visibly trembling. His red eyes hadn't left Gaara's features for a single moment since entering the cave. "They… _killed him!_"

Stomach lurching violently, Sakura wrapped her arms around Gaara's body, a sob clawing its way up her throat. He was still warm. His body was still warm, meaning he hadn't been dead long. There was no need to check, for the stillness of his chest and his still heart told her everything. Not only that but Sakura was a medic. She knew when she had lost a patient or a friend or a former lover.

"Oi, kunoichi…" the blond man stated as he pulled himself to his feet, his only hand clenching tightly into a fist. "I'm going to enjoy blowing you up, yeah!"

"Such a dramatic entrance." Sasori stated.

"Bastards!" Naruto practically roared, a deep and suffocating killing intent filling the room. "_I'll fucking kill you_!"

It was with that simple sentence, that the battle begun, that they were suddenly divided and taking on an Akatsuki member in groups of two.

* * *

"Sasuke," Shisui snapped, "keep focused!"

The younger Uchiha hissed, looking down at his hand. It was burning. "The Kyuubi…"

"That is not our concern right now." Itachi told him simply, blocking the many kunai from killing his brother. "Naruto–kun is in the village, so–"

"He's not!" Sasuke yelled in return, yanking his katana out of the ground and slamming it into one of the enemy, growling as he ripped it back out and kicked the man away. "My team are away from Konoha on a mission. Something serious has to be happening for Naruto to be losing control so quickly. Something is causing his emotions to run rampant, which is why the Kyuubi is pushing harder and harder to break free!"

It took a lot for Itachi to remain emotionless, to keep his features blank as he dashed forward and made a single seal. Fire filled the clearing they were fighting in and right behind him, Shisui quickly made seals of his own, taking out the few that Itachi had missed.

After a whole day of battle, after three days of scouting and spying, of trying to replenish Itachi's chakra for the final battle, it was finally over. Unfortunately for the three Uchiha, they had not been battling Akatsuki. They had been fakes, though certainly just as powerful. A substitution jutsu, Itachi had called it. After defeating one of the members, the Akatsuki member had turned into an average shinobi, a sacrifice.

One of his knees gave out on him, causing Sasuke to rely entirely on his katana to stay kneeling up on one of his knees. He hated looking so weak, but it was hard not too. Even after all of his training, he was not yet up to Itachi and Shisui's level. Doubted he ever would be, too. Panting heavily, he glared down at his hand. One tail. Not as bad as it could have been, but it would eventually get serious. It always did.

"Sasuke."

His head snapped up, looking at his older brother through one squinting eye, the other closed due to the dull ache. "What?"

"Here." Itachi sighed, reaching into his pouch and holding out a soldier pill.

But before he could accept it, something dropped onto his shoulder. Had this been many years earlier, back when a certain kunoichi could first summon the thing, then Sasuke would have cringed with disgust as his shoulder was soaked with its natural slime.

"Katsuyu."

"Sasuke–kun," the smaller version of Tsunade and Sakura's summon greeted him, "you are needed. Sakura–chan asked me to find you, as Naruto–kun is losing control."

"Why's he losing control?" Sasuke demanded, his voice rough. "What sort of mission did they get?"

Feeling the injuries on his body and realising how exhausted he was, Katsuyu went on to healing him without a word of complaint. "An s–ranked mission, Sasuke–kun."

Itachi's eyes widened a fraction, despite the fact he had been trying to hide it. "S–ranked? Why would Hokage–sama send them on such a high ranked mission, knowing that Sasuke is not with them, should Naruto–kun lose control?"

Katsuyu made a sound that they couldn't distinguish fully, one that was mixed between pain, sadness and worry. "It was an emergency mission, Itachi–kun. Had there been anyone else in the village at the time, Tsunade–sama would have sent them. Instead, she sent team seven and a day later, once they had returned from a mission, she sent team Gai to back them up."

"Who are they fighting, Katsuyu–sama?" Shisui asked, brows furrowing.

"Akatsuki."

And with that simple name, Itachi felt his insides turn to ice. They all did. "Hokage–sama sent Naruto–kun to fight the Akatsuki?" he asked quietly.

"There was no one else. This mission is personal to Naruto–kun, Itachi–kun."

How? How could it possibly be personal? Was–

"Jiraiya–sama?"

The slug shook her head. "Gaara–kun. A few days ago, the Kazekage battled with the Akatsuki, though he lost when he used the last of his chakra to protect the village, instead of saving himself."

"The jinchūriki for the Ichibi." Shisui murmured before glancing to Itachi. "What do you think, Itachi?"

"We should back up team seven and team Gai."

"I meant about the Kazekage. You know what they want just as well as I do."

Itachi looked up at the sky, his chest aching for that certain kunoichi he knew for a fact would be agonising over the loss. "There is no doubt that he is already dead."

Sasuke was back on his feet in an instant, glaring viciously at his brother. "What the hell do you mean, Gaara's dead?"

He didn't care for the redhead. In fact, Sasuke could just about stand to be in a room with him, but if Itachi's words were true, if Gaara was dead, then not only was it going to hit Naruto hard, but also Sakura. Team seven experienced each other's pain like it was their own. She had only just recovered from Aiko's death and they had only known each other for a short amount of time. Even though Sakura was involved with Itachi now and had been for some time, she still had one of the biggest hearts Sasuke had ever come across. She felt everything so much more intensely than the rest of them. The news would rip her apart.

"Think about what you have already been told, Sasuke." the oldest Uchiha told him patiently. "Akatsuki have one goal, as far as we are aware. What is that goal? It is to collect all nine tailed beasts. _All of them_."

His features emptied, a strange sense of heaviness falling on his shoulders. "And Tsunade sent Naruto straight to them."

"That wasn't her intention, Sasuke–kun." Katsuyu told him, but instead of listening, Sasuke grabbed the slug and handed it to Itachi so that he could be healed. Then, Katsuyu was handed to Shisui.

"Shisui, can you transport us to them?"

It made him ache inside when Shisui's eyebrows knitted together. "I'm not connected to any members of team seven other than you, Sasuke, and they're too far for me to try and pick up their chakra."

Katsuyu looked up at him, being held carefully in his hands whilst she healed him. "I am connected to Sakura–chan, Shisui–kun. It will be easy for me to give you a taster, of sorts, of her chakra."

Sasuke scowled. "You can do that?"

"Yes. If it is to protect Sakura–chan, or Tsunade–sama, then I am not breaking the contract."

"Do it." Itachi told her with a nod.

"However…"

It took everything for him not to narrow his eyes. "However?"

"Team seven has been separated. Kakashi–san and Naruto–kun are currently battling a member named Deidara, whilst Sakura–"

"She's fighting _alone_?" Sasuke demanded, feeling his blood boiling with anger. "They left her _alone_ to fight an s–classed criminal?"

This time, Itachi's eyes _did_ narrow. "Do not underestimate Sakura, Sasuke."

Closing his eyes, Shisui accepted the small percentage of Sakura's chakra that was pushed into him. Yes, it was definitely Sakura's. It felt almost like her healing chakra, although that definitely had a calmer and much more relaxing edge to it. This version of her chakra was weaker, it was wavering. They needed to act fast, but Shisui knew not to bring up the fact Sakura's chakra was quickly depleting. It would only worry the two.

"Itachi, Sasuke. You are not coming with myself and my team to where Sakura–san is battling." Sasuke looked utterly outraged, yet Itachi was calm and understanding, nodding once. "This is too personal for the both of you, and Sasuke, you are needed already. Naruto–kun needs you to hold back the Kyuubi." Reluctantly, he nodded in agreement. "Can you feel his chakra now?" Another nod. "Push some of that chakra into my palm. I will track him and then transport you both to Naruto–kun and Kakashi–san. Then, my team and I will back up Sakura–san."

"I must go now." Katsuyu told them apologetically. "Shisui–kun, please hurry."

With that, she disappeared in a poof of smoke.

The Uchiha three tried not to let her words bother them, instead exchanging glances and nodding once. They needed to focus on the mission. Protecting their jinchūriki. And once Shisui's team returned, Itachi sent one of his crows to Tsunade, informing her that they knew of team seven's mission, and that they would be assisting them.

A second later and they were gone.

* * *

As soon as they arrived at the battlefield, Sasuke was quick to shoot forward, ignoring the pain of his skin blistering and peeling off as he gripped a tight hold of Naruto's hair and yanked his head back. Red, animalistic eyes clashed with spinning red and black, the former widening as Sasuke invaded his mind with his sharingan.

Time seemed to slow down considerably as their eyes met.

The three tails that had been lashing down at the ground and creating craters suddenly stilled and as they did, Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his hold on the blond hair tightening. There was so much pain and anger in Naruto's head and the Kyuubi was taking advantage of that pain. It made Sasuke feel so angry seeing images flashing in Naruto's head, the image of entering the cave and seeing the blond Akatsuki member sitting on top of a lifeless Gaara, the image of Sakura losing control of her emotions and lunging for said blond before crying over Gaara.

"_Damned Uchiha_!"

Once more, Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously. "_Obey_!"

And just like that, the Kyuubi settled back into his cage within Naruto's mind.

And once again, time was speeding back up as Sasuke left Naruto's mind, being greeted by the sight of blue eyes instead of red. Inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief.

"You made it." Kakashi stated, glancing from Sasuke to Itachi. "Shisui–"

"Has gone to assist Sakura." Sasuke's hold tightened on Naruto's hair, making the blond's scalp burn as he winced in pain. "How could you leave her to fight alone against Akatsuki?"

"That bastard has Gaara!"

"Gaara's _dead_!" he snarled harshly. "Sakura is alive! Think about the living, you idiot."

"Oi, who do you think you're ignoring, yeah?"

Sasuke narrowed his wildly spinning sharingan eyes, turning just in time to raise his arm, bolts of lightning surrounding both him and Naruto, hitting all of the clay bombs that had been launched at them. So this was a member of Akatsuki? For some reason, Sasuke felt disappointed. What was so special about this freak, besides the fact that he had a mouth on his hand? Probably had one on the other, too, though it seemed to have been savagely torn off. No doubt that had been Gaara.

Smirking arrogantly, Sasuke turned fully and faced Deidara. All of the clay bombs that had been thrown to him were nothing but duds now, utterly useless. It made sense. Lightning countered earth. And then, as Sasuke remembered something from Naruto's mind, his smirk slipped away and he raised his katana, lightning engulfing it.

"I see you're proud of your hand and clay bombs." he spat, recalling how he had hit Sakura with a few of them when retrieving Gaara's body. If he was right – and obviously, he always was – then Gaara's body was currently inside of the creation Deidara was flying around on high above them.

This time it was Deidara who smirked, the sight of it and his next words making Itachi's gut burn with anger. "So you saw what I did to the kunoichi with your sharingan, yeah? Well–"

Sasuke lunged, a murderous look filling his eyes.

* * *

"Shisui–taichou, shouldn't we intervene?"

He shook his head silently, holding up his hand to tell them without words to stay quiet and instead watch the battle play out.

So far, Sakura had taken a hit to her side and was obviously in a great deal of pain and the Akatsuki member, who Shisui knew to be Sasori because of the bingo books, was flying through the air towards the Suna elder. He could see the look in Sakura's eyes. The determination. Like Itachi had warned Sasuke not to, Shisui was not underestimating her.

It looked as though the two kunoichi had been fighting an army! How could one person control so many puppets all at once? Saying that, however, this was Akasuna no Sasori. He was well known for being powerful and extremely talented with puppets. It seemed the rumours of he himself also being a puppet, were true.

Suddenly, when Sakura faltered, grimacing in pain, his teammates _did_ underestimate her.

"Wait." Shisui called, his arm lashing to the side and stopping the two members of his team. "We will observe."

"But, taichou–"

"Haruno–san is strong." the other member agreed, his eyebrows furrowing. "But are you sure about this, Shisui–taichou? This is Akatsuki that Haruno–san is up against and she already looks worse for wear."

He sighed. They didn't understand, did they? Sakura was a proud, stubborn woman. If they intervened, she would be incredibly angry with them for taking away her victory. This was her chance to prove herself to all those who doubted her. "She is a medic, and so is that Suna–nin. If it looks as though they are being overwhelmed, we will step in. Until then, we shall watch the fight."

And as though she could hear them, Sakura suddenly grabbed a tight hold of the cord coming from within Sasori, yanking it closer to her in a desperate attempt of keeping him away from the Suna–nin. Shisui's eyes narrowed, bleeding into his sharingan. Would this strategy really work? Sakura was a smart girl so surely she wouldn't take such a huge risk? The two kunoichi needed to work together in order to defeat Sasori.

"_Another wasted effort_." Sasori smirked, putting more chakra into the machine coming from within his puppet–body.

His teammates held their breaths and, unknowingly, Shisui did the same when he heard another grunt of pain leave Sakura.

But then she pulled even harder, putting more of her strength into it. There was a deep rage in her eyes as she picked up on the killing intent directed straight for the Suna–nin.

And then a loud growl left Sakura as she gave a final yank on the cord, features absolutely livid and strained with effort as she screamed, "_Shannaro_!"

They were all left stunned.

It was like time slowed down for everyone as she ragged Sasori around the cave like he was nothing, like he was nothing more than a rag doll to her, and Shisui felt his face threaten to reveal how proud he felt of her when Sakura gave one last tug on the cord and clenched her left fist tightly. His sharingan was making sure to store everything to memory, for the sole purpose of wanting Itachi to see how far his little lover had come.

His teammates flinched as her fist smashed into Sasori's wooden stomach, twisting as a last burst of chakra was flooded into her fist and he literally fell to pieces, scattering around the cave.

_Haruno Sakura_, Shisui inwardly smirked proudly, _there could be no one more suited to Itachi than you_.

* * *

"Stay out of this!" Sasuke spat at Naruto, kicking him away from the battle. "Go and find the clay bird with Gaara's body!"

This was _his_ battle. Even Kakashi and Itachi knew that, which was why they were wisely staying out of it.

"Don't underestimate me _or_ my art." Deidara warned him with an annoyed smirk, the both of them looking more than a little roughed up. "My ninjutsu is nothing short of true art, yeah."

* * *

Sakura grunted with pain, a shudder shaking her body and causing her fists to tremble from their clenched position on the katana.

The katana that was currently going straight through her abdomen.

She couldn't breathe. Or think. It hurt too much to do either of those things. However, a part of her (she was certain it was her inner) was screaming at Sakura that she couldn't go out like this, she couldn't just roll over and die. That was not her thing. Squeezing her eyes shut as Sasori tugged on the katana, attempting to yank it out, Sakura tightened her hold on it, thankful that her gloves were stopping her hands from being cut too severely. If that katana was to leave her abdomen, she would bleed out in mere minutes.

"Sakura…"

A painful smile graced her bloody lips. Chiyo. She'd only known the woman for a few moments and already, it felt like she knew her. That was what battling side by side with somebody did to you. It made you learn their characteristics, how they acted and how they fought. If you know how that person fights, how they go on the offensive or defensive, then you know that person.

Realising that it was useless to try and take back his katana, Sasori dropped it and with it, dropped Sakura. She fell to her knees first, trying desperately to stay on them, but the poison was moving through her body too quickly, making it–

The feeling of a pinch on her thigh had fresh apple green eyes widening, had them snapping over to the dark ones staring back at her. Despite being in pain herself, despite also being poisoned, Chiyo looked determined.

"That is useless." Sasori stated calmly. "I hit a vital organ. Either way, the girl will die."

* * *

"Taichou–"

"Wait." Shisui ordered, eyes narrowing on the scene before him and even though his gut was twisting and burning, telling him to intervene and save Sakura, he did not. "Remember her seal."

The seal she was obviously too weak to use right now. It was clear to all of them that Sakura had used pretty much all of her chakra not only during this battle against Sasori, but also whilst travelling to Suna, saving Kankuro, and then travelling to this cave. That wasn't even mentioning the fact that she had been sparring with both Naruto and Sasuke before receiving this mission.

However, even though she wasn't officially labelled as a genius, Sakura was an intelligent girl and only had one rival when it came to medical ninjutsu. That rival was her shishou.

Itachi didn't believe in just anyone. He could see potential in Sakura and so could Shisui. She just needed to jump over the wall that was currently blocking her path.

* * *

"Why?" Sakura gasped, staring down at Chiyo with sad eyes. When the older woman collapsed, she felt her heart skip a beat in fear. "Chiyo–baa–sama!"

"Everyone's choosing death in order to save someone else." the redhead opposite her spoke up, though it sounded more like he was talking to himself. "How stupid."

* * *

"_Die_!"

Shisui felt a cold sweat wash over him as he saw Sasori dart forward with yet another katana, raising it straight at Sakura with deadly precision, whilst she was in too much pain to do anything other than stare in horror. But just as he felt himself about to transport over to her, something happened that had him pausing.

Two puppets rose from the ground with startling speed, slamming into Sasori and impaling his chakra vessel with a katana each of their own.

Something didn't add up about that, though, in Shisui's eyes as they narrowed. That was easily avoidable. There was no way that Sasori was actually caught off guard by such a move? Chiyo, as Sakura had called her, was clearly being affected greatly by the poison coursing through her body and Sakura could barely even move. Why had he allowed himself to be defeated?

However, despite looking as though she was about to pass out any moment, Chiyo shakily sat up, one eye squinting closed as she dragged her body over to Sakura's. Sharingan red and black eyes narrowed even further as a blue chakra enveloped her palms and not even a second later, Shisui was beside the two women, grabbing Chiyo's wrist and stopping all movement.

Medical ninjutsu was green. Whenever Sakura's chakra (on the outside) turned blue, it meant she was on the offensive.

"What are you doing?"

Empty brown eyes gazed up at him before Sasori scoffed, "So you have finally decided to join us, then? I was beginning to wonder what you were all doing just standing up there."

Shisui ignored the criminal and kept his hard eyes on Chiyo's, repeating his question. "What are you doing?"

"Healing her." she replied, weakly tugging her arm free of Shisui's. A second later and her eyes were closing, hands hovering over Sakura's bloody form. "This isn't like other medical ninjutsu, however. I am using my life energy to save her. As Sasori said, it is a vital hit." Dark eyes saddened on Sakura when they reopened. "This is awful. And even though it is my life energy, I must hurry to remove the katana and close the wound."

Blue chakra faded to green, causing Shisui to relax ever so slightly as the woman began to work over Sakura.

* * *

Slamming his fist into the blond's face, Sasuke watched as he fell to the ground, panting hard as lightning continued to run through his body. That had been way too close for his liking. Way, way too close. Kakashi had just made it in time to shock Naruto with lightning, stunning the blond but also keeping him alive, whilst Itachi had used his limited knowledge on lightning jutsu to save himself.

His left arm dangled slightly, aching viciously from overusing many of his lightning jutsu as well as that punch he had just delivered.

"Don't tell me… you…" Deidara scowled. "You noticed?"

Sasuke took a step back, awaiting the next attack. "Yeah. A long time ago. When you fight a sharingan user, it's essential to hide your hand seals. No matter how quickly you form them, these eyes of mine can see right through it all."

"You really did notice… Then that raikiri from earlier was to… _No way_!"

There was an arrogant smirk on Sasuke's lips. "Your element is weak against mine."

Using raikiri on his own body was bound to have several negative effects, however, and Sasuke could feel it already. The agonising burning sensation slowly building, having been numbed by adrenaline. Unfortunately for him, he did not have the Kyuubi residing within him, so did not heal quickly like Naruto would. No doubt Kakashi and Itachi were also experiencing pain, but as Sasuke glanced over his shoulder, he saw that their expressions (from what he could see of Kakashi's) were blank. No pain to see.

_Fuck_, that angered him more than anything!

With the intent of finally finishing the prolonged battle, Sasuke walked forward, but was stopped before he had even gotten halfway by a clay snake wrapping around his ankle. Idiot! Hadn't he just explained all of this to him? No effort was shown as Sasuke sent his lightning throughout his body once more, all shooting down to the clay snake and realising his mistake, Deidara quickly detached it from his hand.

"Bastard." Deidara growled before he was suddenly ripping his shirt off, stunning the Konoha–nin. Why was he stripping? "I was saving this for a more worthy opponent, but it looks like I have no other choice, yeah!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Deidara reached for what looked like stitches on his chest, once more surprising them as he ripped the stitch out in one pull. What the hell was that thing? Another mouth? The Uchiha watched silently as Deidara's back arched, the strength of the mouth on his chest, right over his heart, forcing him to.

"This is my ultimate art." he smirked madly, shoving his hand into his clay pouch. "Now, cower in awe!"

Deidara's hand reached up to the mouth on his chest, feeding it the clay.

"Shout in despair!"

Kakashi's eyes widened, as did Naruto's.

"Cry your heart out!"

The effect the clay was having on Deidara was unusual to say the least, Itachi noticed, tilting his head to the side and calmly watching as his body became see–through. The only thing visible was that mouth on his chest, although it looked more like a face now.

"Because my art… _is an explosion_!"

Naruto quickly grabbed Gaara's body at Kakashi's demand.

"_Katsu!_"

* * *

The violent shaking of the ground had Shisui instinctively tightening his hold on Sakura's waist, sending chakra down to his feet to keep them both standing. She was still rather weak. Chiyo had explained to them that, whilst out of danger, Sakura would still be in pain and not a lot of her chakra had been replenished.

"I'm okay." she croaked to him, sending Shisui a weak glare for babying her. "How's Chiyo–baa–sama?"

Glancing over his shoulder, Shisui had to refrain from grimacing. "My teammates are taking care of her."

That jutsu… Sakura's eyes narrowed on the ground as they continued moving. It hadn't been like any medical jutsu she'd ever seen before. Did Tsunade know of that technique? Probably not, considering Sakura had been pretty much brought back from the dead. If Tsunade had known that such a jutsu existed, she would have used it within a heartbeat for her brother or lover.

"Shisui–taichou, look!"

His head snapped up, already noticing what his teammates were and within a second, his eyes bled from onyx to red. That was where he'd transported Sasuke and Itachi! What the hell was happening over there?

"Chiyo–baa–sama," he called over his shoulder without looking, "would it be safe to transport yourself and Sakura to that location?"

Weakly, the old kunoichi shook her head. "It will have… negative effects… on Sakura."

That did nothing to put off the idea as Sakura looked up at Shisui desperately. "Naruto and Kakashi–sensei are there, aren't they?"

"…Itachi and Sasuke, too."

Her heart stopped. "Transport us."

"Sakura–"

"_Transport us to them_!" she yelled at him, not caring for the pain she was in. "Take me to them so I can heal them!"

Heal them? With an explosion like that… "Sakura, you–"

Already knowing what he was about to say due to the look in his eyes, she narrowed her own and shook her head fiercely at him. "They're not dead."

"How can you be so sure?" one of the members from team Shisui demanded. "Haruno–san, you must not let your emotions get the best of you. We're shinobi."

"Shut up." Sakura retorted coldly. "They're not dead. They're not."

"How can you be so sure?" the same jonin repeated.

It sounded so cheesy and cliché, but Sakura could feel them. Feel _him_. Itachi. He wasn't dead. And as her eyes met Shisui's, as he saw the look in her eyes that was telling him how strongly she believed he wasn't dead, Shisui gave a reluctant sigh.

"I will not transport us all to that area just yet, Sakura–san." he told her firmly, not in the least bit intimidated by the harsh glare his statement received. "The explosion will have an aftershock, one we should most likely attempt to avoid if possible. Whilst that area cools off, we will travel the normal way there and once I'm certain it's okay to transport us all, I will do so. That way you will be at least partly more healed than you are right now."

She bit her lip harshly. "Shisui–"

The arm around her waist tightened for a second, trying to comfort her. "I know, Sakura–san. However, you will be no good to them if you are about to pass out. Try to replenish as much of your chakra as you can to at least summon Katsuyu–sama."

That wouldn't work, Sakura almost told him but kept quiet just in case. Katsuyu would have to use not her own chakra, but Sakura's, to use the jutsu Shisui was most likely thinking of. Basic healing, Katsuyu could probably do by herself. It all depended on how serious their injuries were.

"Let's get moving, then." Shisui ordered to his teammates.

* * *

The damage was terrifying to Sakura. It was heartbreaking.

Everything surrounding them had been destroyed and not a single person was to be seen. No Konoha–nin, no Suna–nin, no Akatsuki member.

Sakura's heart was in her throat as Shisui closed his eyes and focused on the chakra surrounding them, his gut twisting and his heart aching as he did so. If they weren't around, then that could only mean one thing. Shisui hoped that wasn't the case more than anything for two different reasons. One, because obviously, he cared for them. The second was that he would be the one who had to tell Sakura that her precious people would not be coming back to her.

But then a flash of chakra snapped through him, one that was so very familiar to him considering how close they were. It wasn't long until the others popped into his mind.

And not even a second later, a humongous snake appeared in the destroyed clearing. A humongous, dead snake.

Transportation jutsu. But how? Considering this was Sasuke's summon, it would have been him who used the jutsu unless it had been the snake. How–

"Reverse summon." Sakura breathed before pulling out of his hold and darting forward the moment the snake disappeared once more, revealing her precious people. She came to a stop right in front of them all, stunning them with her anger. "Idiots!"

"Sakura–"

"Don't '_Sakura_' me, Kakashi–sensei!" she yelled, hands on her hips. "Look at you all! _Look at Sasuke_! What the hell happened?"

"Take a look at yourself." Sasuke snapped in return, glaring at her. "You look worse off than I do."

Naruto stepped forward slowly, almost like he was afraid to approach Sakura, before giving her a hesitant smile. "I knew you could handle that guy."

And just like that, all anger deflated and Sakura sighed. "I helped Chiyo–baa–sama defeat him, actually."

"We worked as a team, Sakura." Chiyo cackled weakly.

The state of the two kunoichi had Kakashi feeling incredibly guilty. He shouldn't have left them alone to battle Sasori, but what choice had he had? It was either leave the impulsive, close–to–transforming Naruto to fight Deidara (who was hoping to capture him), or leave Sakura with an experienced kunoichi who knew Sasori's technique fairly well. Kakashi had only two options and the one he had chosen, had been the best of the two. However, that did not lessen his guilt when he picked up on how weak Chiyo was, and was continuing to become weaker by the second. It only increased when he noticed the beating his student had taken and the fact that she was covered in blood, bruises and cuts. Her vest looked as though it was barely even holding together!

"Where's…" Chiyo breathed. "Where is the boy?"

The boy? Sakura frowned softly before realisation dawned on her.

Gaara.

Itachi, Sasuke, Kakashi and Naruto each stepped to the sides, revealing Gaara laying down on his back behind them. He looked so peaceful and calm. Almost like he could have been asleep had it not been for the signs of battle on him. Sakura bit the inside of her cheek and her eyebrows knitted together.

"I tried to get him back." Naruto mumbled, also feeling the ache of loss. "But I was too late and–"

"He was dead when we entered the cave, Naruto." Sakura murmured quietly, staring at Gaara's relaxed features. It was still so hard to believe he was actually gone. "Gaara was–"

"Don't say that!" the blond yelled at her, his hand lashing out to the side angrily.

"What am I supposed to say?" she asked him with her own anger obvious. "I'm a medic, Naruto! I'm trained to see these things. I could tell the second I broke down the boulder that Gaara was dead. No heartbeat. No breathing. The blood in his body stilling. His–"

Naruto's fist trembled. "You–"

Somebody coming between the two of them had their argument coming to a stop, had them staring at her with wide eyes. "Learn to accept the truth, Naruto. It will make life much easier." Sighing, Chiyo glanced over her shoulder. "Sakura, do not think that way. Yes you are a medic but do not push yourself the way Suna pushes their young ones. Do not become emotionless to the job. Or detached. Trust me, you will regret it." Chiyo limped forward, body feeling incredibly heavy as she knelt down beside Gaara's body, her eyes watching him carefully. "I was the one who made this boy's life a living hell. I helped make him into what he was. A jinchūriki. This…" she covered her mouth, coughing violently.

"Chiyo–baa–sama!" Sakura's eyes were wide as she went to move forward, though was stopped by Itachi, who placed his hand around her arm. It may have seemed like a simple gesture, but it was much more restraining than it actually appeared. "Let me–"

"Watch, Sakura." was all he said.

Knowing that she didn't have much time, Chiyo decided to get to work quickly. "Sakura… Next time, save the people who are dear to you, not some old hag. You and I are very similar. There aren't many girls as chivalrous as you around. You might become a kunoichi who surpasses her master."

Tears filled Sakura's eyes and the second a blue light began to emit from Chiyo's palms, her heart broke with realisation. Behind her, Shisui and his team were silent, also recognising the technique.

A second later, however, and that blue light was flickering.

She did not have enough chakra or life energy left.

Naruto fell to his knees on Gaara's other side, not understanding just what was happening but innocently and naïvely believing that it was another healing jutsu. He gave a small, hopeful smile and raised his palms. "Use my chakra. I have more than enough and maybe for once it can be used for good."

The old woman smiled gratefully and told him what to do and once Naruto had the hang of it, she continued with her work, taking a few deep breaths before going on with her speech. "I'm happy that someone like you has appeared in the world of shinobi that we foolish old people created. Everything I've ever done was a mistake." Her dark eyes stared down at Gaara, a clear example of her mistakes and the pain that had been caused because of them. "But now, at the end, it looks like I'll finally be able to do the right thing. Suna and Konoha. Their future will be much different than the way things were back in my day. That strange power of yours that Kakashi mentioned… That power will have a strong influence on the future. Become a Hokage like none before you."

It was silent for a moment before Naruto grinned and nodded once. "Yeah!"

Chiyo chuckled at his personality, his innocence and naïvety.

"Naruto… a request from an old woman. You are the only one who knows Gaara's pain… Gaara also knows your pain. Please, save Gaara."

Of course he'd save Gaara!

It was with that thought that he felt a tug, that he felt his chakra clashing with Gaara's.

It was time to bring him back!

* * *

It would be a lie if Sakura said that she was not in pain. Yes, it was such a relieving feeling seeing Gaara up and walking around – not exactly walking since he needed help with that for now, but whatever – but it also hurt because such a strong–willed kunoichi had selflessly given her life.

Chiyo might not have always made the right decisions and had caused a great deal of pain to others, but she had been a mother who lost her child. She'd had to look her grandson in the eye every day and lie to him about his parents returning. It had been her love for Sasori that pushed her to keep lying, to keep telling him that they were simply away on missions. Well, love and cowardice. She hadn't wanted to hurt him or cause him distress. And in the end, even after all the pain and torture Sasori had caused, she still loved him.

She had even told Sakura whilst healing her that it had been Chiyo's dream to bring life to those puppets Sasori had created in his parents' image, wanting to bring them back to him. Even if it cost her, her own life.

In a way of repentance, she had instead given her life for Gaara.

"Sakura?"

Oh, did Sakura mention that she was currently pissed at Itachi? No? Well, she was.

"I'm still mad at you." she said stubbornly, not even glancing up at Itachi as he entered their room. After a moment, Sakura finally looked up at him. "You should have told me."

"There was nothing to tell."

He wasn't helping himself, her inner persona screamed inside of her mind whilst Sakura barely restrained the urge to do so herself. "Nothing to tell?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow. "You think going up against not one or two, but _four_ Akatsuki members was nothing to tell me about?"

Itachi remained stoic, staring her down. "It was a highly classified mission, Sakura. You shouldn't even know this much about it."

Well it was nice to know what his priorities were and where they lied. "Right."

Nothing more was said, making Itachi fight the urge to narrow his eyes suspiciously. That was it?

No, it wasn't.

"Don't feel like you can't talk to me, Itachi." she sighed, rubbing her temples. "You said we were in this together, as equals. Keeping things from each other isn't… It's not what partners do."

"If I had told you, you would have never allowed the mission–"

"If it was for the good of the village, no matter how against it I am, I would have allowed it. I just…" Sakura paused and looked up at him again, frowning. "I would have asked you to take me with you. Four Akatsuki members, Itachi. _Four_. What if you were fatally wounded? You lost your entire team." Her features dropped as well as her stomach. "You lost your team."

Yes, he had, although Itachi couldn't understand why she seemed so heartbroken for him. They were great shinobi, there was no doubt about it, but he wasn't taking the loss that greatly. It was a shame for the village to lose their services as shinobi, but him? Not really. "I did."

But Sakura knew why Itachi seemed so uncaring about it. She knew why he didn't understand why _she_ was upset. Why was Sakura upset? For him. Since he couldn't experience those emotions himself due to the way he was brought up, Sakura would experience them for him. In a way, it reminded her of Sai, although certainly not as extreme as that. Whilst Sai had been brainwashed, Itachi had… It was more like he had forgotten how to feel certain things. He merely classed them as reactions.

It was only when Sakura shuffled over that Itachi sat beside her on the bed, leaning back against the wall.

Personally, he didn't like Suna. He could withstand a lot of things and the heat was one of them, but sand was not. Itachi didn't like how it got everywhere, even if you didn't go outside. It got in his sandals, in his hair, down his clothes, in his eyes and mouth when it was windy – and it was _always_ windy in Suna. What had to be the most painful was getting it in his eyes, though. Those with eyes such as his own (either the sharingan, byakugan or anything such as those), had highly sensitive eyes that should be handled carefully and with precaution. It was a troublesome weakness, but it was a weakness nonetheless.

"You fought well today."

Her insides melted. Damned Uchiha knew what to do and what to say to get that reaction! "You saw?"

"Shisui showed me his memories."

Of course he had. Why wasn't Sakura surprised? "I made a few mistakes…"

"Have you learnt from them?" he asked, glancing down at her and when Sakura nodded, Itachi gave her a smile. "Then do not worry so much about them, Sakura. By learning from your mistakes, you know what not to do should it happen again."

"What about Deidara? Naruto said that Sasuke–kun fought him, but why didn't you? You could have just used your–"

"I allowed Sasuke to defeat Deidara because I knew he could do it. Deidara was a strong shinobi, but Sasuke is more powerful. He is only continuing to become more powerful with opponents such as Deidara."

Sakura leaned against Itachi and closed her eyes, still tired from her battle. It had taken her a few hours after returning to Suna to actually have a shower! "So what happens now? Are we staying in Suna for the night and returning to Konoha tomorrow?"

Noticing how tired his lover was, Itachi shifted her until Sakura was laying down on her side before laying down behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "That is what I was discussing with Hokage–sama via my crow." he told her quietly, his smooth voice and comforting embrace lulling her to sleep. "Despite our services possibly being needed elsewhere, due to the alliance, she has ordered us to stay in Suna and help protect the village whilst it is being rebuilt."

Only half aware, Sakura nodded. "That's a rather big debt."

It was and it would definitely be one Konoha would cash in on should they ever need to. "It is." he pressed his lips to her jaw. "Sleep, Sakura. You have had a long day."

She did just that.

* * *

It was only five hours later when Itachi felt the bed shift as Sakura turned around to face him, groaning into his neck when she did so. It was Sakura waking up that woke him up, too.

"Sakura?"

"Gaara's summoning me." she murmured quietly, pressing a kiss to his neck. "I won't be long."

Itachi opened his eyes languidly, glancing down at Sakura. "How is he summoning you?"

Instead of answering vocally, she gently touched his arm, the sand in the palm of her hand rubbing against his wrist uncomfortably. After a few seconds, Sakura groaned and pulled herself out of the warmth of Itachi's embrace, reluctantly meeting the cold air of the night. In the desert, it was always freezing during the night.

Turning so he was now laying on his back, Itachi sighed. "Does he not know that you need sleep?"

Sakura bit her lip, looking over her shoulder at Itachi as she got dressed. "He died yesterday, Itachi. And Shukaku has been extracted from him. He's not calling me for a quickie – Gaara needs somebody to talk to, or to simply be in the presence of somebody who has his full trust. I've… I've always been the one who listens to him, even if it's this time of morning. That's why Gaara summons me with his sand instead of just turning up."

"In case you are not decent."

It wasn't a question, but Sakura nodded anyway and once again joined him in bed when she was fully dressed. "You don't mind if I go to him, do you? Gaara's head has to be all over the place right now. I need to be there for my friend."

Yes, he did mind. He minded a lot. Sakura and Gaara were once lovers – with an intense heat between them, might he add. Itachi didn't want anything to happen. Then again, he trusted Sakura. She was not somebody who was unfaithful and she loved him. So what if Itachi didn't fully trust Sabaku no Gaara? He didn't have to, because he trusted Sakura.

All of this went through his mind in two seconds.

"No, I do not mind." Itachi cupped her cheek and brought Sakura closer to him, kissing her tenderly. "Try not to take too long, however, as you still need to rest."

Sakura smiled softly and returned the kiss. "I know, I know."

* * *

It was around three in the morning when she found him sitting alone in his office. According to Temari (earlier that day) he had asked to be left alone for a short while. It was probably why he was only just summoning her.

He didn't look up as Sakura entered his office, as she shut the door behind her. However, Gaara stood up when she made her way over to him and the second his arms opened for her, she collapsed against his chest, trembling as she held back her cries.

"You were dead." she sobbed, tightening her hold on him. "Dead. I thought… thought I'd lost you!"

"I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry." Sakura chuckled humourlessly, burying her face into his chest. "I'm so proud of you for protecting Suna the way you did, proving that you are more than capable of being their Kazekage." He pulled back, staring down at her with wide eyes. "But I was so scared, Gaara. We may not be together anymore but you're still precious to me. You can't be with somebody for so long without feeling _something_ for them, after all."

His eyes saddened. "Sakura…"

She shook her head with a smile. "Just don't scare me like that! I think of you as one of my friends, one of my closest and dearest friends!"

The corners of his lips pulled upwards, a small smile being directed down at her. "And I, you."

"How do you feel? Do you need me to–"

"I am fine, Sakura." his smile grew slightly. "You do not need to worry about me."

"Are you sure? Because I don't mind checking you–"

"Sakura." She paused, looking up at him uncertainly. "I will be fine. It may take a while to get used to Shukaku being… gone, but I will be fine." a teasing edge entered his voice, one she knew for a fact that only very few heard. "You should go and check on Uchiha."

Frowning in confusion, Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "Why do I need to check on Sasuke–kun? I've already healed him and if he knows what's good for him, he should be resting right now."

He raised a non–existent eyebrow. "You know that is not who I meant."

A blush had her cheeks glowing pink. No, Gaara was not telling her to leave him alone. This was his way of asking about her new relationship, as he probably couldn't find the words. "How do you know about that? I didn't think gossip travelled all the way from Konoha to Suna – unless it involved you, of course."

"Naruto told me."

"I'm sorry," Sakura grimaced, "you shouldn't have heard it from him."

"Don't apologise for finally being happy, Sakura." Gaara told her softly, quietly. It was the voice he had almost always used for her when they were alone. "I will admit that it was quite a shock to hear that you are now romantically involved with Uchiha Itachi, but Naruto told me that you, in his words, 'have a thing for powerful men'."

She seriously wished that people would stop saying that. It made her sound like she was some sort of power–hungry whore. "And… You're okay with that?"

The Kazekage sighed and pulled away, sitting back in his seat. Only a second later and Sakura was shuffling onto his desk and getting into a comfortable position. It didn't bother him like it used to. Instead of worrying that she may knock the paperwork over, Gaara instead focused on how endearing the action was and how comfortable she looked in his presence. Not many did. "Our relationship was not healthy, Sakura. Yes, there are days when I miss having you with me and there are even some where I wish I made more of an effort to… to make you mine. Officially mine."

Sakura's breath caught. "You mean marriage?"

He nodded once, his features blank once more. "However, like I said, our relationship was not healthy. We depended on each other too much, so much so that it had been difficult for the both of us to adjust to going back to being just friends. That isn't even mentioning the fact that I was hardly the greatest lover." When Sakura opened her mouth, about to argue, Gaara cut her off. "I don't mean sexually. I mean emotionally and mentally. I was possessive and territorial. In a way, I bullied you, Sakura. And I was weighing you down with my problems."

This time, it was Sakura who sighed. "Not once have I ever thought that you bullied me, Gaara. Never. I admit that your mood swings were more than a little unstable and once or twice, you really scared me, but not so much that I'd say you bullied me. You can't help being who you are. Shukaku was a part of you back then and you were still learning how to control him fully. Remember that and don't you ever dare feel guilty. You made me happy, Gaara."

Gaara gave her a small smile. "I made you happy?"

Seeing the warmth in his eyes made Sakura smile, too. "You did. When I could turn to no one else, you were there. Even if it was at a ridiculous time, you'd comfort me!"

That was because he wasn't allowed to sleep. Wait, he was allowed to now. Or was he? Gaara fought back his frown. "There is another reason as to why I summoned you, Sakura."

"I know."

Of course she did. "During your stay here, I wish for you to help me."

"With…?"

He scowled at her. Only Sakura would force him to be more open with his words. One time Gaara had ordered her to do something and she'd flat out refused to do it unless he 'asked nicely'. That had definitely been a new experience to Gaara, who had then gone on to do as she said. "Coping. Adjusting. There are many things that I'm unsure of."

"Sure." Sakura gave him another smile. "I'm not too sure on how long we'll be here for, but I'll do everything I possibly can to help you."

Once again, Gaara gave her another smile. "Thank you, Sakura."

* * *

**A/N – Merry Christmas!**

**I'm now off hiatus, by the way! Oh and because I've just finished my DBZ story, I decided to start posting my next ItaSaku story! If you have the time, please go and check it out. It's called _Setting Sun_ :-)**

**Oh, and is there anything in particular you want to see in this story? I can't remember whether or not I've already asked that question, but yeah. If there's anything you want to see happen, tell me!**

**I hope you all have an amazing Christmas!**


	25. On The Move

**Chapter 24 – On The Move**

It felt like such a relief when they finally returned to the village. How long had it been? Five months? For one of those months, they had been ordered to help Suna. Sakura helped in the hospital as well as Gaara, whilst the others helped protect the village and those with water jutsu produced water for them all. It was exhausting, but somebody had to do it and they never complained once. Then, they were back at the border.

This time, it had been more relaxed, which made them all extremely wary. Where were all the Iwa–nin? What were they plotting now?

It was safe to say that it was good to be home, where they could relax – even if it was for only five minutes. There definitely was no place like home.

"Camp four!"

Such a large group travelling together was unusual, so they showed no surprise when they glanced at the chunin stationed at the gates of Konoha. Izumo and Kotetsu. Sakura had been away for so long that it was actually a relief seeing their faces. But then she realised something about the pair who always seemed to be together. They were pale, visibly shaken. Something bad had happened.

"What happened?" Itachi asked in his ever–smooth, blank voice. The tone of authority in his voice was not missed.

Kotetsu opened his mouth, about to tell them, however, no words would form on his lips. They seemed to get stuck in his throat. Sakura's stomach curled with unease. What could have happened now? They'd only just got back!

Noticing that his partner wasn't capable of saying the words, Izumo did instead. "It's good to have you all home. You made it just in time."

"Just in time?" Naruto questioned, his brows brows furrowing.

Shisui exchanged a glance with Itachi and Kakashi, all feeling confused yet showing nothing. "In time for what?" the oldest Uchiha asked.

"The funeral." Izumo sighed.

"What funeral?" Sakura demanded, her eyes widening and heart palpitating with pure fear. "_Who_–"

"Asuma–sensei."

The voice and name had her tensing, had Sakura growing just as pale as the two chunin, before her head was snapping to the side and she was looking at Ino. _Truly_ seeing Ino for the first time in what felt like forever. All hair was off her face, not a single bit of make up being worn, and her eyes were bloodshot, tears stains down her cheeks. Even then, as blue eyes met with green, there were tears filling them, her bottom lip was trembling and dimples were forming in her chin.

"Asuma–sensei."

Sakura moved forward without a word, forgetting about the fight they had had and the fact that it hadn't yet been resolved. That no longer mattered. And when Ino was in her arms, it was heartbreaking the way she broke down in front of them all, allowing herself to be vulnerable in such an open area. She clung to Sakura desperately, her entire body trembling. Sakura bit down on her lip, tightening her hold on the blonde.

What she was experiencing… It had to be pure agony. Sakura wasn't even sure how she would react if she one day received the news that Kakashi had died. It would break her heart. The jonin were like second parents to them, even though they'd never outwardly admit it to them for fear of their lives.

"H–How?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi was in shock. Another one of his friends… They were gone. And he wasn't too sure on what to do with himself. Eyebrows knitting together, he glanced down at Ino. "Ino, where is Kurenai?"

Only Itachi noticed the way Shisui tensed, the way his eyes threatened to widen a fraction. It seemed that, even after all these years, even after saying that he had let the woman go, Shisui still harboured some feelings for her.

The blonde lifted her head from Sakura's neck, still refusing to let her go or be let go. "W–With Shikamaru… She… He didn't want to l–leave her alone." her features suddenly fell once more. "Y–You know? About them, I mean."

Beneath his mask, Kakashi gave a saddened smile. "They thought they were being discreet, but not a lot gets by me. I could see it clearly in Asuma's eyes. He loved Kurenai."

That was when Ino began sobbing again. Sakura glanced over her shoulder at the teams, who were all simply too stunned to say anything. Even Rock Lee and Gai were unusually quiet. "Kakashi–sensei, is it okay if I'm excused from debriefing? It's not professional of me, I know, but Ino…"

Since she was in his team still, Kakashi was the one who was in charge of her. If she had been in Itachi's or Shisui's team, then they would have been in charge of her. "Do what you must, Sakura. Just make sure you meet with Tsunade–sama after."

"Thank you, sensei." she gave a small smile before once more looking at Ino, cupping her cheeks and forcing her to make eye contact. "Oi, we're going back to my place so you can get cleaned up. You look a mess, pig."

She gave a weak glare. "Shut it, forehead."

In return, Sakura gave a hopeful smile. "Does this mean I'm forgiven for our stupid fight?"

Instead of her usual cocky and arrogant retort, Ino deflated completed. "Life's too short for stupid fights like those, forehead." there was a pause, one where she looked at Sakura with obvious exhaustion. "There's nothing to forgive you for."

"Come on," Sakura sighed, keeping one arm over Ino's shoulders as she guided her in the direction of her apartment, "I'll make you your favourite drink, too."

There was a tired and weak laugh.

* * *

"I held him… as he died." she whispered, her voice hoarse and scarily as blank as her features as Ino stared down at the coffee table. "We all did."

She had just explained to Sakura everything that had happened, had told her who had defeated Asuma. Akatsuki. They were closing in fast, weren't they? Apparently it had been rather personal to Asuma – why he wanted to take the two Akatsuki members out, she meant. They had murdered his friend, completely destroyed a place of peace and worship. It hadn't been out of revenge, however, Ino had whimpered. It was because they had stolen Asuma's friend's body in hopes of cashing in on the large bounty over his head.

"I tried to save him. I tried so hard. But… Asuma knew…"

That was the hardest part about being a medic. When not only yourself knew that you wouldn't be able to save your patient, but the patient also knew. It was the look that would enter their eyes, the defeat, yet the acceptance. Sadness, regret, hatred and anger! Oh Sakura had seen it all over the years and once or twice, when the patient had been angry with her for being unable to save them, it had brought her to tears.

However, medics were not magicians. That was something Tsunade had told her over and over again for Sakura's sanity.

"You tried your best to save him, Ino. I know you and I know that you would have tried everything, even if it left you half dead."

Slowly, Ino gave her a single nod. "It's weird, you know? Even though I literally felt his life leaving him… I just… I can't believe he's really gone." she closed her blue eyes, taking a deep breath to try and stay calm. "You know how it feels. When you look at your sensei, I mean. You expect them to always be there, to have your back. Even though he doesn't seem like he does, Kakashi–sensei still has yours, Sasuke's and Naruto's. I just…" once more, tears were filling her eyes, "I keep expecting Asuma–sensei to be there. It _feels_ like he's still here."

Just as Sakura was about to say something, Ino cut her off. "I don't mean some freaky, paranormal bullshit. I mean… It's hard to explain. It feels like part of him is still here." another sigh. "I'm mentally connected to all of my team and sometimes, they don't know how strong that connection can be. That's how I found out about Asuma–sensei and Kurenai–sensei. He felt _so strongly_ about her. I…" she shook her head. "I feel like part of him is here, and I don't know how that can be."

And then it struck Sakura.

Was Kurenai pregnant?

If they were lovers, and Ino could feel a part of Asuma lingering about the village, was it possible that it was lingering around Kurenai? It shouldn't even be possible – but a lot of things weren't supposed to be.

Instead of saying anything in fear of getting Ino's hopes up, Sakura nodded understandingly. "When Aiko–chan died…" Ino's eyes snapped to Sakura's quickly, widening with surprise since the topic of Aiko had always been forbidden. It had always made Sakura too sad to talk about. "It sounds crazy," Sakura smiled sheepishly, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear restlessly, "but I could still hear her. Around camp. When I was trying to sleep at night. Sometimes I still do. It's like she's haunting me."

"Do you mind if I look?" Ino asked (which surprised Sakura greatly as she would usually just do it), a frown settling on her features. "Hearing things… Are you sure it's not just your inner messing with your head?"

Those memories, though… Sakura pulled a face. Those memories were private. They belonged to her and Aiko. However, there was nobody who knew her better than Ino.

"I won't judge you, if that's what you're worried about." the blonde added softly. "I just want to make sure nothing more serious is going on up in that big ass forehead of yours."

"Always so caring and sweet." Sakura rolled her eyes, before eventually nodding. "Just… Try to stay out of the most private stuff, if you can."

"You know that's not how it works."

Seeing that Ino was looking unimpressed with her, she sighed. Of course she already knew that that was not how it worked. Since when was anything as simple as that? No, to access Sakura's thoughts, Ino had to delve deep. That meant there was a possibility of her seeing something she wasn't supposed to. Was that okay with her? No, not entirely, because there were a lot of private things that should never leave her head. However, Sakura knew that she could trust her best friend. Ino could be a total bitch at times and could be cunning and downright evil, but she wasn't a backstabber. She was loyal and looked out for her friends.

After a moment of silence, Sakura gave her a serious look. "If you see anything you're not supposed to, leave it immediately. There's some really personal stuff in here, Ino."

Itachi.

Despite wanting to know all the juicy details, Ino nodded in agreement. "If I even try to keep watching, we both know that your inner will just come to your defence."

True.

Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, as it was always rather draining having somebody go through your mind, Sakura gave Ino the final nod and shut her eyes once a hand was pressed to her forehead. Thankfully, there was no snide remark about how Ino could almost fit her entire hand on Sakura's forehead this time.

"You ready?"

"Just get it over with, pig."

Finally shutting her eyes, Ino breathed out the name of her jutsu and suddenly, it felt like she was floating. Her mind had left her own body, leaving her to relax ever so slightly. This wasn't like the mind switch, however, so she didn't collapse completely and was not left totally vulnerable.

The feeling that hit her the moment she entered Sakura's mind was overwhelming.

Failure.

Sakura felt like a failure.

It was crushing seeing all of the memories flashing through her mind, seeing everything from Sakura's point of view. Watching how she looked at herself in the mirror, how she criticised her looks, was painful. Feeling how much her team meant to her, how much she depended on their love, was both heart warming and sad. Seeing how much she looked up to Tsunade, like the woman was a second mother to her, was amazing. Then, they moved onto the hospital work and how it effected Sakura. How she felt after saving somebody's life, or losing it. How she felt so drained after a long day, yet felt so rewarded for all of the good she had done, like she was making up for all the lives she had taken out on the battlefield.

But then that was when Ino reached the base camp. It held a much darker feeling to it than Ino had ever thought Sakura possible of feeling. Yes, she could be rather down sometimes, but never like this. This was… It was terrifying. The entire time she was there, it felt like Sakura could just about function. It felt like she was slowly drowning and once more, Ino could feel that Sakura felt like a failure. A failure because she had failed to keep her promise, failed at her ninja way.

And then Ino saw her. The small girl bouncing around base camp four with a bright smile that rivalled Naruto's. She looked so happy! Despite knowing the dangers, Aiko looked so very happy and that happiness and warmth in her brown eyes only increased as she turned to Sakura. They were speaking about something and as Ino caught onto the words, her heart melted. Flowers. Sakura was teaching her everything she had been taught by the blonde.

When somebody else entered her thoughts, Ino raised an eyebrow with a smirk on her lips. Itachi, huh? The thoughts Sakura was having of the Uchiha were scandalous to say the least, especially when she barged into his room without knocking and caught him getting changed.

"_Ino…_"

A cold chill ran through her body.

Inner–Sakura.

That meant it was time to move on! Focusing once more, Ino moved onto the next memory, but she almost wished that she hadn't.

Aiko was dying in Sakura's arms.

Unknowingly, tears slipped down Ino's cheeks on her physical body. It was beautifully painful. Seeing the peaceful smile on Aiko's face, hearing the gentle words being sung to her by Sakura, having a close presence radiating comfort… It was agonising, but in a beautiful way.

Realising that everything after that would be dark and very personal to Sakura, Ino once again moved on, skimming over the next few memories and reluctantly not stopping when she saw a certain one. Sakura and Itachi's first kiss, leading to their first time together. Damn! Ino hadn't thought that Sakura would have it in her to make a move first. Sure, Itachi had kissed her – rather heatedly – first, but it was Sakura who made the first move in making it more than that. Granted, she was in pain and wanted that pain to be numbed, but that wasn't why she had gone to Itachi. Ino could feel everything Sakura felt at that moment in time even though she was only skimming through that memory.

It wasn't only because Sakura was horny and wanted her pain to be numbed. She went to Itachi because he made her feel safe and special, because just being in his presence comforted her greatly. And the way he held her every single night, the way he chased away her bad dreams, was enough to make Ino jealous, although she would obviously never admit it to Sakura.

Anyway! Where was she?

Oh, right. Returning to base camp four…

And Sakura was right.

Aiko was there. She was everywhere! In the field with hundreds of flowers, in team seven's cabin, by the campfire… But it wasn't in a scary way. Sure, it was painful and made Sakura feel great regret and hurt, but it wasn't scary. Aiko looked at peace and content. She was happy with merely sitting by them all – especially Sakura.

But it was still worrying that Sakura was seeing her.

It wasn't her inner's doing, as Inner–Sakura seemed just as unsure and concerned as Ino was (no doubt because she didn't want to go insane). So what was it? A mental disorder? Was it only temporary, or permanent? Could it possibly be post traumatic stress? With a much more noticeable frown, Ino delved deeper, her hand twitching ever so slightly on Sakura's forehead due to her limited chakra supply. She still hadn't fully recuperated from her battle.

A knock on the front door went unnoticed, as did the opening of it.

Apparently it was only when Sakura was feeling relaxed that she saw Aiko around camp, feeling the same. However, when there was an attack and she felt on edge, that was when it got scary. That was when she truly heard Aiko, instead of only the girl laughing. Bloodcurdling screams, terrified and pained whimpers, whispers of not wanting to die…

And Itachi held her and comforted her through it all, waiting with her until the worst of it had passed.

Just as she felt, through Sakura's point of view, Itachi brushing his lips to her ear and whispering something, somebody spoke up on the outside world, making both women jump before Ino was carefully leaving Sakura's mind.

"What are you doing?"

"Idiot!" Ino snapped, glaring viciously up at Naruto, but then her eyes widened as she noticed everyone else was there, too. "Don't you all know how fragile the mind is? Sneaking up on us like that–"

"Shinobi should always be aware of their surroundings." Sasuke's eyes narrowed on Sakura's. "You know that."

He was scolding her, Sakura thought with a sigh. Since she deserved it, however, for letting her guard down by so much, Sakura did not argue and instead nodded. "Ino just wanted to see something."

"See what?" Kakashi questioned, his single eye narrowing with hidden concern.

Of course, Kakashi already knew of Sakura's inner persona. Was it becoming more of an issue for his former–student? Was Ino trying to help with it? There was always that little nagging voice in the back of his mind, the one that was reminding him whenever Sakura lost her temper that something was wrong. No, no. Not wrong. It was more like a sign that her inner persona was merging more with her actual self. Kakashi sighed, resisting the urge to rub at his temple. Today was simply a difficult day for them all, an example of that would be the fact that his thoughts were a lot slower than usual. A few too many drinks and a long, uninterrupted sleep would help him slightly.

Glancing back to Sakura, Ino regarded her for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "Nothing that's worth bringing up now."

Naruto glared. "Then why–"

"If it was important, Naruto–kun, then surely we would be informed." Shisui told him calmly.

As the blond growled with anger and replied, Sakura looked up at the set of eyes that were fixed on her the most intensely. It didn't surprise her, however, how his eyes only seemed intense to her. They always had. And seeing the question that was so very obvious to her in Itachi's eyes, seeing the demand, had her inwardly sighing. As Ino had already seen, Itachi knew all about her panic attacks and possible post traumatic stress (as it would explain so much to him), but he did not know about Sakura actually _seeing_ Aiko. She hadn't wanted to worry him.

It made her seem like such a hypocrite, considering what she had told Itachi back in Suna, about not keeping things from her. Why? Well, it was basically what she was doing right now. Keeping things from him.

"Why have you all come back here, anyway?" Ino demanded as she changed the subject, standing up and placing her clenched fists onto her hips. "This was supposed to be _private_. Just me and Sakura!"

Sasuke simply raised a brow. "Why do you want to be alone with her so much?"

Naruto, catching onto his thoughts, smirked wickedly. "Wow, Ino, do you have a thing for Sakura–chan?"

Oh this was like something from a dream! Was it true? "A thing?" Kakashi asked with a slight lilt to his voice. "And just what would this _thing_ be?"

Shisui looked to his friend, inwardly smirking at the look that flashed through Itachi's eyes. "Yamanaka–san, your teammates are looking for you."

It would probably be best to have her leave before Itachi got territorial or possessive. Scarily smart, yes. Good sense of humour and capable of taking a joke? Not really. One time the Uchiha had heard somebody joking around, saying how they would "love to take the Uchiha Matriarch over the Hokage's desk". That conversation hadn't progressed further due to the fact a fourteen year old Itachi had had the thirty–something year old man pinned against a wall in a secluded alleyway before the man had even blinked. Yes, it had been utterly disrespectful of the man to say such things and yes, in a way, Itachi had had every right to react the way he had (at the end of the day, the kid had only been fourteen years old). However, the other man was still a Konoha–nin and like all others, he must unfortunately be unharmed. It was safe to say that he never made his lust for Uchiha Mikoto known since, though. Just staring into the stone cold face of the prodigy to the Uchiha Clan had silenced all of those impure thoughts.

"Suppose I should go." Ino said rather reluctantly, the reminder of what was happening shortly very unwelcome as it brought back the pain in her heart. "Find me later, Sakura. I'm not done with you."

"Sakura already has plans."

All eyes immediately snapped to Itachi's face.

"Itachi–"

"Don't worry so much, Ino!" Sakura smiled at the blonde, standing up and smoothing out her standard–issue sweatshirt. "You need to rest tonight and stay with your teammates. Shikamaru and Choji need you."

It was true, though. She and Itachi _did_ have plans. Ones that actually involved his parents, so it wasn't like Sakura could cancel on them. Yes, her best friend was grieving right now and she wanted nothing more than to be there for Ino, but the blonde had to be with her teammates. She was the one who held them all together, who was strong enough for them all! Not physically, of course. But emotionally and mentally.

"Of course they need me." blue eyes rolled, a small and playful smirk on her lips as Ino brushed her hair from her shoulder. "Who doesn't?"

Sasuke bit his tongue and also forced Naruto not to say anything. Unfortunately for them, Shisui noticed and sent them a knowing smirk to let them know that he knew.

Before Ino could leave, however, Sakura pulled her into another comforting hug, keeping her close. "I'll come and find you in the morning." she told her. "Unless you want to come by here? Say about eleven?"

A deep breath was taken before there was a reply. Clearly, with nothing left to focus on, emotions were taking over again. "Yeah. I'll come by here. You better be dressed though, Sakura. Seeing you and Itachi in the nude will probably scar me for life." another pause. "Well, maybe not Itachi…"

"Time for you to go!"

Sakura gave her a forced smile, but Ino could see the laughter in her eyes as she was practically shoved out the door. She herself had a wide smirk on her lips until the door shut behind her and Ino leaned back against it, closing her eyes with a sigh.

Teammates.

Shikamaru and Choji.

They would need her to be strong for them and together, they would grieve. Perhaps Sakura was not the best person to go to, as she obviously didn't know Asuma the way Ino and her team had. That didn't mean Sakura would not be taking the brunt of her grief, because knowing that woman, she'd take it even if Ino wasn't trying to shove all her problems and hurt onto her. That was just who Sakura was.

Reopening her eyes, Ino pushed away from the door and began to make her way to Choji's, as it was closer.

* * *

"It was a joke, Itachi." Shisui smirked.

Silence.

"That was kind of rude how you–"

Sasuke cut Naruto off with a roll of his eyes. "Shut up, dobe. She's meeting our parents tonight as Itachi's official partner." already knowing what was about to be said, he once again cut the Uzumaki off. "Previously, she was introduced as my teammate. Tonight she will be introduced as Itachi's chosen partner."

"Chosen partner." Kakashi said thoughtfully before his single eye languidly swept over to Itachi's. "Does Sakura know about this?"

"I plan on telling her tonight."

"You mean ask her." the Copy–Nin corrected. "She won't appreciate it if you _tell_ her that you have chosen her to be your life partner."

"She doesn't appreciate being discussed like she's a pet cat."

All men tensed at the dangerous tone of Sakura's voice.

Itachi merely sighed. "Sakura, do you mind being introduced as my chosen partner tonight?"

"Not at all." just as the others stared in shock of how short and simple their conversation was, Sakura gave Itachi an unimpressed look. "Just so you know, Uchiha Itachi, this isn't a marriage proposal and if you ever _do_ ask me to marry you, it better not be as casual as that was. I want romance and I mean _big_ romance. The sort that will make me weak at the knees and all other women jealous."

"Then you don't accept being his chosen partner?" Sasuke asked with a scowl.

"I accept to being courted."

"What–"

"Itachi, perhaps it would be best to have this conversation in private?" Shisui sighed, making a mental note to give Itachi more advice on relationships. It wasn't his fault, though, and Shisui knew it. He himself had had to go through the same things as Itachi, right down to the part where they were forced to ignore their emotions and eventually forgetting them. However, he'd had someone to make sure he never truly forgot about them and whilst Itachi had had Shisui, he'd also had to live with Fugaku, who had pushed him hard. He had been brought up to be confident, brutal and straight to the point. None of that beating around the bush nonsense that other males often did. However, that did not mean that Itachi wasn't cryptic, as he was one of the most cryptic bastards Shisui had ever met. That was just part of who he was. "This is something that should be discussed only by the two of you."

Nodding once, Itachi glanced at Sakura. "We will discuss this later."

Shisui resisted the urge to slap his forehead.

"_Ask_, Itachi." Naruto laughed hard, clutching his stomach. "You need to ask, Sakura–chan. Not tell her."

"Stop picking on him!" Sakura rolled her eyes, noticing a twitch in Itachi's eyebrow that indicated he was getting annoyed. "I like how Itachi is learning about relationships as we go, because I am, too."

That had him relaxing.

"Anyway, what do you all want?" she asked, the unimpressed look returning. "Like Ino said, that was supposed to be private. She needed comforting."

"It's about the situation with Iwa." Kakashi sighed and he almost wished that he could remove his mask, as all of a sudden he felt rather claustrophobic. "There's a possibility of an invasion."

Sakura was silent for a moment, absorbing the news before she was shaking her head with annoyance. "They won't win. Konoha is much more powerful than Iwa, so why are they taking the risk?"

It was Sasuke who answered, his features, eyes and voice equally blank. "Because that's how badly they want me dead."

Team seven all exchanged glances with one another, their eyebrows furrowing as a heavy feeling weighed down on each one of them. It wasn't until Naruto patted Sakura's shoulder that she realised how emotional she was getting about it and it wasn't until he spoke up that she shifted those emotions into nothing but anger.

"Then they'll have to go through us first!" Naruto exclaimed. "You can't kill one member of team seven without killing the rest of us! That's not how it works with us."

As Naruto continued with his speech, Shisui sighed and glanced at Itachi. "Is it confusing you as much as it is myself?"

The younger Uchiha nodded once, his features set into a hard, expressionless mask.

"It's like Naruto–kun said, though." Shisui added, following Itachi's eyes. He was watching Sasuke – more like staring at Sasuke's eyes, as though he was trying to work something out. Shisui didn't doubt that he was. His friend had filled him in on the block in Sasuke's eyes. That confused them just as much as Iwa's accusations. "The Tsuchikage will have to go through us to get to him and we have all heard of how weak he is."

Of course he was. The Tsuchikage had let himself go and was now nothing more than an old man with a constant, crippling backache. That was why he rarely ever left Iwa and instead sent people out to do his dirty work. Granted, not many Kage left their village, but the Tsuchikage hadn't left his in at least a decade.

"It doesn't matter whether or not he is weak." Itachi murmured, continuing to watch his younger brother interact with the other members of team seven. "I will not allow Sasuke to die, no matter what the cost."

* * *

The funeral had been painful.

Walking through the rain around the village, he glanced up at the dark sky.

Everybody had been sad (obviously), though that wasn't what had bothered him the most. It had been the three shinobi standing right at the front. Shikamaru hadn't even been able to face the funeral, still utterly broken up about the loss of such an honourable man, of his sensei. Ino and Choji had still gone and the blonde had done her best to comfort the lover of Asuma. The woman had had none of it though. She had simply stared at the picture of Asuma with a heartbreaking expression.

Kurenai.

The feelings he had for her had been somewhat easy to ignore for a while. Not disappearing or fading away, but easy to put aside when Shisui saw how happy she was with Asuma. That man was the love of her life, and who was he to get in the way of that? Or, at least, try to? Shisui inwardly smiled sadly and shook his head. There had been no getting in the way of that relationship, or their love. Even if he was an Uchiha, even if he was a prodigy and had so many things going for him…

He was not Sarutobi Asuma.

As Shisui's eyes dropped from the sky, they fell onto the Hokage Monument. Naruto had been going on about becoming Hokage earlier, saying something along the lines of "how can I become Hokage, if I can't even save my friend" when the topic of Iwa wanting Sasuke dead had continued. Shisui had wanted to tell them all that they needn't worry, that he and Itachi wouldn't allow for Sasuke to die, but what right did he have to make such a promise?

The trust was, was that one day, Uchiha Sasuke was going to die. Whether that be whilst away on a mission, eating poisoned food or drinking it (although Shisui should hope not, as Itachi had been the one to teach him how to detect poison, and Shisui had been the one to teach all of that to Itachi!), from a disease or illness, or simply dying from old age. Sasuke would one day die. However, he and Itachi would not allow him to die over something he hadn't even done. In a way, Shisui thought of that kid as his own younger brother – he had watched Sasuke grow from a baby into who he was today!

Only vaguely realising his movements, Shisui walked towards the monument, his gut twisting as he did so.

If Iwa continued with their accusations, then the Uchiha Clan were going to strike back. That was what their previous clan meeting had been about. Fugaku as well as the elders were all outraged over the news, and demanded that it be 'sorted' at once. That could mean a number of things and Shisui was certain that not a single one of them were good. They were trying to prevent the war from actually starting, but if the Tsuchikage continued with his accusations, then there would be no stopping the Uchiha Clan from attacking Iwa and really giving him something to bitch about.

The Uchiha Clan were all about pride and honour. Having one of their members accused of something they hadn't even done, something as serious as this, was extremely offensive to them, especially to the patriarch. He knew his son. In fact, Fugaku's exact words had been, "_If Sasuke really did what he has been accused of, it would have been much worse. It would have been something the entire five nations would have heard about. Not something so pathetic and minuscule that we only heard about it due to a mouthy amateur who doesn't know when to shut up_."

And it was the truth! If Sasuke had really invaded Iwa and attacked them, it would have been so much bigger. Knowing that kid the way he did, Shisui was willing to bet anything that Sasuke would have invaded silently. He would have made his way to the heart of Iwa and assassinated the Tsuchikage, before then going on to causing chaos throughout the entire village. That was just who Sasuke was. Absolutely brutal and merciless when provoked.

But that was just the point.

Sasuke had not been provoked.

Adding that to the fact that it had been such a small attack… Shisui shook his head and picked up his pace as he made his way up the stairs, his stomach twisting much more fiercely. Sasuke had not been the one to attack Iwa. Something bigger, something much more deadly and serious, was going on. And now they also had Akatsuki to watch out for.

It was like Itachi had said.

No matter what the cost, Sasuke would not die by the hands of Iwa.

But also, Akatsuki would not get their hands on their jinchūriki.

Naruto had to be one of the most cheerful, most grateful people Shisui had ever met! Despite the pain of his past and everything that had been thrown his way, he remained positive. He kind of reminded Shisui of a certain face from his own past. So like Itachi would for Sasuke, Shisui would gladly give his own life to protect Naruto's. The kid had a pure heart and they needed somebody like Naruto to run and take care of Konoha. They may not know it just yet, but Konoha _needed_ Naruto.

That was when Shisui saw what had been calling to him ever since his eyes caught sight of the Hokage monument. He slowed considerably as his eyes recognised the figure standing right at the edge of the Godaime's head, as he realised exactly why he had been gravitating towards it. "Kurenai–san?"

There was no startled reaction. There wasn't a reaction at all. All Kurenai could do was hug herself even tighter, gritting her teeth together as she attempted to hold back her sobs.

Shisui's heart was in his throat as he carefully and slowly made his way over to her, wary as to not startle her. And eventually, he was standing right beside her, though kept his eyes on the village. What could he possibly say to the woman he had fallen in love with, yet never spoken a word to? She had just lost the man she loved. No words would ever make that better.

"He's gone…" she whispered brokenly. "He's gone…"

It was silent for a few moments, but just as Shisui opened his mouth, she spoke again.

"I don't know what to do with myself now. It's like e–everything has been… It's like my entire world has been turned u–upside down…"

Seeing such a proud woman, such a powerful woman, breaking down the way Kurenai currently was, was destroying Shisui on the inside, making him bite the inside of his cheek and clench his fists tightly.

"He told me t–that he'd never leave me… alone in this."

Turning his head to the side, Shisui gave her a saddened look. "Had he been given the choice, I am certain Asuma would have chosen to stay with you."

She shook her head quickly, a sob tearing from her. "I–I'm pregnant."

And just like that, all breath left Shisui and his heart began to break. Not because he was jealous, or because he was in pain because of hearing such a thing. No, it was because of Kurenai's agony. He was hurting, because she was hurting.

Without another word, Shisui grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the edge, forcing her to sit down on the grass and once he had, all composure she had seemed to break and Kurenai clung to him tightly, shaking almost violently as she cried. It was hesitantly that Shisui wrapped his arms around her, but after realising that comfort was what the woman currently needed, he held her and allowed her to cry.

He didn't know what she had been planning on doing, Shisui was just so very glad that he had followed his gut instinct that had led him to the Hokage monument. Had he not, would the next death he'd hear about, be Kurenai's? Oh God just the thought made Shisui feel sick.

"Kurenai–san," he sighed, pulling back slightly and gazing down at her, "no matter how much pain you are in right now, you can no longer act selfishly. From what little I knew of Asuma, I know that he would want you to protect your child with everything you have." his eyes trailed down to her stomach before moving back to hers. "And you can never be alone now, not with the life that is growing inside you. When you are feeling this way, remember that. There is still somebody who needs you, even though they're not born yet. Asuma would want you to live for his child."

"Sorry…" she whispered, voice cracking as she quickly wiped away her tears. "You probably have something better to do than sit here, listening to my whining and stopping me from…" Kurenai shook her head, unable to say the words they were both thinking. "I'm sorry."

There was silence as Shisui regarded her, his eyes saddening without her noticing when he saw Kurenai's pain, when he saw how deeply she was hurting. It didn't take him long to release her and instead sit beside her, giving the dark haired woman a small, comforting smile. "Not at all."

* * *

**A/N – Drama, drama, drama...**

**Somebody asked for a little more angst if it was possible and when I got the review, I was smiling evilly to myself like "oooh just wait for the next chapter". And there's plenty more angst and drama to come!**

**Instead of posting later today, since I don't know what my plans are for New Year's Eve and since I'm wide away right now, I decided to update now instead of later. Oh God it's half five in the morning here, hahaha!**

**Anyways, I hope you all have a happy New Year! :-)**


	26. Something New

**Chapter 25 – Something New**

Something she was beginning to really love?

Being utterly vulnerable around Itachi.

It was something Sakura just couldn't get her head around and she loved it. She loved how he made her feel, how he truly listened to her when she spoke, how she felt so small and fragile when he held her. Another thing Sakura adored, was the way Itachi had started to look at her. Usually he kept his features and eyes impassive, but when it was just the two of them, he looked at her like she was the most precious being in his life. If the hopeless romantic side of her was taking over, Sakura would even say that he looked at her like he lived only for her. That was quite a stretch, though.

"Tell me something about yourself that I don't already know." Sakura whispered against his chest, eyes closed with content.

The night had been incredibly long for the both of them. After the funeral, Itachi had taken her home where they both took a quick breather, before getting in the shower and redressing for the meal with his parents. Only, it hadn't only been Fugaku and Mikoto there. There had also been Sasuke as well as a few of the elders. Itachi hadn't known about it until Sasuke met them at the gates of the district, warning them about the elders being there, too. He'd even asked Sakura if she wanted to leave it for another night, to which she'd replied with "_What's the point? They'll probably be there another night, too. Let's just get this over with_". Itachi had smiled at her.

It had been a decent enough night. A bit too tense for it to be comfortable, but what else could she have expected? There had been many questions and Sakura had quickly learned to only speak when spoken to, which was something Mikoto had quietly pulled her aside and told her the moment Sakura stepped through the door.

"I have not celebrated Christmas since the age of eight."

Sakura's eyes snapped open. "What?"

Running his hand through Sakura's hair, Itachi sighed. "After the age of eight, due to how many missions I was and still am being sent on, I have never been home for Christmas."

Which would also explain and be another reason for his lack of relationship or love life, considering the fact that Christmas Eve was thought of more as a romantic day shared by couples, where they exchanged gifts and spent time together. Sakura had only spent one Christmas Eve with a partner and that had been Gaara, and he hadn't really believed much in the holiday, as well as not in Christmas Day.

Sakura placed her elbows on either side of Itachi's body and used them to push herself up and lean on, so she could look down at him. "Did you ever wish that it could be different?"

Silence, until, "I had never truly thought about it. If I was on a mission, then I was on a mission. It is always imperative to complete your mission, even if it is Christmas." there was a pause, one where he watched Sakura's eyes as she looked at him sadly. "It wasn't until we told each other of our feelings that I have had other thoughts on the matter."

That was something Sakura had picked up on! Whenever Itachi was unsure of something, he spoke much more properly, or sometimes even eloquently. Probably a habit of his, as it made little sense to do such a thing. "I think you'd really like spending Christmas in Konoha again, Itachi." she told him softly. "There's a big festival on Christmas Eve, one where it's all games and dancing and festivities for children and as the night goes on and the children go home, it becomes more intimate, more for couples." Sakura shook her head and smiled gently. "It's beautiful, especially if it's snowing."

His little lover was such a hopeless romantic.

"I think the best part about it is when the festival begins to quiet down as the night goes on, and the couples get to see their lovers when it turns midnight. They're the first person they see on Christmas Day, so even if they don't spend Christmas Day together, they still see each other for a short while."

Itachi held back his sudden urge to chuckle at the lovestruck look in Sakura's eyes and instead settled on smirking up at her. "If I were to make sure I am free for Christmas Eve and Day, would you like to spend those days with me?"

Sakura's look faded away and she bit her lip, looking down at him impishly. "Hm, I don't know. My suitors won't be too happy about that."

"Neither would my fan–girls."

She leaned closer to him, her smile more obvious and harder to fight back as she did. "You would have to put up with me _all_ day on Christmas Eve, even though I'll be extremely hopeless and lost in the romance of it all."

Once more, Itachi smirked. "I wouldn't mind putting up with you for not only Christmas Eve, but also Christmas Day. Even if you _are_ extremely hopeless and lost in the romance of it all." Her smile widened, as did the warmth in both of their eyes. "Is that a yes?"

"What do you think?" Sakura smirked, brushing her lips to his.

He thought that that was a very good answer.

* * *

They were on a break from missions and other duties due to how hard they had been working.

Sakura inhaled deeply and fell backwards onto the grass, staring up at the sky. To say that winter was fast approaching, it was awfully bright and warm. Maybe not as warm as it was in summer, or sometimes even spring, but it was definitely warmer than it should be.

"–and that's that."

So, after their argument several months back, Ino had gone off to be by herself for a while, to think about her life and where she was going with it. What decision did she come to? It was that Kiba was _not_ the guy for her. Yes, they had chemistry and yes, he was a great lover, but they were not suited to each other. Kiba needed a woman who didn't mind the seduction missions, whilst Ino needed a man who would be one hundred percent faithful to her. It was kind of sad, Ino had told her. According to the blonde, Kiba had been sad about the break up, too, though took it like a man. The only part that got really emotional for them was the goodbye kiss, where Kiba had kissed her softly and told her that he hoped she found the man she was looking for.

That was what Sakura liked most about Kiba. He accepted things. Perhaps not the small things like the fact he lost to Naruto in the chunin exams, but the bigger things. Like his relationship with Ino. In the end, he only wanted her to be happy and to feel loved. If he wasn't the guy who made her happy and feel loved, then Kiba accepted it and let go. He let go for Ino's sake, yet would always be there to protect her should he need to.

"What now, then?" Sakura asked, turning her head to the side to look at Ino. "Are you going back to dating?"

Surprisingly, Ino shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "No, I think I'm going to take a break from all that for now. Focus on more important things, you know? Choji went by to see Shikamaru this morning… Apparently he's a total mess and hasn't stopped looking at his shogi board since last night after he trashed the room. His dad's saying he needs time to think, but is that really such a good idea?"

"Shikamaru…" Sakura shook her head, looking back up at the sky. "Don't take this the wrong way, but he was so much closer to Asuma–sensei, wasn't he?"

"…Yeah." Ino whispered but cleared her throat a second later. "Yeah, he was. They always played shogi together when we weren't on missions or training. I'd say Shikamaru spent more time with Asuma–sensei than me and Choji put together." there was a pause. "Is… Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all." she told her quietly. "Sasuke–kun has spent so much more time with Kakashi–sensei than Naruto and me put together, too. I think it's more to do with their personalities, you know? Sasuke–kun and Kakashi–sensei can be so similar sometimes that it freaks me and Naruto out, since we can't understand that bond. Asuma–sensei and Shikamaru… Their bond was through shogi. I'm sure it went much deeper than a board game, but you get what I mean, don't you?"

Ino smiled sadly. "It was their thing."

Sakura had the same smile on her lips. "Exactly. It's like Naruto and Jiraiya–sama, or me and Tsunade–shishou. I'd say you and Ibiki–san but I think that might be going a bit too far." both girls chuckled. "And besides, people handle grief in different ways. Shikamaru just needs some time, Ino. He'll let you know one way or another when he's with you again."

"Is that what happened with you?"

Since seeing her memories and hearing her thoughts yesterday, Ino had been more inquisitive about the things she learned and Sakura, reluctantly at first, gave her the answers she wanted. "Kind of. I opened up to Itachi first. He was the one who I reached out to."

Sighing, Ino closed her eyes. "_That's_ what I don't understand. Sasuke is the one you've always gone to, so why the sudden change? Why did you stop going to him?"

That was something Sakura was still trying to work out herself. "Honestly? I don't know. Itachi just… He…" she grimaced. "It's hard to explain. With Itachi, I just… I feel like I finally belong somewhere. Yeah, I guess I kind of felt like I belonged with Sasuke–kun, but not in the same way as I do with Itachi. Sasuke–kun is more like a brother to me."

"A brother who fingered you on top of the Yondaime's head."

"Ino–"

"During a _very_ steamy make out session."

Sakura sat up and glared down at her. "I told you to leave memories like that alone, Ino. Things like that… I want them to stay in the past and so does Sasuke. Neither of us enjoyed it."

Also sitting up, Ino smirked at her. "Sasuke enjoyed it."

"His body enjoyed it. He didn't." Sakura snapped angrily. "You know what it's like for boys at that age. Anything can give them an erection! It doesn't mean that they actually want to be turned on. And if you remember correctly, it was Sasuke who pulled away first."

"Because you asked him to."

Oh she didn't like this. Sakura didn't like how Ino was making that ugly, disgusting worm of doubt wiggle its way inside of her head. "No, we both agreed on it." It had been the look in the other's eyes. They hadn't truly wanted it to happen. Yes, maybe a part of them had, the horny adolescent part that was intrigued and curious about what was happening and what it could possibly become, but it didn't go any deeper than that. They had talked after it happened and told each other how they really felt. "Stop messing with my head, Ino."

Seeing that she was really beginning to bother Sakura, Ino called it quits and fell backwards once more. "I don't see what the big deal is. It doesn't seem like Itachi's bothered by the history between you both."

"That's because he's not. Itachi knows us both well and knows that we don't have feelings like that for each other."

Ino nodded thoughtfully before sitting up again, smirking down at Sakura. "This is the last question on the subject of Uchiha men, I promise."

Why was there a twisting in her gut at Ino's question, one that was warning her to run away? "Go on…"

"Well, I know you've seen them all naked – not all Uchiha, but definitely Itachi and Sasuke–"

"Get on with it."

"Are they really circumcised?"

Was it possible to choke on thin air? Sakura coughed violently, trying to calm herself down, but it wasn't until Ino patted her harshly on the back that she managed to catch her breath once more. "W–Where the _hell_ did you hear _that_?"

The blonde shrugged, a mischievous smirk on her lips. "I have my ways. So, is it true?"

In her defence, Sakura didn't actually answer the question. Ino simply knew her that well.

"Oh my God." she gasped, a hand covering her mouth. "I've never been with a guy who's been circumcised. Is it any different to a normal guy?"

"Just because they were circumcised at birth, Ino, it doesn't make them _not_ normal."

"You know what I mean!" the blonde snapped, not liking the accusation. "I mean, does it feel any different? Does it make them smaller?"

"I'm not answering that."

"Okay… So do you know _why_ they were?"

Rolling her eyes, Sakura gave Ino a weak glare, indicating that she wasn't only exhausted, but also losing her patience. "Why do you want to know so badly? I don't want you spreading this around Konoha with all the other gossip. It's really private, Ino. Remember that they didn't have a choice to be circumcised. You see it in the hospital more and more often nowadays."

Since the two Uchiha men were very special to Sakura (not to mention the fact that she would pulverise her if it happened to be heard around Konoha), Ino decided to let the piece of gossip slip just this once. "I won't tell anyone, as long as you tell me the reason why."

She sighed. "Itachi said that…" another sigh. Why was this so hard to talk about? She was a medic! "When he asked why his parents were taking Sasuke to be circumcised, they told him that it was simply something that had happened in the head family of the Uchiha Clan for generations. They merely don't want to break the tradition."

Ino frowned. "So… It's not something to do with their religion? It's really only that boring old reason?"

"Yeah." Were members of the Uchiha Clan even religious? Sakura knew that Itachi and Sasuke weren't, but what about the others? "It doesn't really bother them, you know? Itachi only told me because I commented on how it was becoming more common at the hospital now. Other members of the Uchiha Clan have been circumcised, too. It's just something they've done for generations and don't want to break it."

"That clan is so weird." Ino muttered. "Why not have a more normal tradition? Like their fire jutsu! That's something they shouldn't break, not this stupid…"

When Ino trailed off with a shake of her head, Sakura sighed again. "It's only stupid to you, pig."

"Shut it, forehead."

"And I mean it, Ino! You had better not tell anyone about that."

"I won't, I won't." she waved dismissively along with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, I heard that _all_ men in the Hyuuga clan are circumcised and, had they not all been such lazy asses, those in the Nara clan would be too."

Sakura deadpanned.

She didn't even want to know how Ino had researched for that.

* * *

Being on a break was amazing.

Sakura panted hard and clutched a tighter hold of Itachi's hair, her back arching so that her hips and shoulders were pressed to his.

They had so much free time now, and what did they do with it?

She smirked as lips brushed against her jaw, kissing and nipping at her skin. They spent it in the best way they possibly could – bringing each other some of the most intense pleasure either of them had ever experienced. They'd been locked up in her apartment for over seven hours now. It was like they just couldn't stop!

Of course they took breaks, but it wouldn't be long until they were at it again. How long had they had the last time? Sakura had just about finished a pint glass of water as well as munched her way through a packet of crisps and also gone to the toilet and washed before Itachi was on her again, ready for more. His stamina and sex drive were amazing and definitely something Sakura couldn't get enough of. In a way, they were making up for all the times they'd had to refrain from such activities at the base camp. _Four months_ worth of activities.

The rhythmic pounding of his hips came to an abrupt stop as they slammed into hers a final time, enough to undo the pair of them and throw them head first into their orgasms. Hand falling away from his hair, Sakura clutched the counter before her tightly, eyes squeezing shut and thighs trembling as she tried her best not to collapse, whilst Itachi held onto her tightly, barely holding back his groan as he pressed his face into her neck, keeping Sakura pinned to the kitchen counter.

"We should probably move back to the bedroom." Sakura told him hoarsely, feeling so much more relaxed than she had in a while. "Just in case somebody comes barging in."

Seeing the sense in her statement, Itachi reluctantly detached himself from her, but pulled her against him a second later, guiding Sakura back to her bedroom. He wasn't too sure as to what was up with him, all Itachi could understand was that it simply wasn't enough. He needed more of her. Even after just taking her, even now, his body was heating up at just the thought of having her again. If only there was a way to 'recharge' a little more quickly. Then again, his little lover had to take a break, too.

Collapsing on top of Sakura on the bed, Itachi shifted closer to her, enjoying how she held him. His face was against her neck once more, but she was facing him this time and returning the hold lovingly.

"I think that _that_…" Sakura smirked and pushed Itachi's hair off his face. "It has to be our second best."

"Second?" he questioned quietly.

"Our first time was definitely the best and outranks all others."

Thinking about it for a moment, Itachi eventually let out a deep breath and nodded. "It was raw."

It was. "And passionate."

Feeling her squirm beneath him, he smirked tiredly. "Already?"

"Remembering it…"

His smirk widened. "I know."

Suddenly, like she could see into the future, they both heard banging on her front door a second before it was slamming open.

"_Sakura–chan_!"

"I'm going to murder him." Sakura groaned, tightening her hold on Itachi as he went to pull away.

"That depends on whether or not you get to him before I do."

She smirked, pressing a tender kiss to his cheek, but then once more groaned when the bedroom door was next to take the pounding of Naruto's fist. "_Go away_, Naruto!"

"_It's important_!"

It was always important with him, however, since he genuinely sounded like he was worried, Itachi moved away from Sakura and grabbed his pants from the chair at the desk not too far from her bed, pulling them on whilst Sakura pulled on her bathrobe. It was only seconds later when she opened the door a crack. "What is it?"

Not understanding that she was keeping the door shut for privacy, Naruto barged in and began to pace, only pausing to look at Itachi questioningly before shaking his head and continuing, already knowing what had been happening all day due to the strong smell of sex lingering throughout the entire apartment. "They've gone after them, Sakura–chan!"

Deep breaths. She wasn't allowed to kill Naruto, no matter how many times she'd wished she could. "You have ten seconds to be more specific before I throw you out of the window."

"This is serious, Sakura."

The voice had her tensing and reluctantly looking over her shoulder at the man stood in the doorway. That was one of the many differences between Sasuke and Naruto. Unlike the blond, Sasuke could actually sneak around and not be detected, though considering the fact Itachi was relaxed, Sakura was guessing that he had known his brother was around.

"Yeah? And we were kind of busy."

Sasuke pinned her with a serious look. "Team ten has gone after the Akatsuki members who killed Asuma."

All air left her as the flush covering her body drained away, leaving her pale and cold. "W–What?"

Naruto nodded quickly, still pacing. "And Kakashi–sensei has gone with them!"

She couldn't move. Or breathe. Fear had made her immobile, so all Sakura could do was stare at Sasuke with wide, horrified eyes. Kakashi had gone with… Team ten had gone to… She couldn't decide which was worse. All she knew, was that her precious people had gone straight for Akatsuki, the ones who were strong enough to bring a man like Sarutobi Asuma down.

"We're being sent as back up."

And not even a second later, Sakura was darting around her room, ripping open drawers and pulling out her uniform, leaving on her robe and getting dressed under it. Her movements were rushed, hurried, and her hands were trembling out of fear. It had only been five months since she went up against Sasori and Sakura could still feel everything she felt when fighting him – and apparently, the guys who had defeated Asuma were just as powerful. There were two of them.

Team ten was a team that was better at stalling opponents, in gaining information. Not battling! Sure, Choji was a strong man who could do quite a lot of damage, but the others? Were they relying completely on Kakashi? Oh it made Sakura feel sick.

"Leave us."

The voice was cold, leaving no room for arguments and hearing it, Sasuke grabbed Naruto and dragged him out of the bedroom and out of the apartment, muttering that they would meet Sakura at the gates. When they were gone, Itachi made his way over to Sakura and turned her around, grabbing her wrists and holding her still.

"Calm down, Sakura."

"But they–"

"What have I been teaching you during training?"

It took a lot of effort to calm her racing heart, her quickened breathing. It took even more effort to try and fight back the sudden need to scream. "To… To…"

"To keep calm and think things over clearly and carefully." he finished for her, watching her with hard, serious eyes. "You will be backing team ten up and going up against two members of Akatsuki, so you need to be thinking clearly and you must be extremely cautious."

"I could ask Tsunade–sama to send you and–"

"The fact that I haven't been ordered to back them up already means that I am needed elsewhere." Itachi told her, softening his eyes somewhat for her. "And I cannot be there every time you or Sasuke go into battle, Sakura. What did you tell me in the beginning?"

She thought back, her eyebrows knitting together before her features smoothed out and she exhaled slowly. "That I want to be independent, and that I don't want to have to rely on others' strength."

Itachi gave her a small smile, releasing her wrists and cupping her cheek, his thumb stroking it softly. "I will admit that I am not comfortable with you going up against these two particular Akatsuki members, but you will learn from this. Just like Sasuke and Naruto–kun will."

Nodding quickly, Sakura bit her lip. "I'm… I'm kind of… scared."

"I know."

He was too.

* * *

"That was kind of… anti–climatic."

Sakura sighed, refusing to look at anyone. She felt so embarrassed with how she had been acting yesterday, being so flustered and frightened, when it turned out it wasn't even necessary. Okay, maybe it partly was, as team ten and their temporary leader, Kakashi, had been more than a little roughed up, but still. She, Sasuke and Tenzo hadn't even been needed – Tenzo especially! He was sent with them for precaution, as a just in case.

Most of all, Sakura was pissed. Pissed with Ino. With Choji. With Shikamaru. And definitely Kakashi. Actually, Kakashi and Shikamaru were about the same level on her list right at that moment in time. Why? Because out of the entire team, those two should have known better. Kakashi knew that revenge got you nowhere, whilst Shikamaru was smart enough to understand that, too. But they'd all let their emotions get the best of them, let their anger and grief take control.

Oh who was she to say that? Sakura thought with a sigh. Saying, or even simply thinking something like that made her such a hypocrite! Her emotions were always getting the best of her. Just look at what happened yesterday!

Really, all they had needed Sakura for, was her medical skills. All they had needed Naruto for, was his new jutsu (she wasn't even going to get into that for fear that she may actually explode with anger). Sasuke and Tenzo… They hadn't been needed at all, and Sakura could tell that it pissed Sasuke off.

"Sakura."

"Don't."

Ino had been trying to talk to her all of last night and during the travel back to Konoha. It wasn't working. "Will you at least look at me?"

No answer. All she got in return was Sakura speeding up so she was side by side with Sasuke instead of her. He didn't look her way, understanding perfectly just what was up with her.

"What the hell is your problem?" Ino snapped, ignoring the warning Kakashi gave her to keep quiet. They had already reached the base camps, stopping there overnight for a much needed rest before heading out in the morning. That didn't mean they could throw caution to the wayside, though. It was imperative that they didn't give their positions away, especially considering they had not only Naruto, but also Sasuke with them. Those two were to be protected now. "Why are _you_ allowed to fight Akatsuki, but I'm not?"

Sakura whirled around quickly, forcing them all to stop as she stopped abruptly on the branch she landed on, making it shake dangerously and threaten to snap. "I didn't have a choice in fighting Akatsuki and I barely even made it out alive! Why the hell would you pursue psychotic monsters like them? Hidan and Kakuzu… They were _monsters_! Even Sasori wasn't as bad as them!"

Fists trembling with anger, Ino glared viciously at her best friend. "And what? You think I'm weaker than you, so I wouldn't stand a chance?"

"You _didn't_ stand a chance!" she practically screamed, her vocal chords protesting horribly. "If Kakashi–sensei hadn't been there, you would have died! You _all would have died_!"

"Sakura–"

"Shut the hell up!" Sakura snapped at Naruto, shaking her head. She was still angry with him too, for the damage his stupid jutsu had done to his hand and arm. "Why are you all acting so recklessly with your lives?"

Kakashi sighed. "Sakura, it's not that we're acting recklessly."

"Then what the hell do you call what happened? _You_ had your _head_ chopped off!"

The look he gave her was blank, serious. "Are you questioning not only my abilities, but my authority?"

"No, I'm questioning your sanity."

"Like you can talk." Ino spat in return, her eyes narrowing. "You see–"

"Shut up." she muttered.

"–Aiko all the time!"

Silence.

Ino raised an eyebrow, hands going onto her waist. "Oh? So you really did only tell me? Kind of a hypocrite, aren't you? Here you are questioning _our_ sanity, when you're the one who's seeing and hearing Aiko all over that base camp!"

Her teammates all looked to Sakura, silently demanding answers.

She refused to give them.

"Ino, that's enough." Shikamaru told her seriously, his voice and eyes hard. "What we did _was_ reckless and dangerous, and I told you all so many times that there were _a lot_ of risks. There's no point in being so defensive and saying things you're only going to regret later."

"I won't regret it." she shook her head with annoyance, eyes never leaving Sakura's. "You lost a little girl you only knew for a few weeks."

"Ino." Sasuke growled with warning, as did Naruto.

"We lost our sensei, the man who protected us and taught us so many things from the age of twelve. Who are _you_ to tell us things like that? You don't even understand. You still have your sensei."

"We almost lost him because of your selfish need for revenge!" Sakura screamed, face flushing red with anger. "Yes, you know how much that hurts and how much it breaks your heart, yet you almost took _our sensei_ to his death!"

Kakashi may not have always been around, but he was still Kakashi–sensei. He was still the man who had saved her life more times than Sakura could even count. He was still the man who would place his hand on her shoulder and smile, telling her everything was going to be all right, even if it wasn't. Growing up, that had been one of the most important things in her life. Having Kakashi there.

Ino simply shook her head. "You don't understand."

"I understand enough to say that, had it been the other way around, I would have _never_ asked the same thing of Asuma–sensei." she told team ten, her eyes hard. "Team seven would have never asked him to help us with something like this. Yes, we'd want revenge, but we would have taken our time until there weren't so many risks. Our lives aren't something to be thrown away so recklessly. Asuma–sensei wouldn't have wanted you to be so reckless with your lives. He cared so much about you all!"

Choji looked away with his features trying so very hard to frown, already knowing that, whilst Shikamaru stared at her with an expression she had never seen him wear before.

Ino lunged.

"You didn't even know Asuma–sensei!" she yelled, knocking Sakura from the branch she was standing on and onto the ground harshly, uncaring of the way the breath was knocked out of them both viciously. "You have _no fucking right_ to say that to us!"

Just as Ino went to punch Sakura, the latter quickly reversed their positions and put her in a restraining hold, unwilling to hurt the blonde yet able to do so should it need to be done. "Stop thinking everything is so black and white." Sakura muttered to her. "The world is made up with so many different shades of grey."

Thrashing beneath her, Ino spat in return, "Let me guess, that's something you heard your _perfect boyfriend_ say, right?"

No, actually. It wasn't. It was something she had learned herself.

"Sakura, let go of Ino."

She ignored the others as they dropped around them. "Are you going to attack me again?"

"Let me up!"

"Answer me!"

"No!" the blonde snapped, continuing with her thrashing.

Naruto stepped forward, putting his hand on Sakura's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Come on, Sakura–chan. It's not worth it."

Not worth it? Trying to make her best friend see sense because Sakura didn't want to lose her, wasn't worth it? Oh Sakura felt so stressed and angry that she almost wanted to cry. "Let go of me, Naruto."

Seeing that he was doing no good, Sasuke instead stepped forward and shoved the Uzumaki out of the way, giving Sakura a certain look before looking at the others. "We're going to go and spar."

Tenzo frowned. "Hokage–sama will–"

"She can wait." Sasuke snarled, looking at them with disgust before grabbing Sakura's arm and lifting her up, effortlessly breaking the hold he knew to be one of his brother's. "You think it's a good idea to have Sakura stuck in a small room with someone like Tsunade when she's so wound up? It'll only cause more trouble."

What Sakura needed right now was to let out her frustration. Sasuke had seen her when he gave her the news of Kakashi and team ten going after Akatsuki and since then, he'd watched as the stress and the fear and the anger piled up, higher and higher until she could just about breathe. And now, after holding it all in for so long, Sakura was finally snapping. He'd seen it happen many times before and it was nothing an all–out spar couldn't fix. That was how he always managed to calm her down in the past.

Naruto nodded quickly. "I'll–"

"Be going straight to Tsunade–sama." Sakura said seriously, narrowing her eyes on him. "You can't do anything with that arm in the state that it's currently in."

Before anybody else could argue, Sasuke roughly turned Sakura in the direction he knew the training grounds to be in. "Move."

She utterly stunned them all by doing so without another word.

* * *

"You've been seeing things?"

Sakura blocked the punch aiming for her midsection and spun around, raising her leg in hopes of kicking Sasuke in the shoulder, but he caught it effortlessly. "Ino made it sound worse than it actually it."

"Does Itachi know?"

Faltering as Sasuke knocked her off balance, Sakura quickly recovered and dodged the attack waiting for her. "He knows enough."

Grabbing her arm, Sasuke stopped her movements. "Which means no."

"Sasuke–"

"Are you hiding anything else from him?"

"No."

"If it's not so serious, then why haven't you told him?"

With her eyebrows knitting together and her body relaxing, Sakura sighed. "He's already done so much for me. Besides, I didn't see her at all last night. It's just the stress getting to me, I swear."

He let go of her arm and took a step back. "Tell him."

"Sasuke–"

"Tell him, or I will." Sasuke told her. "You don't want this reaching the elders of the clan, Sakura. They accepted you, yes, but just the smallest of things and you could lose that acceptance. Trust me."

"And Itachi can just magically stop them from finding out, or stop the acceptance from–"

"Yes." he stated bluntly. "The elders are scared of him. If Itachi wants something to be his way," and Sasuke meant _really_ wanted it, "then he'll make his voice heard and they'll have no choice but to go with it."

It had been that way ever since the very close call of The Uchiha Massacre.

* * *

**A/N - For the person who asked for some fluff, is this okay? :-D**

**I think the short hiatus did me some good, because I've just got my results back for my online-screening exams (you get the results much sooner than the paper exams) and I got an A* in finance, and three marks off full marks in maths. Apparently I got the highest scores out of all those who took the exam! I was so shocked at that, because in school, I was awful at maths and originally got an E in the exam.**

**Quite proud of myself to be honest! Hahaha.**


	27. Revelations

**Chapter 26 – Revelations**

She tried. Really, she did.

How was Sakura supposed to tell Itachi the things Sasuke had told her to tell him? It wasn't something that was so easily spoken about.

"Something is bothering you."

Or maybe Itachi would just save her the trouble of finding the words and instead read her mind. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "It's nothing."

Itachi paused in eating his breakfast, raising an eyebrow at her. "If it wasn't important, you wouldn't be looking as though somebody has just stolen something precious from you." silence as he regarded her. "Sakura, you told me in Suna that we're supposed to share things. If I am opening up to you, I expect the same in return."

With a sigh, Sakura placed her elbows onto the table and put her head in her hands. If he saw her face… "It's nothing for you to be concerned about, Itachi. The fight with Ino is getting to me, that's all." If he saw her face, then he'd know that she was lying.

He nodded once and went back to his eating, though continued to speak as he did this time. "You never explained that to me. Why are you fighting with her this time?"

Due to her no longer lying, Sakura dropped her hands to the table and gave him a hopeless look, a worn out look. "It's because for the first time in… I don't know ages, I guess, we don't understand each other. Despite everything it's always been so simple between us. We either love or hate each other."

"Simple." Itachi repeated with a huff of disbelief.

"It is to us. Or… It was." Sakura frowned, a knock on her front door interrupting her and ending their conversation when she got up to answer it, the sight of the ANBU operatives making Itachi straighten up and finish early with his breakfast. "Can I help you?"

Itachi sighed. Was that any way to answer the front door?

"You are needed by Hokage–sama. Both of you."

With that, he disappeared.

Once more, Itachi sighed. People nowadays had no manners.

* * *

"Good. I'm glad you came as soon as possible."

Sakura rubbed her arm restlessly, hoping more than anything that what Tsunade wanted to speak to them about, did not include the things Ino had mentioned. Sure, the blonde hadn't been there, but she would have been filled in after asking where she and Sasuke were during debriefing.

"We weren't really told much." Sakura stated sheepishly, keeping her eyes on her shishou. "Just that you need us."

"Terrific." she sighed, placing her head into her hand. "Now I'm going to have a huge queue outside my office! ANBU… Tch, useless–"

"Tsunade–shishou…" Sakura grimaced. "You're forgetting Itachi is a member of ANBU."

Honey eyes fell onto onyx, her expression and voice blank as she raised an eyebrow. "That I am."

Again, Itachi sighed inwardly, no manners. He'd always been raised to show his superiors, elders and parents respect, why hadn't everybody else? Was it really so difficult to say three measly words? Such as 'please' and 'thank you'? Sasuke was just as bad for it. Raised by the exact same parents, in the exact same way, yet he spoke to everyone, _everyone_, like they were beneath him. It really ground on Itachi's nerves.

He wasn't even sure why it was bothering so much lately. Perhaps it was because of the fact he had done so much for Konoha, yet the residents still looked at him like he was about to slaughter them all? Or maybe it was because of the way Sakura's friends (including his own brother) thought that it was acceptable to treat him like he was below them. Nothing too bad, it was just that Itachi didn't like being on the end of a joke. Or, maybe, it was due to the fact that men slobbered over his lover like she was a piece of meat, showing her absolutely no respect when she deserved–

"Itachi." Sakura interrupted his thoughts, frowning softly at him. "Are you okay?"

That wasn't like him. Itachi never got lost in his thoughts – well, not during moments like these. "I am fine. Forgive me, Hokage–sama. My mind was elsewhere."

The two kunoichi regarded him for a moment, both thinking the same thing, before Tsunade nodded once and got down to business. "You will both be sent on a scouting mission." Sakura's eyes went wide. "Together. Posing as a couple, I want you both to examine the situation from up close." her eyes narrowed, folded hands coming up to her lips. "I'm sending you to Iwa."

"Hokage–sama, I–"

"This is me taking complete advantage of something my apprentice told me a while back." she told them with a sigh. "Right now, Konoha is all over the place and there's no use in denying it. This mission will take a couple of months to complete – perhaps less if you manage to complete it sooner. It's unfair of me to be using your growing relationship for the sake of the village, but I could think of no one else for this mission."

It made sense, Itachi inwardly agreed. He would have come to the same decision, had he been in Tsunade's position. But… Going on a two–man mission with Sakura? Yes, he was professional and yes, Itachi could push aside his emotions, but could Sakura do that? Only time would tell. Itachi merely hoped that, should anything go wrong, Sakura would not break composure and instead keep putting the mission first. This would not be like at base camp. It would be only them and should anything happen to himself, it would be imperative that she returned to Konoha and tell their Hokage everything they had found out. She could not let her emotions cloud her judgement!

Seeing that they were both still unsure, she gave them a hard look. "Usually, if I am to send Sakura on a mission such as this, Uchiha, I would send your brother with her. Not only is their bond strong enough to pull off something like this, but he is also capable of protecting her as well as himself. However, considering everything that is happening right now and the fact that Iwa will slaughter him if he goes anywhere near their village, we cannot risk it."

No, they couldn't. "I understand, Hokage–sama."

"Then what's your problem?"

He held back his sigh. What he was about to say would most likely end in having a chakra enhanced punch aimed straight for his face. "Sakura and I are romantically involved, Hokage–sama, and it is no secret that she is impulsive and ruled by her emotions." from the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura's eyes widen, saw her staring at him in disbelief before scowling and looking away, refusing to acknowledge him. "Not only am I concerned about how she will react if something happens on the mission, but I have been growing increasingly protective – and also possessive – of her. I don't know how I will react if she is to seduce a target, or is ambushed."

The anger left Sakura's features as they smoothed out, though she still didn't look at him. Tsunade inwardly scoffed at her apprentice. Such a gentle woman with such a caring, big heart.

She hoped their profession wouldn't destroy that heart like it had hers.

"There will be no seducing possible targets." Tsunade murmured. "When you both first signed the contract for seduction missions, did you thoroughly read it?" both nodded. "Then do you recall a certain passage, one about shinobi having the right to be permanently taken off the seduction mission rota, if they are in a romantic relationship?"

"I believed it was only for when you are married."

"Yeah…" Sakura said slowly, frowning. "Me too."

Everybody had the right to refuse a seduction mission, as they had both been doing that since the beginning of their relationship, but when married – or simply romantically involved, as Tsunade had stated – you had the right to be permanently removed from that rota. No seduction missions would ever come your way.

Rolling her eyes, Tsunade sat back in her seat. "Either way, I need you both to do this. If you feel that strongly opposed to it, I understand. Just the two of you going all the way to Iwa with things as tense as they are makes me extremely uncomfortable…"

"But we don't have any other options." Sakura finished for her shishou. "I understand why you chose us, Tsunade–sama."

"Oh? Give me my reasons, then."

Refusing to fidget as she felt two sets of eyes on her, Sakura made sure to stand tall and confident, just like Tsunade had taught her to. "Like you said, we're actually a couple, so it's not like we'll be acting all that much and nobody else will be getting hurt by our actions. The only thing that will change is our public display of affections. I'm not sure by how much, but it will be higher than what we show around the village." Inwardly, Itachi nodded once in agreement. That was right. The most they had ever done whilst out in the streets of Konoha, was hold hands. No doubt more would be expected of them on the mission. "Also… Should we be found out, then we have my seal." she tapped the diamond shaped mark on her forehead as proof. "I can't die in battle, but if things are _really_ dire, then I can always contact you via Katsuyu–sama."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "And what about Itachi? You said _you_ can't die in battle, but what about him?"

The look she gave her shishou was arrogant, cocky. "Like hell I'd let them kill him!"

Smirking proudly, Tsunade nodded once. This was the girl she had taught. "Good."

That went against so much he had been brought up to believe, Itachi thought. Growing up, it had always been "_put the mission first_" or _"you are a tool for the village_" or even "_no matter what happens, it is important that you complete the mission_". So what Sakura had just said, what Tsunade was agreeing to… It simply went against so much.

"Uchiha." Tsunade sighed, seeming to know exactly what was going through his head. Truth was, was that she didn't. She was simply guessing. "In ANBU, you're told to put everything else behind the mission, that nothing should _ever_ come before the mission." he nodded once. "This will be going against more or less everything ANBU has taught you, but it is important that both yourself and Sakura return to us. We've already lost many of our shinobi, leaving Konoha much weaker than it was when I first took on the role of Hokage." she once again sighed, rubbing her temple. "And between just us three?" dropping her hand to her desk, Tsunade gave them a tired look, one that made her seem so much older. "If things continue the way they are, we will lose."

Her words felt like ice cold water had been poured over Sakura.

"You believe Akatsuki and Iwa have formed an alliance."

"Don't you?" Tsunade retorted, raising a blonde eyebrow.

There was a pause. "It is a possibility."

Sakura looked between the two of them unsurely. "And that's what this mission is all about? Seeing if there's an alliance between Iwa and Akatsuki?"

"No." Itachi told her, glancing to the side so that he was looking at her. "The Tsuchikage may not be the same man he was when he first became Tsuchikage, but he is still wise. He won't show any indication of there being an alliance." pausing for a moment and allowing Sakura to absorb his words, Itachi then continued. "Our mission will most likely be that we search around and try to gather as much information about the accusations against Sasuke, as well as their strengths, as possible."

Understanding once more, Sakura nodded. "It's going to take us a couple of months, you said, shishou?"

"It will. Remember everything you have been taught, Sakura. I know that I said you are to have a few weeks off given what happened whilst returning, but I need you both out there. During your time under my tutelage, you haven't only learned medical ninjutsu and anything else such as that. You were also taught things that are needed for delegations. Should you be caught, you can unofficially act on my behalf to try and calm the situation, although you are not to make any promises or deals." Like Temari sometimes did for Gaara. "Having you there, Uchiha, isn't only because of your eyes, but also Sakura's protection."

The silence that met her had her scowling.

And then, in a blank yet obviously demanding voice, Itachi asked, "What happened?"

That scowl on Tsunade's features deepened. "What?"

"You said: '_I know that I said you are to have a few weeks off given what happened whilst returning_'. What happened?"

All emotion left Tsunade, especially as she saw the pale look on Sakura's face. "You didn't tell him."

Feeling his eyes on her, Sakura closed her own. "…No."

"Care to explain?" Itachi asked, although it sounded more like an order.

"The fight between me and Ino…" she whispered and quickly cleared her throat, opening her eyes but keeping them on the ground. "It was about… It–"

"It was about the fact that Sakura has been seeing and hearing things."

Silence.

Sighing, Tsunade once again sat back in her seat. It wouldn't do for two of her most important shinobi to be going out on a highly dangerous mission whilst keeping things from one another. "Sakura and Sasuke were not at the mission debriefing with the others, and when I demanded to know where they were, I was told rather bluntly that Sakura had, in Ino's words 'snapped' and Sasuke was forcing her to spar with him, in order to release the built up emotions." when Itachi's features remained empty and cold, Tsunade continued. "Given that Sakura is my student and I am her Hokage as well as her shishou, I ordered Ino to explain to me why one of my best medics had 'snapped' to which I was informed…" she shook her head, seeming disbelieving. "I was informed that Sakura was 'losing her mind' and completely unstable."

Sakura's mouth fell open with shock before anger took over. "I'm not losing my mind! Ino's exaggerating. It's not even that bad!"

"Which is exactly what Naruto, Kakashi and Shikamaru told me when they were defending you." the blonde stated, warning Sakura with her eyes to calm down. Losing her temper was only going to make things worse, after all. "When I asked Yamanaka why she would think that, she told me that you allowed her to give you an unofficial psychological examination with her jutsu. Is that true?"

Her hands trembled, trying desperately to fidget.

"Answer her, Sakura."

To make matters worse, Itachi was angry with her. "It wasn't a psychological exam."

"Then what was it?"

"I don't know!" It was difficult holding back her urge to scream the words at the two. "Ino said she was worried about me so to prove to her there was nothing to worry about, I let her look into my mind."

And that was when he and the others had entered Sakura's apartment, Itachi silently realised.

Sakura's eyes saddened. "I just… I was just trying to find a way to comfort her, or at least take her mind off Asuma–sensei."

Leaning forward and placing her arms on her desk, Tsunade narrowed her eyes. It wasn't out of anger, though, as the concern in her eyes was obvious. "You _can_ talk to me about these things, Sakura. You know that, don't you? I can't have one of my best medics losing her mind when there was probably something I could have done to prevent it." the younger kunoichi nodded quickly. "Why did you keep it a secret?"

"I thought I could handle it."

"Can you?" Tsunade questioned. "Seeing that little girl around base camp, hearing her… Can you handle it?"

"It's only stress, Tsunade–shishou." Sakura whispered, trying her hardest to talk over the lump in her throat. "With everything that's been going on… It feels like it's all piling up on me and like I can't even catch my breath before I'm needed for something else."

It was silent for a moment as the blonde thought over Sakura's words, watching her reaction. However, it wasn't Tsunade who spoke next. It was Itachi. "Did Yamanaka–san tell you what she thought?"

She didn't want to look at him. He sounded emotionless and most likely looked it too, but Sakura knew that she'd be able to read his eyes, even if it was only a little. "We were interrupted before she could give me any information, but when we met up the day after, she took another look and told me it's just stress. At most, post traumatic stress."

"Post traumatic stress?" Tsunade repeated with her eyebrows pinching together. "Why would she think that?"

That was something Sakura couldn't answer. Not because she _couldn't_ answer, but because it would lead to a suspension from the hospital. She'd be forced to take leave for an unknown amount of time. That couldn't happen. The hospital needed her, as did those at base camp.

"Sakura–"

"I don't know."

By her side, Itachi sighed. "Perhaps it would be best if I were to speak with her alone, Hokage–sama."

A pause. Tsunade taking a deep breath. Then, finally, she murmured, "Fine."

* * *

"Itachi–"

"You told me that it was nothing important."

Biting her lip, she watched as Itachi sat down at the table, his posture too perfect for him to be relaxed. "I didn't want to burden you." she told him, risking the chance of sitting opposite Itachi. It wasn't that Sakura thought he would hurt her, as she knew he wouldn't, it was the simple fact that she had offended him. _She_ had hurt _him_ by keeping things from him. "I know what I said in Suna and I know I said we should be honest with each other, but I feel like I'm constantly complaining or weighing you down."

His eyes never left hers for a moment, making her rather uncomfortable and tense. "If it wasn't _that_ that had been holding me back, it was the fact that I just couldn't find the words." Sakura bit her lip, breaking eye contact by staring down at the table. It was probably the wrong thing to do, but she just couldn't look him in the eye. She felt awful. "Since returning from my last mission, I've tried finding the words so many times. I've tried telling you. But I always chicken out in the end."

"Why?"

"Why did I back out?" Itachi nodded once. "I don't know. You've done so much for me, so it should be easy opening up to you about something like that, right? But I just… couldn't. It's not easy seeing her, Itachi. It's even harder hearing her. I failed her so badly. Aiko–chan had her _whole life_ ahead of her and because of me, she'll never get to live it."

Some of the anger left him as he saw just how badly it had been getting to Sakura, as he saw her pain. "And your reason for lying to Hokage–sama?"

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. After the words left her lips, Sakura knew that her career at the hospital would be in danger. "Whenever I get a patient, one who's badly injured and needs surgery… I see her. Instead of the patient, I see Aiko–chan laying there, covered in blood and crying in pain and–" Sakura cut herself off as the tears started, trying to muffle her sob. "I couldn't tell her. She'd force me to take leave from the hospital when they need me too much."

"Forced leave may be what's best for you." at her wounded look, Itachi continued. "What happens when you see her instead of your patient, Sakura? They are put in danger. You're an emotional person and you're clearly still hurting from the loss of Aiko. Instead of helping them, you will be going along with what you're seeing and trying to help Aiko."

"They need me–"

"They need you to be at full health. That includes your mental health." Itachi told her seriously. "People go to the hospital to be healed and saved. Whilst it's true that the hospital needs you, what patient in their right mind would trust somebody who–"

"That's not fair!"

"No, it's not. But what's also not fair is that somebody may one day lose their life because–"

Sakura stood up from the table, her chair scraping harshly along the floor. "What do you want me to do?" she demanded angrily with her fists clenched and trembling. "I know the risks. I know the dangers. I know that it's _really_ unprofessional and selfish of me, but _what do you want me to do_? I need the hospital, Itachi._ I need it_. I need to feel like I'm doing at least _some good_ so that I can actually sleep at night!"

Also standing from his seat, Itachi calmly strode forward and grabbed her fists, forcing them to unclench and once they had, he waited until that anger in her eyes slowly faded away. "What I want you to do is take a break from the hospital." just as she opened her mouth to argue, Itachi silenced her with a serious look. "What you're doing to yourself is reckless and adding unnecessary stress to your life. Look at me." he told her when Sakura looked away, grabbing her chin and forcing her to when she was being stubborn. "I'm not saying leave the hospital completely. Just lessen your hours and don't take part in any surgeries. You're going to make yourself ill otherwise."

"But–"

"Tell me something." reluctantly, Sakura nodded. "If you weren't feeling so stressed, would you have fought with Yamanaka–san the way you did?" after a few moments she shook her head. "Would you be losing control of your emotions so easily?" again, there was another shaking of her head, joined by the trembling of her bottom lip. "Sakura, you need to take a break for the good of your health."

"But I don't–"

Itachi closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers. "_Please_."

* * *

It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

Sure, Sakura was slightly annoyed with Itachi for taking her back to Tsunade and starting the words, meaning _she_ had to finish them, and sure, Sakura had been a little frightened when the blonde suddenly stared at her blankly – she could have sworn that there had been a ticking sound somewhere – before exploding. Being yelled at by her shishou, by her superior, had been painful, as all Sakura had ever tried to do was make Tsunade proud.

Her punishment? Well, after a hell of a lot of screaming and a few items being thrown (which she had easily dodged, but it only seemed to make Tsunade angrier), Sakura's hours at the hospital had been cut in half and she was no longer allowed to participate or lead in any operations, unless there was absolutely no one else there to do it. Oh and that was _only_ if the hospital had Tsunade's voiced and written approval.

Now, on their way out of the Hokage Tower, Sakura was just about holding onto her emotions.

"I didn't think that Hokage–sama would act that way."

She bit her lip, walking a little faster. "It's fine."

Itachi matched her pace easily. "It was hardly professional of her, Sakura. Yes you made a mistake but you did not deserve–"

"It's fine, Itachi. I was expecting a reaction like that."

Silence for a moment as he regarded her expression. "Which is partly why you were so against telling her."

"Yeah."

Seeing the hurt on her face made him feel an emotion that he hadn't for a while: guilt. "Sakura–"

"Just forget about it!" she snapped, once more walking faster. "We need to prepare for our mission, so I'll meet you at the gates in an hour."

He didn't comment on the fact that _he_ was the captain, therefore _she_ should be following _his_ orders. Instead, Itachi nodded and slowed down, watching Sakura as she more or less ran through the crowds of midday, pushing shoppers and ignorant villagers who refused to move, out of her way. That guilt he could feel increased.

Half of her hours being cut, Itachi had expected. No longer being able to perform surgeries, he had, again, expected. He'd also expected a scolding, but that had _not_ been a scolding. That had been Tsunade screaming at Sakura, who then had to take that verbal assault _and_ make a decision whether or not she should dodge the missiles. When she had seen how angry it made their Hokage, Sakura had stopped dodging. That had been the final straw for Itachi, however. Hokage or not, she wasn't harming _his_ Sakura.

So, effortlessly, Itachi had caught the book end and strode forward, placing it back down onto the desk with a thud and levelling Tsunade with a serious, cold look, whilst warning her, "_Sakura has made a mistake and she has owned up to it. I can tolerate a lot of things, Hokage–sama, but unnecessary violence is not one of them._"

To that, Tsunade had narrowed her eyes dangerously and slowly stood up, her hands clenching the desk tightly as she asked, _"Is that a threat, Uchiha? I don't take kindly to threats_."

His reply was simple. "_And I do not take kindly to people attempting to harm Sakura_."

It had more or less ended there, going onto their mission once more. Itachi sighed and turned in a different direction, making his way to the Uchiha District. Perhaps threatening the Hokage had been a bad move (hardly a threat, in all honesty), but what else was he supposed to do? Stand back and watch as Sakura took a beating with office equipment? Watch as she had staplers thrown at her? Or books? Or those heavy book ends? No. They may be shinobi who could withstand a lot, but they were still human. If Sakura had taken one of those book ends to the head, and it hit her in the wrong place, then it would be over. She'd be dead.

That was not and would never be acceptable.


	28. Infiltration

**Chapter 27 – Infiltration**

"Hm," she hummed, tilting her head to the side, "make your jawline more like your father's."

Nodding once, Itachi morphed his henge ever so slightly so that this jawline was a little stronger and more square.

"Oh and your hair…" pressing a finger to her lips, she tapped them repeatedly. "Maybe you should be a brunet?"

"That would be too much like my father." Itachi told her. "Just like your previous idea was too much like Sasuke, and then Shisui."

"Okay, okay." rolling her eyes, she watched him closely. "Green eyes." not even a second later, and Itachi had brilliant apple green eyes like hers, making her smile softly. "And… Blond hair."

Itachi held back the urge to grimace. Spending so much time with Sakura had been bringing out emotions and reactions he hadn't even known he could feel. "Like Naruto–kun's?"

She shook her head quickly, laughing. "No! More like… Ino's, or Tsunade–sama's."

Whilst Itachi got to changing his appearance, Sakura looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. After having pink hair all her life, she had gotten used to standing out in the crowd and demanding everyone's attention without actually wanting it. Now that she had mousy brown hair, Sakura found that she missed her previous hair colour, even if it was only a mission. Her now blue eyes weren't so bad and were as bright as Naruto's, and her seal was hidden, but the hair…

Grimacing, Sakura quickly made a few hand signs and sighed with relief when her hair turned red. Not her colour, yet she still stood out. Plus, it was a nice shade–

"You look too much like the Yondaime's wife."

Dead, but still a risk not worth taking.

Sakura groaned and once again made more hand signs. This time, her hair was deep shade of blue. "What about this?"

Watching her for a moment as Sakura ran her fingers through her hair, Itachi nodded once in approval, hiding the fact that he did not like it. He very much preferred her natural hair colour and her green eyes.

They were out of the village and halfway to Iwa already, Sakura's stamina and determination surprising him greatly. For the first half of the journey, she had been silent and withdrawn, to which Itachi had given her time and silence to think to herself. Neither complained about it until they reached midway and he had told her it was time to choose their henge. That was when Sakura had fallen against him and apologised for her behaviour, stunning him once more. "_We're on a mission now, Itachi. We're going to Iwa. I don't want us to be going into this whilst upset with each other – it's too dangerous_" was what she had told him.

Life was too short to hold onto things like that. Like Sakura had said, their mission was going to be extremely risky and should they get caught, it could end in death for either one, or both of them.

"Okay." Sakura breathed, looking down at herself. "There's nothing that could trace back to Konoha on me, is there?"

As she began to turn around, Itachi caught her shoulder and gave her a small smile. "Relax, Sakura. Anything such as that has been left back at the base camp. All we're carrying are civilian clothes." Which she had, surprisingly, a lot of. "Our appearances now look nothing like ourselves." Something that disappointed Itachi. "All we have to do now, is act and scout. To do so, you have to relax."

A small lesson, she noted. "I don't know why I'm so nervous! I've been on missions like this before with Sasuke–kun and–"

When she cut herself off, Itachi pushed, "And?"

"We always had a code." the revelation on her face was rather amusing. "Because our appearances were always different, at least one of us got to keep our chosen name and it was always Sasuke–kun, since our code was simply to drop the 'kun' suffix if there was a problem."

Which was why she continued to call him 'Sasuke–kun' Itachi finally realised. It wasn't out of affection like he had thought it was – it was just a habit that couldn't be dropped. No doubt that suffix had saved their lives quite a few times. "Are you suggesting we create a code of some sort?"

She pushed dark blue hair behind her ear, smiling sheepishly. "If you don't mind, that is. It'd make me more comfortable since it's something I'm used to."

That was probably what was making her so uneasy. Sakura was used to these types of missions, but only with Sasuke. She'd told him earlier that this was her first scouting without the younger Uchiha. It wasn't that she didn't trust Itachi, because he knew she did. It was the simple fact that Sasuke was not around like he usually was.

When he nodded in agreement, Sakura was thoughtful for a few moments before offering, "Pet names? Not actual pet names, I mean more like… 'hime' or 'koishii'. Names like those that won't stand out too much, since we're a couple."

They weren't words Itachi would use in a casual conversation, if at all, but considering they were pretending to be different people… "Koishii."

Knowing that this was his way of agreeing to something he didn't want to agree to, Sakura smiled. "Koishii."

* * *

"So you said you were travelling?"

Sakura smiled warmly, her arm looped affectionately around Itachi's. "Mm–hm! You see, Arashi… Well, he proposed, so we're travelling and seeing more of the world and–"

The man chuckled and glanced at Itachi. "Your fiancée is rather excitable, Arashi–san."

He smirked in return. "Indeed she is, Daichi–san. I think it has more to do with the fact we will be staying somewhere that actually has hot water, than anything else."

Chuckling increased into laughter as Daichi guided them to the cabin they would be staying in. It was temporary accommodation, as the man had been given fair warning that they may not be around all that long. Their reason for choosing a cabin instead of staying in a motel? Whilst more expensive, they had alone time there and it would feel more like home.

"I can assure you now, Tama–san, that my cabin definitely has hot water." Sakura grinned up at Itachi as she heard the words. "However, you will have to excuse the mess. It's more of a summer cabin and I haven't been there in a while. What with everything that has been going on lately, it's not exactly the best of times to be out of the village for such long periods."

Frowning, Itachi asked, "Everything that has been going on?"

Widening blue eyes caught Daichi's brown ones. "It's safe, isn't it?"

He gave her a reassuring smile, waving his hand. "Yeah, it's as safe as it can be in a world like this. It's close to the village, but far enough that you can get away and have some peace as well as time to yourself. As for your question, Arashi–san… There's no other way for me to answer it other than we're a shinobi village. What can we expect, hm?" sighing, he turned a corner and as the cabin came into view, he smiled warmly. "You will be allowed access to the village during the day, but please remember that there is a time you must be out by, given that you are not delegates or residents of Iwa. I wouldn't want nice people such as yourselves caught up in our mess."

Itachi nodded once. "Of course. What time is the curfew?"

"Ten o'clock. Night time." Daichi answered, handing over the key. "And you will be allowed entrance after five o'clock in the morning. Only I have a spare key to this cabin and should anyone else come by, send them to the village. I doubt they will, though. Just please do not cause any damage to my property."

Sakura smiled warmly. "Don't worry, Daichi–san. I have an awful habit of being unable to sleep unless everything is spotless! Drives Arashi mad." her hand shot out and took Daichi's, shaking it firmly with obvious confidence. "I'm so very grateful for this. We've been walking for days and days and I can't wait to have a nice hot bath and put my feet up!"

Smiling politely at her, Daichi returned the shake and then went onto shaking Itachi's hand. "I need to be getting back to the village now – the wife will be wondering where I am." rolling his brown eyes, he gave the couple a more friendlier smile. "Take care of yourselves and once you're done, just hand the key in at the shop just by the entrance of the village. It's hard to miss!"

As the man turned to walk away, Sakura grinned and waved enthusiastically. "Thanks again, Daichi–san!" It wasn't until he was well and truly out of sight that they entered the cabin, Sakura's grin fading away. She rubbed her poor, sore cheeks and gave Itachi a pathetic look. "I think I have cheek strain."

He smirked, locking the door behind them. "I am not surprised." seeing the raising of her eyebrow, his smirked slipped into a smile. "You did well."

Placing her hands on her hips and closing her eyes arrogantly, Sakura sighed and turned around, facing the rest of the cabin. "I know! I'm an amazing actress. All those years of being a fan–girl really paid off, because…"

When Sakura trailed off, Itachi walked forward and looked down at her features. Her eyes were open once more and staring at the living room before them. The front door took them straight to it, but that mattered little to them. Hopefully, if things went well, they'd only be there for a couple of months – if that.

"Sakura?"

Her head snapped up, glancing up at him. "Hm?"

"Is something wrong?"

It wasn't a question and given the fact that he was probably still unhappy about Sakura keeping things from him, she sighed, gesturing to the area before her. "I don't know." she told him honestly. "This just… Something about this place…"

Also glancing around, Itachi picked up on the feeling. It was hard to describe what that feeling actually was, but there was definitely something there. A strange… comfort? Why would a foreign, untidy place such as this particular cabin, comfort them? Also sighing, Itachi walked further into the room, hoping to find some sort of evidence, but there was nothing. All family photographs had been taken down, all personal possessions that were worth something had been removed… It was like they were simply staying in a guest house.

Sakura followed Itachi slowly and tried her best to shake the thoughts from her head. It didn't matter what that feeling was, because this was a mission. Here, they weren't Itachi and Sakura. They were Arashi and Tama. She was a civilian woman who would be marrying a low–level shinobi after they had finished exploring the world and all its wonders. At least, that was what their story was.

They were from a small village just outside of the nations, one that kept to themselves and only trained young men to become shinobi in order to protect their village. However, to be freed from such a closed in place, such a strict place, they had deserted it and decided to elope. Despite abandoning their village, though, they were still loyal to it and would not share any details. Not even the name of the village. Why? It was because they had family there and even though they no longer wished to live in that village, they still loved their family and would do anything to protect them.

"It's already gone nine in the evening." Sakura murmured, staring at the clock on the fireplace. "Is there any point in going into the village tonight? It'll take us about twenty minutes to get there on foot, since I'll be travelling the civilian way."

He shook his head. "No, there isn't. We will go tomorrow morning and spend the day there, finding out whatever we can."

Now that she had pointed the time out, both noticed how dark the cabin was. Very little natural light was entering due to them being in a wooded area and also because it was late now and they were entering winter. You couldn't really tell when around Iwa, though, because it was still warm there. A lot windier, but definitely warm.

"Rest." Itachi murmured to her softly. "We have been travelling as civilians for two days and tomorrow, we will be beginning our mission. I need you to be at your best."

Walking over to him, she kissed his cheek. "Got it."

* * *

Staring up at the ceiling, Itachi sighed.

He'd been up for hours now due to Sakura waking up earlier than usual. There was no reason for it, he was sure, but something about this place continued to nag at them both. Whilst scouting for information, perhaps they should try and do some research on Daichi and his wife. It wouldn't be because he and Sakura were nosy, it would be because it could in fact be a jutsu that was causing them to feel comforted. It definitely wasn't a natural feeling.

Daichi was a shinobi, that much, Itachi had figured out. Going off the strength of his chakra alone, he would say that Daichi was chunin, though jonin at best. There were a few scars littering the parts of his tanned body on show and also a small one going through his left eyebrow. Other than that, however, the man was ordinary and average. Brown hair, brown eyes, average height and weight… Nothing special about him.

Itachi got out of bed with a sigh, ignoring how the springs in the bed creaked as he did so. It wasn't the worst place he had ever stayed in, but it certainly wasn't the best either. And as he walked downstairs into the living room, he was surprised to find Sakura cleaning up.

"We're–"

"Only here for a short while, I know." she muttered, using the feather duster in her hand to clean the cabinet. "But it'll look strange if Daichi or his wife check in on us and the place is still looking the way it did last night."

That was true. "Would you like any help?"

She glanced over her shoulder and raised a blue eyebrow. "You'd help me clean up?"

"You don't have to seem so shocked." he told her with a small smirk.

Shrugging, Sakura pointed over at a bucket. "You could start by mopping the floors."

Without a word, Itachi got to work.

* * *

When it was a reasonable hour and the cleaning was done, Itachi and Sakura set out to the village. It was the safest option just in case they ran into Daichi, considering Sakura was posing as a civilian and stated that they had been travelling on foot for days. Judging by the position of the sun, it was around twenty–five past nine already.

They'd been searched at the gates and all weapons Itachi was carrying had been confiscated except for a single kunai. Ridiculous! He may be an outsider, but what if there was an attack on the village? How was he expected to protect himself or Sakura? Instead of arguing, however, he had accepted it and made sure to look reluctant whilst doing so. It was fine, really, as the accessories in Sakura's hair were hidden weapons. They had been a gift from Kakashi apparently. Disguised as mere hair chopsticks, yet really they were deadly weapons that were laced with poison. There was also a kunai in each of Itachi's sandals, as they were the ones that had white shin guards.

He was wearing basic shinobi clothing that told others that whilst he was a shinobi, he didn't belong to any specific village. Just simple grey–black pants that were tucked into his shin guards, along with a grey–black shirt with a mesh shirt beneath it and a white belt around his waist. As for Sakura, who had reluctantly left all shinobi clothing back in Konoha, she was wearing one of her many qipao dresses. It was a short, crimson phoenix qipao and despite the short length, Itachi rather liked it on her, although would have preferred to see Sakura in it and not Tama (the civilian she was pretending to be). And even though they would be walking everywhere, she was, for some reason that Itachi simply couldn't understand due to them not being very practical, was wearing heels like Tsunade's, only an inch or so higher.

It was quite surprising how very civilian–like Sakura could act, though understandable because of how Mebuki had tried to raise her.

Sakura glanced around, admiring the village. It was actually quite beautiful, in a strange way. Even though it looked ancient and not very up to date, it had a natural beauty to it. Behind what she was presuming to be the Tsuchikage tower was a large landscape of some sort, which had several small waterfalls coming from it.

It did little to relax her.

"We'll find a place to eat breakfast and start from there." Itachi told her, guiding Sakura through the crowds of people as they began to fill the streets with their market stalls.

"Think we should get a few things for the place, Arashi?" she asked softly whilst making sure to keep close to him. "You know, to brighten it up a little!"

He looked over his shoulder, giving her a warm, yet teasing smile. "I'm sure your outfits do that already, Tama–chan." at her playful glare, Itachi chuckled and pulled her closer, aware of the stares they were receiving. It was either due to Sakura's choice of outfit, or because they were outsiders. "Yeah, we'll pick up a few items. Not too much though."

Noticing how most other women were dressed in less revealing outfits, Sakura had to refrain from blushing and attempting at covering herself. She'd had no idea that Iwa was one of _those_ villages. If the women weren't wearing standard–issue uniform, then they were wearing a long yukata that left a lot to the imagination. It was the opposite of her own outfit, which had actually (unsurprisingly) been a gift from Ino.

"Stop fussing." he smirked down at her. "There is nothing wrong with the way you are dressed."

"But–"

"Only the women are sending you negative looks." Itachi had already noticed a few too many males looking at Sakura with lustful eyes. "They are unhappy that you're stealing their partner's attention."

She rolled her blue eyes. "Was that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Did it work?"

When Itachi pulled her so that she was in front of him and walking backwards, Sakura made a show of him being the one who was guiding her, even though she was more than capable of walking backwards without tripping over or needing help. "Not really." she smirked. "Only one set of eyes matter to me."

It wasn't hard picking up on her meaning. He once again smirked. "Good."

"Arashi?"

"Hm?"

"Can we eat now?" she gave him a playful look. "I'm starving!"

Chuckling, Itachi turned her so that she was facing forward once more and kept her tucked into his side, making it not–so–secretly known to other males that Sakura (or Tama, since that was who they were seeing) was _his_.

* * *

Nothing.

There was nothing that outsiders could find out about the residents of Iwa. All information was kept under lock and key as well as a guard, like it was all extremely secretive and highly classified information. You couldn't even find out anything about their family. Hell, outsiders weren't allowed to enter Iwa's library!

Sighing, Itachi glanced over at the table he and Sakura were sitting at from his place at the bar.

It was only their first day on the mission, so he wasn't allowing himself to get too frustrated with the lack of information they had found out, both on Daichi and on the situation between Konoha and Iwa. Nobody said much about it other than idle gossip that meant very little. Once or twice, they'd heard the Uchiha name being dragged through the mud. Itachi hadn't so much as blinked. However, when they began to get nasty about the Hokage, they had had to move on before Sakura's impulsive, angry side of herself leaked out.

According to gossip around Iwa, Tsunade was the worst Hokage they had ever had, so much so that she couldn't even control the major clans within the village. Apparently she was constantly backing down to the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans.

Ridiculous, but let them say what they wanted. Those in Konoha knew that their Hokage was certainly no pushover and should anybody continue to try and back her into a corner, words would be exchanged for fists. It was why nobody dared to get on her wrong side and disobey her. Not only because of Tsunade's monstrous strength, but also because she ran the hospital. If she put you in there, she could make your stay in the hospital absolute hell. She'd done it to Kakashi a few times just to prove a point, Sakura had told him.

So now here they were. After a day of scouting and shopping and secretly listening in on everyone's conversations, Itachi and Sakura were currently sat in a bar not too far from the gates. They had another two or three hours until they had to leave the village.

Accepting the drinks and exchanging the money, Itachi made his way back to the table he was sharing with Sakura. Today had been a long day for the both of them. They weren't used to acting so romantically with one another in public. Hell, they didn't even do half of the things they'd said or done when _alone_. Strangely enough, it didn't make Itachi as uncomfortable as he thought it would have. They simply had to keep up the image that they were newly engaged and very much in love.

Sakura practically moaned when she was handed the drink and took a large gulp of it, making him shake his head with a smirk and sit down beside her silently, sipping at his own. Unlike Sakura's, his was non–alcoholic. Itachi refused to willingly dampen his senses with such a substance in a village such as Iwa and the only reason why he was allowing Sakura to, was because she knew a medical jutsu that would keep her from becoming inebriated. It would look slightly suspicious if they were to sit inside a bar and not drink. Not uncommon to happen, but still unusual.

"I think we did well on our purchases." Sakura smiled as she placed down her drink, wiping at the corners of her mouth.

It made no sense to decorate a cabin they were only temporarily staying in, but Sakura seemed to genuinely like the exotic items she had picked out so Itachi had no problem with paying for them. It would be no problem to acquire a storage scroll and take them all back to the village with them. "We did."

Noticing the looks Sakura was receiving, Itachi wrapped an arm around her waist, dragging her closer to himself. There was a reason why he disliked this area so much. Meaning that yes, Itachi had been to Iwa before. It was sleazy and filled with questionable characters who had less than pure thoughts running through their minds. Yes, Sakura was more than capable of defending herself, but a more basic and primal instinct within himself was telling Itachi to protect her, to make it known that she was _his_.

"Arashi, the m–"

"We are to act like lovers." he murmured, turning his head to the side and whispering lowly in her ear. "Perhaps I am simply acting like a territorial lover."

She smiled impishly and also turned her head to the side, biting her lip. "Only acting?"

He smirked. "Would you believe me if I said yes?"

Sakura practically grinned. "Not one bit."

"Even if disguised, you know me too well." Itachi breathed, pressing a single kiss to her jaw.

Angling herself in her seat so that her lips were mere millimetres from his, Sakura ran a hand through Itachi's hair, trying her best not to show her disappointment at the feeling of it. It was short now, looking more like Sasuke's if it was flattened down completely – and it wasn't nearly as soft as it usually was. "How are my acting skills?" Sakura mouthed, her lips brushing against his. "Too good?"

Once more, Itachi smirked and placed a hand on her thigh, his thumb stroking the skin there softly. "I believe I may have to give you a lesson or two."

"Do I have to call you 'sensei'?"

"That depends."

"On?"

"On whether you like that kind of thing."

Thinking about it for a moment, Sakura giggled and shook her head, making her nose bump into his. "No, I don't think I am."

"Good, because I would be worried as to _why_ you have that sort of fetish."

Why she would have that–

Oh dear God no.

It took a lot to hold back her need to cringe at the thought of being with _Kakashi_ in such a way. There was no denying that he was attractive and definitely a fine specimen of a man, but just… No. "I have someone so much better than my sensei." she whispered, tightening her hold on his hair.

"Oh? And who may that be?"

She smirked. "You probably don't know him. You see, he has these _really_ dark eyes and his hair is so much darker and longer than yours."

"Sounds feminine."

"Not at all." Sakura whispered, her smile fading at the look in his eyes. Even though they were now green and not the same shape as they previously were, they were still, in a way, his eyes. "I told him once before that I like a man who takes care of his appearance." Recalling the memory, Itachi pressed his forehead to hers. Now was not the time to be remembering such stuff, especially considering who she had been talking to when saying such a thing. "Even if his hair _is_ so much softer than mine."

Noticing a certain flicker in her eyes, Itachi had to hold back a sigh. It seemed she was having difficulty keeping her henge going. Why, he wasn't too sure, because her chakra control was by far one of the best he'd ever seen and due to her hidden seal, Sakura had more than enough chakra to keep it up. Itachi paused for a moment just as he opened his mouth and glanced over his shoulder before looking back to her. "Finish your drink, Tama–chan." he told her softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Then we will go."

* * *

That strange feeling in the cabin had increased, Sakura noticed the second they entered it. When Itachi shut the door, her henge slipped away completely and the drain it had been having on her, left too.

"Sakura?"

"I don't know what the hell is happening." she muttered, staring down at her hands in confusion. "I usually have much better control than that!"

Seeing her building frustration, Itachi also released his henge. He'd done a quick check whilst walking back to the cabin and knew that it would make no difference if they took a couple of hours to rest their chakra. "Something you ate, maybe?"

She rubbed her eyes tiredly and made her way to the stairs. "I have no idea, but I know that I need a shower."

Itachi caught her wrist, his thumb drawing a pattern on her skin. "Have a shower in the morning, koishii."

Sakura tensed ever so slightly, though fixed her slight mistake by smirking at him. "You just want to get me into bed whilst our henge–"

He pressed her against a wall. "I do."

It took a lot for her to ignore the way her body was heating up almost dramatically, the way she was starting to feel as though she absolutely _needed_ Itachi and nothing more. Pushing him back ever so slightly, Sakura gave him a smirk and continued on her way to the stairs. "You're going to have to work for it."

Waiting for a few moments after Sakura disappeared up the stairs to no doubt get changed for bed, Itachi exhaled slowly, ignoring the twisting of his gut. He'd warned her with the codename:

They were not alone.

* * *

"Are you trying to seduce me, Sakura?"

"It'd be _really_ unprofessional of me to do that, wouldn't it?"

Itachi's eyes were glued on hers, trying his best to ignore the effects she was having on him. "Very."

One of her hands fisted the oversized nightshirt she was wearing, trying her hardest to ignore the throbbing sensation, the one that was _screaming_ her need for him to fill her. It was the same as the feeling that had washed over her earlier, only more painful. "I–"

Having his hands grabbing her waist and yanking her forward silenced Sakura and beneath them, the cheap bed in their cabin creaked at the sudden movement, almost enough to make her roll her eyes. All Sakura could focus on, however, was Itachi's lips making their way from her neck and to her mouth, hungry and demanding and feeling the exact same need as herself.

Despite wanting to take their time, they both knew that what they were doing was incredibly risky. Sakura had released her henge due to needing a break and seeing how angry with herself she had become, Itachi had also released his. It felt better being himself, anyway. Using a henge was something he always tried to avoid for personal reasons. And right now, as Itachi's hand slid up Sakura's thigh and yanked her underwear down, he was glad they had dispelled their henge.

Tossing her underwear to the side of the bed, Itachi gave her a moment to unbutton his pants before he was dragging her closer and parting her thighs, his lips once more on her neck as she worked on his length. It didn't take too long. It never had, around her.

It surprised Itachi just how much his body craved her touch, however, as the hand that was angling her hips and aligning them with his, was trembling ever so slightly. Yes, that had happened before, but only when he orgasmed. To make matters worse, his breathing was growing shallower – no, it was difficult to even breathe!

Pulling away, Itachi sat on the edge of the mattress and gripped hold of it on each side of him, leaning over and trying his best to calm his racing heart, his quickening breathing. What…?

Sakura was in front of him in an instant, green eyes wide as she cupped his face and forced him to look at her. "Itachi, try to stay calm. Deep breaths like mine."

He copied her, willing away the automatic response his body was demanding he give.

"Are you anxious about anything?" she asked him softly, keeping her breathing calm despite her fear. "Panicked?"

Itachi shook his head, eyes a fraction wider as the pain increased. It felt like… "My… throat…"

Immediately summoning her chakra, Sakura raised her hands, allowing Itachi to view them and nod his assent before she was placing them onto each side of his neck. Deep down she knew that, later on, she'd be feeling surprised that he seemed so relaxed with such a move. To shinobi, the most vulnerable place on their body was their neck. Well, unless you were Naruto–

"Allergic reaction." she frowned, quickly getting to work. It was simple to counter with her chakra. "What are you allergic to?"

Feeling much calmer as the tightness of his throat lessened, Itachi fixed his pants and rubbed his chest. "Nothing, that I am aware of."

"Well you're definitely allergic to something." Sakura murmured with obvious concern in her eyes, her eyebrows knitting together. "When did you start feeling like you couldn't breathe?"

"Not until I was kissing you."

And her tongue was down his throat. "Something I've possibly eaten, then. Or drank."

He nodded, still shocked that such a thing had happened. In all his life, he'd never felt such panic before – no, that was a lie. He had. Itachi could remember it clearly. A hand came up to his forehead and Itachi tiredly pushed away his sweaty bangs. "I thought…"

Sakura took his hand, just as shaken up. She'd never seen him act in such a way before and it had honestly frightened her. "You thought, what?"

Instead of answering her question, Itachi's eyes swept over to hers. "Do you mind examining me thoroughly, Sakura? I know that it has been a long night–"

"No, no. It's fine." she told him without complaint, easing him backwards onto the bed and sitting by his side with her legs folded beneath her. "You don't even have to ask, Itachi." When he nodded, eyes intently watching her face, Sakura closed her eyes and once again summoned her chakra, placing her hands over his chest before pausing and reopening her eyes. "You think that your illness has returned, or possibly returned, right?"

His eyes closed. "It felt almost exactly like the attack I had before being diagnosed."

Trying to ignore her growing pain and fear, as she had been told just how deadly that illness had been, Sakura nodded quickly and closed her own eyes, biting down on her lower lip. What if it had returned? Would it be even deadlier this time? Would they be able to give Itachi the same treatment to cure him, or would they have to find something stronger? What if they didn't make it in time? She couldn't lose him. He meant way too much to her. But what if–

"Clear." Sakura whispered, all thoughts coming to a screeching halt. "You're clear."

Slowly opening his eyes, Itachi took a moment to think over her words before he relaxed once more and glanced up at her, only to be stunned by her emotions. She seemed so happy, so relieved, that it honestly stunned him. Smiling softly, Itachi pulled her down against him, holding her tenderly. "Forgive me, Sakura. I didn't mean to worry you."

She shook her head. "Don't be silly!"

"So you weren't worried?"

Hearing the small teasing tone in his voice, Sakura huffed. "Of course I was! I just meant that even if you think, or know, that it's going to worry me, don't feel like you can't tell me those things. You always take care of me and the things that weigh me down, so let me do the same for you."

"Equals."

Sakura smiled and snuggled closer to him, pressing a kiss to his chest. "Equals."

* * *

Later that night, as she felt Itachi tense for a moment before relaxing, she knew that they were finally, truly, alone.

"Do you think they fell for it?" Sakura whispered against his lips as she shifted closer. In response, Itachi nodded once. "Weak." again, another nod. "Any idea who it could be?"

Very few people would ever dare to try and trap Itachi in a genjutsu considering the fact that he was highly skilled in that area. Add that to the fact that somebody had _waited_ until the henge had been dropped to find out who it really was… Sakura had been right. They both had been, really. Somebody had seen right through their disguises, even though they had been ANBU level henge.

He didn't want to believe it. He didn't. But, Itachi had little else to go on. That genjutsu hadn't been an average level genjutsu. "Sharingan user."

Sakura tried her best not to be too startled. "Because your eyes can pick up on people's chakra, right? Like Sasuke–kun can pick up on Naruto's real chakra when he uses his shadow clones on him?"

"Yes."

She paled. "Which means this person… You've encountered them before. For you to know _their_ chakra, or them yours."

Itachi nodded once. "I have come across many Uchiha, though. It is hard to figure out which Uchiha it is – if it is one at all."

Frowning, she looked into his eyes, picturing _his_ sharingan. "You mean like… Kakashi–sensei? Somebody implanted somebody else's sharingan–"

"That was a gift to him." Itachi murmured, stroking a soothing pattern on her side. "You should be careful how you word your sentences, Sakura. You make it sound as though he stole it, when it was actually a gift." she nodded quickly, looking rather guilty. "However, I understand what you are saying. There have been a few cases where the sharingan has been stolen from an Uchiha and implanted into somebody else. It is rare to happen, but not unheard of."

Danzo being one of them. He had stolen his own teammate's eye and then went on to try and take Shisui's.

"Can you track them?"

Itachi thought about it for a moments before shaking his head. "That would be too risky. We're posing as a low–ranked shinobi and civilian, so if I were to use my chakra to search for our target, it would give us away." His chakra was hardly unnoticeable, after all. "I felt a small amount of their chakra when the genjutsu was cast, but since then it has disappeared."

"Disappeared? Like, _completely_?" Sakura's eyes widened. "And you're sure it's not just that person masking their chakra?" Itachi gave her a blank look. "Okay, okay. Sorry. It's just… for it to just disappear like that…"

"It is almost like he can teleport."

"Like Shisui–san?"

Thinking about it, Itachi nodded. "Almost."

"Well, we can rule Shisui–san out." she sighed, rolling onto her back and staring up at the ceiling. "You would have known in an instant that it was him and besides, he's much smarter than this guy seems to be. No way he'd just cast genjutsu on us like that."

"If Shisui was to cast a genjutsu on me, chances are, I won't be able to break it."

Sakura's eyes went wide and she quickly sat up. "What?"

He smirked. It was nice that Sakura thought so highly of him and his abilities. "Shisui is known as the most powerful genjutsu user there has ever been."

"But you have Tsukuyomi!"

"I do. And whilst it is a powerful genjutsu and probably on level with one or two of Shisui's, his skills greatly surpass my own."

"That's… kind of scary." she stated with a sheepish chuckle, remembering easily how powerful Tsukuyomi had felt when she had allowed Itachi to use it on her. "At least now I know never to try and compete with him in genjutsu!"

Itachi gave her a small smile and brought her closer once more, relaxing at the feeling of her body on top of his.

"Itachi?"

"Hm?"

"Earlier… You scared me." Sakura admitted quietly, staring down at his chest with her eyebrows knitted together. "When you went along with the genjutsu, I mean. I thought you were serious…"

Hearing the pain in her voice, Itachi cupped her cheek and forced her to lift her head so that their eyes met. "I had to make it believable, Sakura, but I'm sorry for scaring you. That was never my intention."

She nodded, biting her lip. "I know, it's just… For a moment there, I really thought–"

Rolling them over, he silenced Sakura with a chaste kiss. "If my illness ever returns, Hokage–sama assured me that it would be easy to cure me of it once more. I simply have to go for more check–ups than the average shinobi in order to make sure it hasn't returned."

"If it does, you'll tell me, right?" Sakura asked him softy. "Last time, you said only Tsunade–sama, Shizune–san and Shisui–san knew of your illness. Not even your parents knew about it. I don't want you to have to suffer alone through something like that again, so please, let me be there for you if it does ever return."

"Of course."

Sakura suddenly frowned. "Wait… Does that mean that whoever this person is, they know that you were ill?" Itachi tensed for a moment. "Considering they had you have an attack almost exactly like the one you had before being diagnosed…"

Which confirmed his earlier thoughts, his earlier suspicions. "Somebody has been watching the Uchiha clan for a while." he murmured to her, not in the least bit surprised when Sakura stared up at him with a startled expression. "To know so much about me even though I hid it well… and then all of this trouble with Sasuke and Iwa…" it felt like it had all suddenly slammed into him and made sense. Well, somewhat made sense. "Whilst trying to find an Uchiha who is easy enough to frame, whoever this person is somehow saw through my act and found out about my illness."

But how was that even possible? Not a single person had been suspicious or caught on that there was something wrong. Not even his own parents or brother.

_Who had been spying on the Uchiha clan without any of them noticing?_

* * *

They were much more guarded over the next two weeks and ever since that night, Itachi had found that Sakura no longer struggled with keeping up her henge. That most likely meant that she had encountered a trap of some sorts that had disturbed her chakra, as after sleeping on it and breaking up the alcoholic substance in her stomach, all had gone back to normal.

Things had become much more complicated and Itachi knew that their Hokage was not pleased about it in the least. Sakura had filled her in on everything via Katsuyu, as the slug summon seemed to be the only safe way to contact the blonde. At that moment, Tsunade was torn between calling it a day and demanding that Itachi and Sakura return, or pushing harder to gain more information. After all, despite it being more complicated, they had found _something_ out. Something that proved Sasuke's innocence further.

However, little else was learned. Sakura had attempted to gossip with the women of Iwa, but they gave very little away. It seemed as though nobody was willing to trust any outsiders since what had happened. The couple couldn't even blame them.

Since that night, the person who had attempted to cast them under genjutsu had not been sighted or sensed since. It was like whoever it was, was very wisely keeping their distance. And that genjutsu… What had _that_ been about? Sakura had questioned him about it the morning after, asking if he knew any perverted Uchiha. The answer was no. Itachi had honestly _never_ encountered _anyone_ who placed somebody under genjutsu such as that.

After a few more hours of thinking it over, however, Itachi had figured it out. It wasn't that the caster of the genjutsu was perverted. They had merely brought forth their wants and considering that he and Sakura were still very much in the – as Sakura had once called it – 'honeymoon phase' of their relationship… Well, that was probably when they had switched it to bring forth their fears instead. It was a basic way of interrogating people, by forcing them to reveal their wants. Fears was unnecessary, but could potentially reveal that the one under genjutsu was afraid of being caught.

Like Itachi had always said to both Sasuke and Sakura, there was no use in trying to think everything over whilst worked up – and there was no use in him trying to deny that _he_ hadn't also been worked up. The fear of his illness returning… Itachi hadn't really ever thought about it before, but considering how well everything was currently going for him (in his personal life and not for the village), it was understandable that he'd fear becoming ill again and having to leave Sakura behind, or having to put her through watching him recover.

Sighing, Itachi looked out of the window at the shop they were currently sitting inside of, waiting for the storm to pass.

It had lashed down without any warning, heavy rain that you could barely see a thing in, loud cracks of thunder that boomed in the dark sky, fierce lightning and extremely strong gusts of winds. They had been just about to leave the village when it started and noticing this through the window of his shop since it was right by the gates, Daichi had offered them somewhere to stay until it let up.

"So this is your shop _and_ home?" Sakura asked, looking around with a small smile. "I've always thought that it'd be dangerous. Living above a shop, I mean. But this… It actually feels really homely and comfortable."

The woman who was standing at the counter, who they had learned was Daichi's wife, returned Sakura's smile. "It's not so bad when you live in a village pretty much run by shinobi. We all look out for each other here. If there was ever any trouble, they'd come without a second thought."

It reminded Sakura of Konoha, so much so that she was actually beginning to miss their village and the feelings it brought to her.

"Not that anybody from the village would ever cause any trouble," Daichi added, handing Sakura a cup of tea before walking over to Itachi and also handing him one, "it's more the rogue–nin who cause trouble, especially ones who used to belong to our village, so know it well enough to know how to infiltrate it." he sighed, gesturing for Itachi and Sakura to follow both himself and his wife into the back. "They don't come often and the last one had to have been around five, maybe six months ago, now, I reckon."

His wife, Anzu, nodded once with a cold look on her features. "That Deidara." she muttered. "He was always coming back and causing trouble for us, but he hasn't been for a while."

The back room of the shop and the short, small hallway that guided them to it was very much like the cabin Sakura and Itachi were staying in. Old, plain and rustic. The wooden flooring creaked beneath their feet, threatening to give way to their weight but at the same time, seemed sturdy and strong, refusing to break. It was the same wood that made up the walls, too, although the walls had been painted and was now a faded grey colour. The hallway was clear, but the back room was anything but and was filled with a single round table in the centre, surrounded by five chairs. Surrounding that table, however, was a clutter of mess and boxes piled upon boxes. Itachi noticed the labels of some of the boxes, clearly indicating them as stock and products to sell in the shop.

Looking down at his wife as she sat down at the table in the back room, Daichi frowned. "That's because he's dead, love. That Uchiha kid killed him. Don't you remember?"

Sakura had to force back her nearly automatic medic–mode. Forgetting something as big as that wasn't normal. Not only that, but the woman had been taking some kind of pill when they first entered the shop. "Uchiha kid?" Sakura instead asked, realising that perhaps they could get information out of the married couple.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Anzu spat. "Although I don't see why people in the village feel grateful towards him – he attacked us!"

No he didn't, Sakura wanted to scream at her, but instead stamped her screams down. Instead, it was her inner–persona who was screaming at Anzu. "But why would he do that? We've heard of the trouble between Konoha and Iwa – who hasn't? – but why would he attack you? From what we've heard, it was a completely random and uncalled for attack."

Daichi nodded, watching as Itachi sat beside the blue haired woman. "It was and none of us can understand why he would do that. We've heard many things about Uchiha Sasuke and his team. Things from how great a shinobi he is, to how strict his clan is and that he was raised to know exactly what was right, wrong and honourable."

That was because he was, Itachi thought in reply. Despite all trouble within his clan in the past, they were still honourable and knew the difference between right and wrong. It was just that sometimes, you had to push aside what you knew was the right thing to do and do what was best. That was what being a shinobi was all about. You had to endure.

"So you see why we're stumped–"

"We're not stumped!" Anzu argued hotly, narrowing her dark eyes on her husband. "That clan is all kinds of messed up, Daichi and _you_ know it! It's always been known that the Uchiha clan is evil. Take a look at their ancestors."

Sakura fought the urge to glance at Itachi, who instead of replying and defending his clan, chose to remain silent. To defend them would give away their positions. "Surely they're not evil!" Sakura put on a laugh. "Yeah, there probably are or were members within the clan who're evil, but not everyone is going to believe in the ways of the clan, are they?" Becoming more serious yet still seeming so naïve and innocent, she tilted her head to the side, blue hair shifting as she did. "Think about it. My family has always been strict – maybe not as strict as the Uchiha clan, but still strict – and followed certain rules and had their own way and whatnot, but did I? Nope!" she smiled brightly. "I didn't agree with them at all, which is why Arashi and I are eloping and not marrying within our home village!"

Silence for a moment, before Anzu sighed. "I don't like Konoha. It's as simple as that."

Very, _very_ faintly, Sakura's left eye twitched. "Why not? Aside from all this trouble with that Uchiha boy, has Konoha done anything wrong?"

"Tama–san," Daichi sighed, sitting opposite her and Itachi, "you're a civilian, so it's no surprise that you have been left out of a lot of shinobi things. However, Konoha _has_ hurt us. Intentionally and unintentionally. Intentionally by killing our shinobi, and unintentionally by…"

Seeing the raw pain that entered both Daichi and Anzu's eyes had Sakura's anger fading, had her leaning forward. "Daichi–san?"

Anzu stood up and made her way over to the fireplace, grabbing something and holding it close to her chest as she sat back down. The room was too full to light the fire, however, so they were all sat in the cold. To light it with so many fire hazards and flammable products around was just plain stupid. "They took somebody precious from us, Tama–san." she told her softly, all previous anger also disappearing. Now, there was only hurt and exhaustion. "Unintentionally, they took somebody from us."

And then she revealed the picture.

Sakura's eyes tightened at the sight at the picture, but thankfully, that was all the reaction she gave.

Why did she give a reaction at all?

Gazing down at the picture, Itachi felt his stomach twist.

It was of Aiko and what the couple presumed to be her parents.

"That little girl…" Daichi murmured, his eyebrows knitting together. "That little girl is my niece."

She was going to be sick. Sakura literally felt bile rising in her throat. The cabin she was staying in, the house and shop she was in right at that moment… They both belonged to the family members of Aiko.

"Aiko–chan." his wife said fondly, unknowingly making a vicious whip lash at Sakura's heart. "Daichi and I… We can't have children of our own, so we treated Aiko–chan like she was our daughter."

"What happened?" Itachi asked calmly, making sure the attention stayed away from Sakura. Her now–blue eyes hadn't left the picture for well over a minute and he could tell by just glancing at her pallor that she was feeling sick. He was too, in a strange way. "If you don't mind my asking."

Daichi sighed. "My brother, Aiko's father, was in battle against a Konoha–nin and was paralysed from the waist down, meaning he was no longer useful as a shinobi. It was difficult for him, adjusting to life as a handicapped civilian and being in the village made it harder for him. His wife has always put him first, so it didn't surprise us when she one day approached us and told us of their leaving."

Taking a deep breath, Anzu gave them a broken look. "It broke our hearts. Knowing that we wouldn't see them anymore, see Aiko–chan anymore… It was difficult." she swallowed hard and nodded. "But we put on our best smiles and acted like nothing was changing, for her sake. We didn't want to upset her, even though I'm certain she knew."

Aiko had always been such a smart girl, Sakura recalled silently. Forcing herself to calm down, forcing herself to act more normally, she tilted her head to the side, blue bangs moving from in front of her eyes. "And you haven't heard from them in a while?"

"What makes you think that?" Anzu asked, frowning.

"Well… You're talking of them like you haven't." Sakura also put on a frown. "Whenever you're mentioning them, you're always saying 'was' or 'had' or something of the sort."

Daichi nodded, accepting the excuse. "No, we haven't. It's been well over two years now, I would say. Three since they left, two since we've heard from them. All we know was that they were heading towards Fire, long before all the trouble between Konoha and Iwa."

Glancing out of the window, Anzu's pale eyebrows knitted together. "We don't even know if they're safe. If they managed to make it passed Konoha. Or whether or not Konoha caught them, and due to–"

The man placed a hand on his wife's, squeezing it softly. "Stop worrying so much, Anzu. You're going to bring on another one of your migraines."

She shook her head, pressing her free hand to her mouth as tears filled her eyes. "She was our little girl, too, Daichi, and we don't know what's happening or where they are."

"Perhaps it would be best if you took a nap." he told his wife sadly, helping her stand. "Please excuse us, Arashi–san, Tama–san. I will be back shortly."

The second they were gone, Sakura was gritting her teeth and her fists were clenching, fiercely fighting back the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Aiko's family. What were the chances of them stumbling upon _Aiko's family_? If it hadn't been for this stupid, _stupid_ mission in an effort to stop those ridiculous accusations and prevent a barbaric war, then Sakura could have eased their minds. It wouldn't have lessened their pain, but at least they would know.

Before anything else could happen, Itachi was by her side and cupping her face, staring into her eyes intently. "Do not break composure." he mouthed against her lips, listening carefully to the movements above them. "I know you're hurting right now and that you're torn, but we are in enemy territory. Do not break composure."

Sakura nodded quickly, closing her eyes tightly. "It–"

His lips silenced hers, capturing his name before she said it accidentally. "As soon as the storm lets up, we will be leaving." Itachi told her as they broke apart. "Until then, you're going to have to push everything else aside and put our mission first. Can you do that?"

Taking a deep breath, Sakura opened her eyes and nodded once more, forcing herself to continue taking deep breaths until the fast beating of her heart slowed down, until her breathing had evened out. Eventually, she was capable of breathing without it being painful and as soon as she could, Sakura breathed out a sigh. "Promise?"

Her voice sounded so childlike that it honestly hurt him. "I promise. Just a little bit longer and then you can let it out."

* * *

Another week had slipped by and again, little information was found out. The storm had let up, but only just. It was still raining heavily and windy, although the lightning and thunder had come to a stop. She and Itachi had split up to see if that made any difference in finding out information.

At that moment in time, he was inside the village whilst she was in the cabin, sitting at the kitchen table and holding her head in her hands, waiting for the food to slowly cook. It was the least Sakura could do for Itachi, considering he had been out in the rain all day.

Aiko.

Sakura sighed and closed her eyes. Was that what the strange feeling in this particular cabin was? Aiko? It sounded ridiculous even to her, but there was definitely something about this cabin that tugged at Sakura and not only her. Itachi had also felt it. And that feeling had increased when they were being watched, when they had had the genjutsu cast over them. Comfort. Like the comfort Sakura had given to Aiko.

"I'm being ridiculous." Sakura muttered to herself, rubbing her eyes.

But what were the chances that they'd run into Aiko's family? That it would be Aiko's family who gave them accommodation?

Something had clearly led her to them.

Was it Aiko?

"Ridiculous." she repeated and stood up, going out the front to get some more firewood. It was a good thing that they were fairly far from the village, otherwise the fact that Sakura managed to cut down a tree and make firewood out of it with her bare hands, would have immediately given away their position. She wouldn't have done it at all, but being left to her thoughts was seriously getting to her.

A second later, however, and Sakura wished she had stayed in the cabin.

"You're no civilian."

How the hell had she missed that? She whirled around quickly, dropping the firewood that had been gathered in her arms. The sight of Daichi stood in the shadow of the trees had her blue eyes going wide.

"I'm not stupid." Daichi muttered, his brown hair, which was darkened by the rain, swaying in the wind as he regarded Sakura closely. "I know you're not who you say you are."

Taking a step back, Sakura scowled. "Then why did you–"

"At first, I _did_ believe you. And I continued to believe you right until the night of the storm." he told her, brown eyes narrowing. "That night, I showed you a picture. Do you remember that picture? The picture of a family–"

She shook her head. "Please–"

His eyes narrowed further. "When I told you about my niece, about my Aiko–"

"You don't understand–"

"Did you hurt her?" Daichi demanded, a vicious look in his eyes. "_Did you hurt her_? Is that why you looked so sick with yourself? Is that why–"

Sakura took a step forward, utterly stunning the man when tears began to fall. "Please, just hear me out."

"Hear you out? Why should I?"

"I–I can tell you the full story. Or, at least, where I came in. I've been wanting to ever since you told me she was your niece. _It's been tearing me apart_!"

His features smoothed out, mouth falling open. "You've seen Aiko? Is she okay?" When Sakura's face crumbled, like she was desperately fighting back emotion, it felt like he had been kicked in the gut. "You cared for her?" She nodded quickly. "Amazing kid, isn't she? Being able to change people like that."

It took a lot for Sakura not to outright sob. "She was."

It seemed like the ground disappeared from beneath him because the next thing Sakura knew, Daichi was collapsing backwards, falling with a harsh thud onto the muddy floor. "W–Was?"

"I took Aiko–chan in… a–after her parents died, after they were killed… I found her alone in the woods close to my village. When I found her, she was half dead." Sakura whispered, her throat feeling tight. "I took her in. Healed her. Protected her. I was planning on taking her back to my village, where she would be safe and away from danger, but…" she shook her head. "That's when the camp was attacked. I told her to hide, told her not to come no matter what, but the second I started to lose, she just… came out of nowhere and saved me." Legs weakening, Sakura fell to her knees in front of Daichi, who looked like he was in shock. That shock only increased as her henge slipped away. "I'm so s–sorry. For not saving her. For not keeping my promises to her. For not being able to give her the life she deserved. I'm so, so, so, _so sorry_!"

His eyes were dull, like he was in a trance. He could remember that face. Not her name, but he definitely knew Sakura's face and where she was from. Konoha. "It was us, wasn't it? Iwa. Iwa attacked you and Aiko lost her life because… because of us."

Sakura grabbed his hand, giving him a pleading look. "No, not because of you. Me. It was because of _me_. I should have protected her like I promised!"

"You're just a kid yourself." he whispered. "You can't blame yourself for something like this. This thing between Iwa and Konoha… It's all so ridiculous and unnecessary."

Not her fault.

It wasn't her fault.

His words had some of the pain lessening in her heart, had her shoulders feeling a little lighter.

"But…"

"Tama – or whatever your real name is – please don't blame yourself. I don't blame you." Daichi mumbled, holding her hand in return. "Can you just… tell me one thing?" When Sakura nodded, he sighed. "Was she happy? With you, I mean."

"I like to think that she was." Sakura smiled hopefully, tears slipping down her cheeks. "We picked flowers and joked around and stayed up late telling stories…"

He gave her a small, broken smile. "She always wanted an older sister. Thank you for being there for her."

And when Sakura finally, completely broke down, the man sighed and pulled her to him, allowing her to rest her cheek on his shoulder as they both grieved for the loss of such a loveable, innocent girl.

* * *

**A/N - If you didn't pick it up earlier in the chapter, Itachi's greatest fear is leaving Sakura, whilst hers is something, _anything_ happening to Itachi. Their greatest wants are each other.**

**I honestly have no idea why I brought Aiko back into the story, but it felt kind of nice to bring Sakura some closure like that and have Aiko's uncle tell her that it wasn't her fault. She won't be completely over it, but her guilt has been lessened.**


	29. Desperation

**Chapter 28 – Desperation**

What Itachi returned to was shocking to say the least.

Sakura – in her undisguised form – clinging to Daichi desperately as they both cried. She hadn't…

His eyes narrowed.

No, _he_ had. Daichi had somehow dragged the information out of her, but considering the fact that there was a destroyed tree and pieces of firewood, Itachi was guessing that Sakura had given away her position first. That must have been when he demanded answers and going from the look of devastation on his face, Sakura had given him those answers.

Suddenly, Sakura tensed, her head snapping up and eyes meeting Itachi's, widening as they did so. The look of horror in them, of truly realising what she had just done, was unmissable. She had given away their positions in enemy territory.

Daichi looked up at Itachi with heavy eyes. "You're both from Konoha, right?"

Sakura pulled away, standing slowly and taking her place by Itachi once he was closer. "We are."

"Just…" the brunet sighed. "Just go."

Green eyes flashed up to his. "Arashi?"

A snort reached their ears. "You don't have to pretend around me anymore. It's not like I'll be giving anything to that damned village. They… They killed her. My Aiko."

Itachi released his henge. They'd been found out and there was clearly no use in lying anymore. If it really came to it, he'd simply place Daichi under genjutsu and they could make their escape. "You would really turn your back on your village?"

"Have you ever lost someone precious at the hands of–" Daichi cut himself off as his eyes met Itachi's, as his eyes met Itachi's sharingan. "Uchiha."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed and she put herself in front of Itachi, making it known to Daichi that he wouldn't be attacking the Uchiha without going through her first. "Your village… They don't understand what's really happening, Daichi–san. Uchiha Sasuke, my teammate, he didn't attack your village. I can promise you that. His brother," Sakura gestured behind her, "can also swear to that."

"All those things my wife said," he shook his head, turning pale, "I'm surprised you didn't kill her, Uchiha Itachi."

He remained silent, his features blank.

"That's because not all Uchiha are like that – if any at all!" Sakura argued calmly. "I know they may seem cold and scary, but they're honestly not so bad. Sasuke–kun… He can be an ass, I know that, but he's my teammate, one of my closest friends. I know him better than I know myself and I promise you, Daichi–san, he did _not attack your village_."

Slowly, on unsteady legs, Daichi pulled himself to his feet. "The both of you have to leave. If anybody discovers the truth, we will _all_ be killed. I can't leave Anzu like that. She depends on me too much. So just… leave and don't return."

Looking at Itachi from over her shoulder, she saw him nod once. Their mission was a failure.

It was the first mission Itachi had _ever_ failed.

"One… One last thing." Sakura paused as Daichi watched her. "You said you're Uchiha Sasuke's teammate, meaning you're the Godaime's apprentice… Haruno Sakura, right?" She nodded. "Haruno Sakura… Thank you, for taking care of my niece. I don't care if you feel like you failed her. The kindness you showed to her… It clearly meant a lot. Otherwise, she wouldn't have given her life to save yours." A pause. "Don't blame yourself for her death." Something darkened in his eyes. "Blame Iwa."

Her heart stopped. "Daichi–san, don't–"

"Come, Sakura." Itachi murmured. "Others will be arriving shortly."

Knowing that she couldn't argue with him due to Itachi being captain, she nodded. "They'll know that Daichi–"

"Go and collect our scrolls and anything else that is important." he told her and once Sakura left, he turned to Daichi. "Daichi–san, I am going to place you under genjutsu. Do not panic. It is to simply make them believe that you were trying to stop us after figuring out who we really are. It will make your excuse more believable and this way, you will be able to stay with your wife."

The exhausted looking man gave Itachi a small smile. "Thank you."

* * *

"What the hell do you mean you 'gave up'?" Tsunade demanded.

"It is stated that scouting missions, or any missions at all, cannot be carried out if they are personal. It became personal to Sakura, Hokage–sama, so I thought it would be best that we left while we still could."

The blonde was trying her best to stay calm, they could both see it, and Sakura was so very grateful that Itachi was defending her on this, instead of simply telling the truth. The reason why they left was all her fault. She broke composure and gave away their position.

She rubbed her aching temples. "Give me one good reason why it became personal."

Sakura took a deep breath, trying to calm the pounding of her heart. "The people who accommodated us, and were trying to become our friends… We found out that they were Aiko's aunt and uncle, Tsunade–sama. It was difficult for me when they confided in us about her, telling us that they didn't know what happened to her or whether or not she was still alive." she sighed, resisting the urge to close her eyes when honey coloured eyes met hers. "I've always been an impulsive person and it's safe to say that I follow my heart rather than my head, at times. Itachi realised this. He gave me a week to try and shut away my emotions, to try and focus on the mission, but seeing them, seeing their pain… It was too difficult to carry out the mission to the best of my ability."

The honesty in her words, the acceptance, made Tsunade sigh. "I'm too tired to be dealing with this right now." she muttered. "Whatever the case, it's good to have you both back in the village. I need my best to be staying close from now on."

Seeing the flicker of pain that flashed through her eyes had Sakura frowning. "What happened whilst we were away, Tsunade–sama?"

There was a pause. "Jiraiya… He managed to break into Ame. It's basically the damned headquarters of Akatsuki and–"

When she cut herself off, growing frustrated, Sakura felt her heart leap right into her throat. "And he didn't make it."

"No." the blonde shook her head, gritting her teeth. "Jiraiya's dead."

Itachi honestly couldn't believe it. Somebody was strong enough to take on Jiraiya and _win_? The man had many hidden jutsu and techniques that nobody had ever seen, so how was it that he lost? How had he not been able to take them by surprise?

"Naruto…" Sakura murmured, stepping closer and pressing a hand to her chest. "Have you already told him?"

"He blames me." she whispered, leaning back in her seat and just about keeping her emotions together and locked away. "I can't blame him for it."

"He's just angry right now, shishou."

"No–"

"No, he is!" Sakura argued, cutting the woman off. "If anything happened to you, I'd be angry as well. You're my shishou, Tsunade–sama. You mean a lot to me, just like Jiraiya–sama will always mean a lot to Naruto! All he needs is a little time to get his head together, to think everything through."

If Sakura knew that he wouldn't be aching viciously already, she would have pummelled Naruto into the ground. Couldn't he see how much this was effecting Tsunade? Couldn't he see that she was just about clinging on? She'd already lost so many precious people to her and now, that list had just gained another name.

Itachi glanced out of the window. "Did Jiraiya–sama find anything out about Akatsuki before he was defeated?"

Swallowing hard for a moment and secretly grateful that Itachi had given her something different to think about, something serious that _needed_ her attention, Tsunade nodded. "Yes. He wrote a message of some sort onto a summon of his. The problem was, was that nobody could work it out. Not until Naruto figured out that they were getting something wrong due to a quirk in Jiraiya's handwriting."

"And the message?"

"The message said 'the real one is not among them'. Damned pervert had Kakashi reading out his _Icha Icha_ books to Shikamaru, Naruto and one of the decryption workers." a reluctant smirk pulled at her lips. "Kakashi looked mortified when I saw him later that day."

That was a smart idea, Itachi silently thought. Making sure the message was coded in a way that Naruto would understand, and then knowing that Kakashi would recognise the pattern and the words. Risky, but smart.

"And where is Naruto now?" Sakura asked softly, wanting to see her best friend. She needed to let him know that she would be there for him when he was ready.

"Away from the village." Tsunade informed them. "But that's all I can tell you both, as it's highly classified. We–"

"_Tsunade–sama_!"

The desperate scream coming from Shizune as she literally burst into the room startled Sakura, the colour draining from her at the blood coating the woman.

Tsunade's eyes were wide. "S–Shizune?"

"They're dead, Tsunade–sama. Everyone at the base camps! They're all dead!"

That couldn't be possible! Itachi's face may have been blank, but on the inside, he was just as startled as the two women. He and Sakura had passed through those base camps only hours ago – a day at most. How was it that they could have _all_ been killed? And so quickly, too?

"Uchiha!" Tsunade snapped, standing up. "Get Shisui and use his transportation jutsu to take you to the base camps. Also take two other ANBU operatives with you. Sakura, find your team and wait to hear the signal if you're needed for back up. Since Naruto isn't here, Sai will be joining you and I don't want to hear a single complaint about how he and Sasuke don't get along, do you understand me?" Her honey coloured eyes narrowed. "Go!"

The two were gone in seconds.

Gritting her teeth, the blonde took a moment to compose herself before standing up straight and walking around her desk, making her way to the door. "Shizune! Come with me to alert all shinobi in the village. You'll explain everything on the way there."

* * *

"This is…" Shisui glanced around himself, very close to breaking composure at the sight of the camp. "Who could do such a thing?"

Everything was destroyed and completely torn up. Not a single thing nor a single person seemed to have survived whatever had attacked the camp. This was the first camp of many – camp three, to be exact. It had been the closest, the one that Shizune and her team had been travelling through on their way back to the village. There was debris, discarded weapons and blood everywhere!

"I–It… was…"

Not even a second after hearing the weak voice, Shisui darted over to it, utterly stunned to see a chunin laying on the ground. What horrified him further was the large hole in his stomach. "Who was it?"

The young boy swallowed hard before erupting with a coughing fit, shaking violently as he clutched at his stomach. "I… Iwa… It was…"

"Rest." Itachi murmured, his eyes focusing on the area surrounding them. "Are there any other survivors? Shizune–san said–"

"After." the boy muttered and squeezed his eyes shut. "My team… after Shizune–san…"

He wasn't going to survive long with a wound like that, Shisui noticed, feeling a heavy weight settling on his shoulders as he knelt down beside the boy. "Itachi…"

They should have brought Sakura. What had been going through Tsunade's mind when she created those teams? Medics should have been sent immediately! However, Itachi hadn't argued, as it would be questioning her authority – to do so in front of others was especially as bad. But that woman… He bit back a sigh. She wasn't acting like herself. Something about Tsunade was just wrong at that moment in time, and not being able to eat or drink (as Sakura had informed him not too long ago) certainly wasn't helping.

Itachi knew very basic medical–ninjutsu, but with all the chakra he could currently sense surrounding them… He'd have no time to save the boy, or at least try to. All Itachi would be doing was leaving himself vulnerable for attack and wasting his chakra.

Unless…

"Shisui, can you transport him without yourself actually leaving this area?"

His eyes narrowed, also being able to detect the Iwa–nin surrounding them. "You mean like the Yondaime's technique?"

"Yes."

Glancing down at the boy, Shisui had to hold back a sigh. He could but considering the state the kid was in, it would be risky. "I–"

"J–Just do it." the boy whispered. "Somebody… Somebody has to warn… Hokage–sama… about… invasion."

Exchanging a final look with Itachi, Shisui nodded once and placed his hand on the boy's forehead. "I'll be transporting you to Uchiha Sasuke." The chunin's eyes widened in fear. "Don't worry. He's with Haruno Sakura, the–"

"Godaime's apprentice."

"Yes." he told him with a small smile, seeing how going to Sakura comforted him slightly. "She'll look after you."

"But… W–What about you–"

"Do not underestimate us." Itachi told the chunin behind him, his eyes narrowing a fraction. "Go back to the village and warn Hokage–sama."

The chunin left unsure as to who he should fear more. The hundreds, if not thousands of shinobi approaching, or the Uchiha men.

* * *

To say that they were startled when a barely alive boy dropped in front of them would be an understatement. Everyone was on edge, prepared for an attack at any moment, so when Sasuke suddenly tensed and his sharingan eyes snapped upwards, the rest of them had been pulling out a weapon of some sorts, only to be surprised when Sasuke reached out, caught the boy and placed him onto the ground, immediately looking to Sakura. "Shisui must have transported him. You need to work on him now, Sakura, otherwise he's not going to make it."

"How can you tell?" Sai asked. "Are you a psychic now?"

"Now isn't the time to be picking fights!" Sakura snapped, falling to her knees beside the boy and ignoring the crowd of civilians forming around them. "But how _do_ you know, Sasuke–kun?"

Watching as Sakura instantly got to work, Sasuke stood up once more, resting his hand on the hilt of his katana. "If it wasn't serious, Shisui wouldn't have taken the risk of transporting him in that state."

That was true. "What's your name?"

The boy looked up with heavy eyes, only vaguely registering the pink hair. "Futaba."

"Just try to relax, Futaba–san." she said softly. "You're home now."

"N–No…" he croaked, raising his hand, but surprising them when it was raised to Sasuke. "U–Uchiha… Help… Thousands…"

Uchiha help thousands? That made no sense, Sasuke thought as he fought the urge to scowl. "What?"

Sakura's stomach turned to ice. "Futaba, what else?"

"O–Only two… Uchiha…"

Her head snapped up. "Sai, I've stopped the bleeding. Please take Futaba–san to the hospital where they can help him. Healing him out here isn't going to do any good due to risk of infection."

Not to mention she was no longer allowed to take part in operations.

Nodding once, Sai leaned down and pulled one of Futaba's arms over his shoulder, disappearing quickly.

"Kakashi–sensei, Sasuke–kun, we need to go to Tsunade–sama."

Sasuke couldn't hold back his scowl this time. "Explain to us first."

"We don't have time!" she snapped, immediately taking to the roofs with the two members of her team right behind her. "Itachi and Shisui… They're the two Uchiha Futaba was talking about. They're the ones who need help, because they're going up against thousands!"

Adding more speed to their movements, team seven seemed to make it there in no time, landing in front of the gathered shinobi so that Sakura could speak directly to Tsunade. The woman wasn't pleased about being interrupted so rudely, but when she realised just how deadly the situation had gotten, she dismissed the act of rudeness and got to work.

"Sakura, gather as many medics as you can without taking too many away from the hospital. They won't be able to defend themselves that well and will remain in the back, but that's what you're there for. You're the only medic aside from myself who can fight on the front lines." Sakura nodded once and quickly got to work. "The strongest Uchiha and Hyuuga clan members, you will be going too."

What a time for them to attack, Tsunade thought as she bit down on her thumbnail. Naruto was out of the village and quite a few of her best teams had yet to return from their missions. Team Gai should be returning some time that day, so hopefully if they ran into the Iwa–nin, they wouldn't be too exhausted. Knowing Rock Lee and Maito Gai the way she did, however, Tsunade doubted they would ever be too exhausted to fight.

Looking out at her shinobi, Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Shizune, sound the state of emergency alarm. Everyone else! You are to remain in the village and station yourselves where our security is weakest. Genin, guide the civilians to safety in the evacuation shelters! Chunin, watch all of the walls surrounding the village! Jonin, make damn sure that no Iwa–nin steps foot into our village. And ANBU!" It startled them when the ANBU operatives seemed to appear out of nowhere, surrounding them completely as they stood eerily on top of buildings and anywhere else they could stand. "Half of you back up Uchiha Itachi and Shisui! For now, you follow _their_ orders! The rest of you, wait outside of the village and keep yourselves hidden until you see the threat. _Do not hold back_!"

Iwa had gone way too far this time.

This was war.

* * *

"Despite not enjoying things like this, I have to say," Shisui smirked, opening his eyes and revealing his Mangekyō, "I'm rather looking forward to testing my abilities."

The design in Itachi's eyes also changed and whilst he disliked the thought of unnecessary violence and bloodshed, Iwa was threatening his village. Konoha needed protecting no matter what the cost. And perhaps a small part of him was agreeing with Shisui's statement. There were a lot of things they hadn't been able to truly test out due to them never being needed and Itachi had to admit, he was looking forward to seeing just what his eyes were capable of.

Looking from one side to another, Shisui asked, "Do you want to do the honours?"

Itachi was moving not even a second later, seeming almost like he was flying through the air as he twisted and turned, kunai after kunai with explosive tags attached to them being launched to different sides of the clearing, aiming straight for his targets. And when he landed, Itachi narrowed his eyes.

Explosions sounded and shook the area around them, bringing all of the Iwa–nin who weren't killed out of hiding.

"Never missed a target." he complimented his friend, watching as Itachi stood up.

"Not once." the younger Uchiha replied.

Shisui's eyes narrowed fractionally as he watched the Iwa–nin running straight for them, each of them screaming and yelling out their battle cries. He couldn't recall ever doing that himself. Itachi had never done so either, now that he was really thinking about it. Sasuke did, though. Damn, that kid could be loud, although certainly not as loud as Naruto. What was the purpose of screaming while attacking?

It confused many of the Iwa–nin as their comrades began to fall to the ground seemingly without reason, as many clutched at their heads and changed their battle cries to screams of torture, begging for it to stop. Red and black eyes glanced over at the group that had continued pushing forward and not long after, they too, fell to the ground.

First, only tens of the Iwa–nin started dropping, but soon enough, double the amount were collapsing, leaving their comrades to desperately try and avoid Shisui's deadly eyes.

It was a wasted attempt. Despite it being cast with his sharingan, Shisui did not need to look into his enemy's eyes to ensnare them. The genjutsu they were all caught in, had been placed down the moment he and Itachi arrived at the clearing and the young boy had been transported away.

"Uchiha–san." one of the ANBU that had been brought along called in a toneless voice. "What is the strategy?"

Strategy? Honestly? There was no strategy. This was basically an all–out battle. Kill or be killed. Years of battles such as this one had fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you were viewing it) made the two Uchiha men immune to the horrors it caused. No, not immune. More like… indifferent to an extent. As long as they continued to tell themselves that it was for the best, that it was to protect Konoha, then it got them through it. Anything else was simply… best left to think about afterwards should they survive.

"Attack." Shisui stated simply. "And if worst comes to worst, take as many of them as you can, with you."

"Yes, sir."

The two ANBU dispersed without another word, slashing through the crowds of Iwa–nin with deadly precision and using all of their training to land the most fatal of blows.

"Itachi?"

"Keep moving." he murmured in response. "And don't stop attacking."

It was with those words that they began their assault, both Itachi and Shisui an unstoppable force as they tore through their enemies.

* * *

"Sakura–san, what shall we do?"

Sakura looked out at the battlefield, sizing up the situation. She was lucky to have been sent at all, given the fact that Tsunade was still pissed with her. About ten minutes ago, ANBU operatives had joined the battle, assisting the Uchiha men and the two other operatives there. Five minutes later and a decent fraction of both the Uchiha and the Hyuuga clans arrived, being led by Sasuke and one of the main branch members of the Hyuuga clan.

"Remain hidden in the trees and keep your eye out for injuries."

One of the medics frowned. "What about ANBU? Most of us aren't able to–"

"Leave ANBU to me." Sakura muttered as her seal was released and moved along her skin. "I'm the only medic capable of being on the front lines, so I don't want to see any of you out there unless you're saving somebody. Is that understood?"

"But, Sakura–san! What if you're hurt–"

"That's what her seal is for!" one of the other medics hissed before nodding at Sakura, even though her back was to them. "Good luck, Sakura–san!"

She was out of the trees not even a second later.

* * *

Reinforcements.

Out of the corner of his eye, Itachi watched as his brother brutally made his way through his enemies, eyes a fraction wider than usual. That had almost always made him wary of Sasuke. Not afraid, but wary. The lust for battle called to his brother more than himself and he knew that Sasuke enjoyed it.

He recognised a fair amount of the Konoha–nin who were fighting alongside of him, but that did little to make Itachi relax. No it made him fight harder, especially as the colour pink flashed in front of him. Not even a second later and the ground was tearing apart, catching many Iwa–nin unaware as they fell through the cracks or into powerful jutsu.

It amazed him how well Sakura and Sasuke fought together. Of course Itachi had seen them fight together before, as well as spar together, but in a situation like this? It was… nice. To see how they had each other's backs, he meant. It was like the moment he realised Sakura had joined the battle, Sasuke had shifted in his stance and took out anyone who was targeting her, due to Sakura being a medic.

She was a medic.

Almost automatically, one of Itachi's hands made a single seal and fire was all but exploding out of his mouth when his fingers raised to it, aiming straight for the enemy.

Sakura was going to be targeted more than the rest of them because she was a medic.

That was not acceptable.

* * *

Grabbing an injured Hyuuga, Sakura quickly took him as close to the trees as possible, knowing that her medics would save him. And just like she had known they would, before Sakura had even turned her back, one of the stronger looking medics entered her line of vision and nodded once, dragging the Hyuuga into the trees.

Just as she was facing the battle once more, Sakura saw most of the Uchiha fall into a stance that had their enemies quickly forming seals to counter, but their speed was no match for theirs and within seconds, fire was erupting around them, darting towards the enemy at a frightening speed. That fire only increased when an ANBU member formed seals of his own and blew a gust of wind towards it, fanning it to greater proportions.

It was terrifying how quickly Iwa was being taken out. Surely they were stronger than this?

Running forward once the flames had been put out, Sakura leaped into the air, feeling like she was flying as her fist glowed blue with chakra. It was almost as though it was drawn to the earth, as she began to fall at a much faster speed than she would've naturally, without the enhanced strength. And the moment her fist collided with the ground…

The effect was devastating.

Forget any of her past destructions. Forget all of the practising and the dodged or misdirected blows. Not a single one of her past punches had anything on this one and Sakura felt so very proud of herself when she saw that the area had been utterly ruined.

"Shannaro." she muttered, smirking to herself.

"Amaterasu."

Blacks flames seemed to appear from the ground below her and Sakura was quick to leap away, eyes wide and smirk vanishing. An arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her away from the flames.

"Stay focused, Sakura–san." Shisui warned her, landing on a jagged patch of earth. "It was an impressive blow I will admit, but you mustn't let it get to your head until after we have won."

"T–Those flames…"

"Itachi." he stated, glancing over at said Uchiha. "There are Iwa–nin who hid underground as soon as it was safe to. He just saved your life. If he hadn't used Amaterasu, you would have been impaled."

He transported away before Sakura could reply, before she could tell him about her seal, but all annoyance at such a thing happening vanished when Sakura heard a piercing scream.

No…

* * *

"_Get the hell away from my medics_!" Sakura yelled in pure anger as she all of a sudden came in from above, her foot smashing down into the ground and causing it to shake violently, throwing the Iwa–nin off their feet long enough for Sakura to shoot forward and punch a single one of them into the rest, taking them all out. Her eyes then snapped over to her medics, looking deadly and serious. "Keep healing and I'll protect you. Don't stop for even a second, got it?"

That was one of few things Itachi disliked about Sakura's fighting technique. It was hardly discreet and caused too much destruction. It had to be said, though, that his lover definitely looked fierce. Her eyes were practically burning holes into her enemies and if they weren't afraid of her monstrous strength, then they were terrified of the look in her eyes.

This was not emotional Haruno Sakura whose mind was all over the place. This was the woman Itachi had been training, the one he saw the moment he first began getting to know her. This was the woman Sakura could be if she learned how to control her emotions permanently and could keep entirely focused on her task, instead of only in battle. This was the potential he had been talking about.

Itachi quickly jumped into the air, easily dodging the many kunai that had been launched straight at him.

It seemed they were no longer only targeting the medics.

His eyes narrowed.

However, just as Itachi was about to unleash an attack, Sasuke was suddenly there and his head was bowed, arms were held out to his sides, almost as though he was protecting his older brother. It wasn't long until screams of pure torture reached their ears, though, telling everybody that Sasuke hadn't been weakly attempting to save Itachi by acting as a shield.

"_Chidori Nagashi!"_

No, with his lightning element, Sasuke was electrocuting those who posed a threat.

Itachi didn't focus on the brutality of it for long, as suddenly, blue flames were going up on different parts of the battlefield, telling him without words that many ANBU operatives had been mortally wounded. It was a technique they all knew, one that destroyed their bodies, to stop information from getting into enemy's hands.

"I–Itachi… Itachi–sama!"

Without so much as glancing at the other Uchiha, Itachi quickly grabbed him and handed him over to the medics, going straight back into battle.

It shouldn't be possible, but the upper hand was slowly being taken from them.

"_Don't let their weapons touch you_!"

"_Dodge everything_!"

The weapons that had been used against Sakura and Aiko. The poison. That was how they were gaining the upper hand!

And it seemed Sakura knew it too, because a dangerous look suddenly flashed in her eyes and she was taking full advantage of her seal by whipping out two kunai, one in each hand, and tearing through her enemies. Sakura's speed surprised many, as did her deadly precision, but it didn't surprise Itachi. They had been working on her speed for a while now and due to being a greatly skilled medic, she knew all vital points.

If they hadn't been already, things had just gotten more serious.

"Fall back!" Shisui ordered.

He and Shisui exchanged a look, nodding once to each before they were, without warning, jumping right to the centre of the enemy. The Iwa–nin stared at them for a moment, trying to figure the two Uchiha out, but from back near the trees, Sasuke smirked.

Fools.

Suddenly, two giant beings were exploding out of what seemed like nowhere, causing all enemies surrounding them to be blown back from the force of their power. Many had difficulty hiding their fear of the giant creatures made of what seemed like chakra, their knees trying desperately to knock together as the creatures towered over them.

This was the power of the sharingan.

* * *

**A/N - I'm not the only one who thinks this chapter is a little rushed or all over the place, am I? Reading it back and editing it just now, kind of made me feel like it was. Hm... Ah well! I'll try and make it up to you all next chapter!**


	30. The Hero Dies In This One

**Chapter 29 – The Hero Dies In This One**

Sakura quickly sidestepped the attack, her knee whipping through the air at startling speed at the same time as her hands grabbing the attacker's shoulders, giving him no room to escape.

Those chakra beasts – no, not chakra beasts. What had Sasuke called them? Susanoo or something of the sort. Whatever the hell they were called, they were definitely something to fear. The one that was acting as Itachi's guard, was an orange–red colour, whilst Shisui's was green. In a way, they reminded Sakura of Gaara's ultimate defence. Not a single attack hit the Uchiha and yet they were taking all the attacks meant for those who wouldn't survive being hit by those weapons.

Adjusting her hold on the enemy, Sakura swung him around, using him as a bat to knock away those attempting to sneak up on her.

"Sakura–san, we have healed the wounded as much as we can." one of the medic–nin informed her, keeping calm and collected despite the fact she was using a dead man as a bat until she dropped him. "What do we do now? Return to the village so they can be further treated at the hospital?"

That sounded like the best idea.

"_Haruno, move_!"

"Ye–"

But the Hyuuga's warning was too late.

Something slicing right through her cut Sakura off, making time slow down and everybody's eyes widen in horrified shock as she was lifted off the ground by a man coming out of it. He was a big man, around Choji's father's size, and he smirked up at her evilly, clenching the fist that had come out of her back and jostling her on his arm cruelly and causing more pain.

"What…" Sakura squinted, glancing down at the arm going through her stomach. It looked and felt like it was made out of rock. "What… the hell?"

"_Sakura_!" Sasuke's voice sounded so very far away.

The bear–looking man lowered her slightly so that they were face to face, seeming unconcerned with the fact that blood was dripping down his arm. "Not so tough and untouchable now, are you?"

"Shows… Shows w–what… you know."

"Explain." dark eyes narrowed.

"See this?" Sakura muttered as she tapped her forehead, sweating lightly due to the pain. Even if it wouldn't kill her, it still hurt like hell. Suddenly, her hands lashed out and grabbed a tight hold of each side of his head, slamming her forehead into his own. "This seal makes it impossible to kill me in battle."

Blood slowly trickled down their faces as their foreheads collided with brute strength, making Sakura see stars for a moment. That was fine, because it meant he was too. And during that distraction, Sakura took a deep breath and she squeezed her eyes shut, swinging on the Iwa–nin's arm until her feet were pressed to his rounded stomach. The entire time of pushing off his stomach until his arm was out of her nauseated her greatly and the second Sakura collapsed to the floor, she was throwing up a mixture of bile and blood. It just couldn't be helped. In fact, it sounded like others were also throwing up somewhere close by.

Moments later and her world was spinning as an overly large orange–red hand grabbed her and brought her into the safety of Itachi's susanoo. She was trembling as she was dropped into Itachi's arms, just about able to stay conscious.

Closing her eyes, Sakura concentrated on her wounds, no words or hand seals necessary since the seal had already been activated.

"Sakura?" Itachi murmured, ignoring the many Iwa–nin throwing themselves at his susanoo.

"I–I'm okay…" she told him softly, still quite shaken up. "It was just a shock. I didn't think anybody was underneath us after I destroyed the ground so badly."

"You're fighting well." he replied when he heard the annoyance in her voice. "Stop doubting yourself."

There was a moment of hesitation in his movements as Itachi set Sakura onto her feet, his arm holding onto her for a few too many seconds. She understood what he was feeling even if he didn't, however, so gave him a small smile. "Really, Itachi. I'm fine. This," she gestured to the markings on her skin, "keeps me from dying in battle."

Itachi sighed. "I would prefer it if you did not fight so recklessly."

"I know, but what can I say?" Sakura gave him a playful smirk. "I'm a member of team seven!"

Pausing in their conversation, Itachi threw his arm out and as he did, his susanoo copied and batted away all the Iwa–nin that had been pestering him, throwing them into a fire jutsu. Turning back to Sakura, he gently touched her stomach, though pulled his hand away when she flinched ever so slightly. It was clearly and understandably still tender. "You are still human, Sakura. Seeing you take an attack like that…" It had frozen him, made him feel absolute horror and pain and _really_ sick. "Be careful."

Sakura's smirk slipped into a tender smile. "You be careful, too." Just as she was about to leap out of the protection of susanoo, she glanced over her shoulder with an unimpressed look. "And as soon as we're done here, I'm taking a look at both yours and Shisui–san's eyes." The fact that there was blood coming from his right eye couldn't mean anything good. "No arguments."

He gave her a smirk. "Good luck with examining Shisui."

"Oh I don't need luck." Sakura smirked once more and clenched her fist, raising it to him. "I have these."

With that, Sakura disappeared back into the battle.

That woman, Itachi thought as his smirk slipped away and his blank mask returned.

She was going to be the death of him.

* * *

They were retreating.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, standing in front of the other medics as they continued to do their best in such an area. They had all been on a battlefield before, but not one as hectic as this, with bodies, jutsu and kunai flying in every direction. Just one misplaced movement, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time, could get you killed.

As somebody dropped beside her, Sakura looked up at him, watching Sasuke as he watched the Iwa–nin retreat. "What's going on?"

"We're not giving chase." he muttered, clearly pissed off about that fact. "Everyone here has to follow Itachi and Shisui's orders, and they both agreed that we're not going to pursue them."

That was probably for the best. There was no telling if they would be running straight into a trap, or an ambush. Well, there was, but there was still no use in chasing after people who clearly no longer wished to fight. Not at the moment, anyway.

Turning around, Sakura nodded once to her medics. "Head back to the village and take only those who need immediate assistance." Looking around the battlefield for a moment, she spoke in a louder voice, "Anybody who can walk, will stay here. I will heal you myself. Those who need immediate medical assistance, you will be going back to the village with the other medics."

"At least half of them are going, then." Sasuke told her, also glancing around and sizing up the injuries. "Can you handle this many?"

Of course she could! All Sakura had to do was–

"Stop!" Shisui ordered, eyes narrowing as he glared up at the sky. "Look at the birds. They're flying away from Konoha."

There were hundreds of them, all screeching loudly as they escaped.

Escaped from what, they didn't know.

"Hyuuga–san." Itachi turned to one of the Hyuuga. "Use your Byakugan and check on the village."

It was obvious the Hyuuga clan member didn't appreciate being ordered around by an Uchiha, but he still nodded and made the appropriate seal, murmuring "_Byakugan!_" as he did so. Veins appeared at the sides of his eyes and at the narrowing of them, Sakura felt herself holding her breath.

When his eyes widened in pure horror, her heart stopped.

"I–It's gone." he whispered.

She had _never_ seen a Hyuuga (who wasn't Hinata) break composure like this one currently was. "What's gone?"

"The village!" he yelled. "The village i–is _gone_!" However, just as he was about to continue, something seemed to capture his attention and his head quickly snapped to the side. "Incoming! Six – no, seven of them. All…"

"Hyuuga–san." Shisui practically demanded. This was no time for suspense. The village… It was gone.

His pale eyes narrowed. "Black cloaks with red clouds."

Akatsuki.

Sasuke's hand fell onto the hilt of his katana. "Seems they've finally come for Naruto." Picking up on Sakura's fear, however, had him adding, "They won't get him. Only a select number of people know Naruto's whereabouts."

"And as the Kyuubi's watcher," a deep, unfamiliar voice spoke, "you must be one of them."

As seven figures left the cover of the trees and entered the destroyed clearing, everybody fell into defensive stances, whilst Sasuke continued to stare with his intense eyes. He looked completely relaxed if you ignored the fact he was gripping a tight hold of his katana.

His words were true, though. Sasuke _did_ know of Naruto's whereabouts. "You destroyed Konoha." he stated coldly. "You won't be getting anything from me."

The man who was stood further in front levelled him with a cold stare. "That is what many in the village said."

Sakura tried her best to ignore the meaning behind those words, tried her best _not_ to let tears fill her eyes at just what that bastard meant, but–

"_You killed them all_!" Somebody screamed within the Hyuuga clan. "_Everyone_…"

"And now Konoha–nin know pain–"

"Enough with the bullshit!" Sasuke snapped, visibly trembling as he realised just how many people had been lost. _Who had been lost_. His parents… They… "If you want the Kyuubi, you'll have to kill me first."

He tilted his head to the side ever so slightly, those strange purple eyes continuing to bore into Sasuke's spinning sharingan. "Uchiha Sasuke… You sound like your sensei. Hatake Kakashi. He said more or less the same thing."

Kakashi…

Sakura's eyes widened.

_No!_

"Bastard!" she snarled and darted forward, clenching her fist tightly as it glowed blue with chakra.

"Sakura–"

"_Who the hell do you think you are?_" Sakura demanded, angered that her punch missed as the leader of the group dodged with ease. "Destroying our home… Killing our loved ones…"

Her fist whizzed forward and would have slammed into the blue haired woman's face, had the tallest man not yanked her out of the way.

Something was shoved into her shoulder, making her grit her teeth and leap away. Grabbing the black rod, Sakura paused for a moment, feeling that her chakra was reacting oddly to it, before growling and tearing it out, the wound healing immediately. "You'll have to try harder than that!" she snapped, rushing forward once more. This time, Sakura noticed that others were joining her.

A hand wrapped around her throat and abruptly stopped all of her movements, making her body jerk. "That seal. _Byakugō no In_."

_No_… Sakura gripped the arm tightly. "M–Monsters…"

"The Godaime's apprentice. You know where the Kyuubi is."

With a vicious growl, Sakura straightened her hand out and slammed the side of it into his arm, ignoring the disgusting feeling of snapping it off. She dropped to the ground and quickly kicked away from him. "Like hell I'd tell you!"

She didn't know, actually. Sakura knew absolutely nothing about where Naruto currently was. However, she was hoping more than anything that he would return. Not to give himself in, but because knowing him, he'd somehow manage to defeat the bastards before her. There'd always been something special about him, after all.

Like only an hour ago, Sakura felt herself being pulled away by susanoo.

"Stay back, Sakura." Itachi warned, his eyes fixated on the enemy's. "This man… He is the leader of Akatsuki. The one who defeated Jiraiya–sama. Remember the warnings Hokage–sama gave us."

"Their eyes are connected." Shisui commented as he put some space between himself and the leader. "It seems whenever you try to attack one, the others warn him to dodge."

Stay back? But…

"Think about the injured." She heard Itachi say as he dropped her further back. "They need your help. Leave this to us."

And as Itachi and Shisui assessed the situation, watched the enemy closely, Sakura took a deep breath and bit down on her thumb hard enough to draw blood, slamming her hand down onto the ground.

"_Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!"

However, she was both disappointed and relieved when not the full–sized Katsuyu greeted her, but instead the half–sized Katsuyu. That meant…

"She's alive." Sakura whispered. "Tsunade–sama, she's…"

"She is." Katsuyu replied softly. "However, the situation is very dire, Sakura–chan. The village… It is completely destroyed and there have been many casualties and deaths. Shizune–san… is one them."

"Who's looking after Tsunade–sama?" Sakura demanded, trying not to focus on the pain in her chest at the loss of Shizune. "She'll be weakened right now–"

"Do not worry, Sakura–chan." the slug told her warmly. "Help is on the way. Now, what do you need me to do?"

Taking a moment to compose herself, she nodded once. "Katsuyu–sama, please divide yourself and heal everyone here. Also, take as much of my chakra as you need, to heal those back in Konoha with your other half."

"Of course, Sakura–chan!"

* * *

Being directly linked to Katsuyu as the slug moved around Konoha was agonising, especially as she checked on people, only to find that they were too late and those people had already died. Closing her eyes, Sakura stayed in her seated position, her hands clasped together in the seal for the long distance healing jutsu. Surrounding her were two Uchiha and two Hyuuga clan members as well as a few ANBU operatives.

Battling Pein (which was apparently his name), was being left entirely to Itachi, Shisui and Sasuke. Already, two had been taken out. Everybody else was focusing on Konan (the woman accompanying Pein). She was troublesome, as Shikamaru would say, because she was more or less paper. Land a blow and she simply fluttered away in pieces of paper.

As Katsuyu connected herself to somebody else, Sakura felt herself give a sigh of relief.

"Hokage–sama is alive." she informed those surrounding her.

"Heal her."

Ignoring the rude ANBU operative, Sakura did just that – or as much as she could. The woman was severely weakened and after a few moments, Katsuyu was removed from her body.

"No!" Sakura yelled, her eyes snapping open as she glanced down at the small part of Katsuyu on her shoulder. "What happened?"

"Tsunade–sama wishes to heal herself." Katsuyu murmured quietly. "I'm sorry, Sakura–chan."

Why? Why wouldn't Tsunade let Sakura help her? Instead of questioning her, she continued to heal the others, her heart breaking with every deceased person she came across. There were hundreds, _thousands_. And among them, Sakura found the bodies of Shizune, of the old man and woman who owned the Uchiha sweet shop and…

Hatake Kakashi.

Tears filled her eyes as Katsuyu sadly shook her head, telling her that he was gone.

"S–Sensei…"

"I'm sorry for your loss, Sakura–san." a voice said quietly behind her.

Rock Lee.

When had Lee and his team turned up?

"We were just returning from our mission when Neji saw the damage done to the village." Gai stated without his usual gusto. He knelt down beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Sakura, what about Tsunade–sama? Is she…?"

Sakura shook her head. "She's alive."

"And the others?" Neji questioned.

"Over half of the village…" she bit her lip for a moment. "Over half of the village is dead. I'm doing what I can to save the rest of them."

"I feel sick." Tenten murmured. "How could somebody do something like this?"

All Sakura kept seeing were the dead faces of those she cared about, making it difficult to keep entirely focused on the conversation. "Akatsuki are after Naruto. When nobody would give up his location, Pein destroyed our village. We were already here because of an Iwa invasion."

"Naruto?" Neji questioned, activating his Byakugan once more and facing in the direction of Konoha. And just like he had seen seconds before talking to Sakura… "Naruto is in the village."

What?

_What?_

"Katsuyu–sama, what–"

"He just arrived, Sakura–chan!" the slug told her cheerily, her spirits being lifted. "I told you help was on the way."

Sakura couldn't even deny that it felt like her own spirits had been lifted. "Tell him everything, Katsuyu–sama, and then direct him to us. We need his help."

"Yes, Sakura–chan!"

* * *

They all knew when Naruto arrived.

It'd be kind of impossible not to notice him.

Naruto, along with three _gigantic_ toads and one smaller toad, leaped in from high above, forcing them all to move out of the way so that the toads could land. The earth shook violently, throwing many off their feet, but that mattered little to them. All that mattered was that help had finally arrived.

Hope had finally arrived.

The three largest toads were in a line, each in a defensive stance and on top of the middle toad's head, was a smaller one (Sakura was certain that that particular toad was called Gamakichi) and top of _him_, was Naruto. There was a deadly look on Naruto's face, an unforgiving cold stare as he glared down at Pein.

His appearance was different. Not just the cloak he was wearing and the scroll on his back – wait, there were another two toads with him. One on each end of the scroll. Sakura shook her head, getting a closer look at Naruto's features. His eyes were a different colour, but not the colour that told you the Kyuubi was taking control. It was more of an orange/amber colour. And surrounding his eyes were red half circles.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Pein noted. "You saved me the trouble of looking for you at Mount Myōboku."

And then it was like Naruto… snapped.

He lunged forward without warning, slamming the only Pein without hair down into the ground and completely destroying his body.

How was it possible that Naruto had improved _that much_?

The previous members that had been taken out eerily climbed to their feet once more and despite having Naruto on the scene, Itachi, Shisui and Sasuke continued to stand in their defensive stances. This was… The most troublesome opponent either of them had ever fought. That rinnegan…

Shisui's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing dangerously, as Konan fell apart into pieces of paper once more and drifted away into the wind, going higher and higher into the sky until the clouds were covering her.

Damn it.

"The real one is not among them."

Itachi, having noticed Konan's disappearance, nodded once. "It seems she has gone back to the real one."

"Do we follow her?" Sasuke asked with a scowl.

Katsuyu lifted herself on his shoulder so that she was more noticeable. "Naruto–kun wishes to battle Pein alone, and wants you all to stay out of this battle for your own safety. Please listen to him."

Naruto? Going up against Pein by himself? Just as Sasuke opened his mouth to argue, Katsuyu cut him off.

"He has changed, Sasuke–kun. Naruto–kun is a sage now."

So he had done.

That dobe had actually done it.

Reluctantly, Sasuke and the other two fell back, Itachi and Shisui's susanoo fading away until it was gone completely, though were waiting for the moment when Naruto may need them once more.

"It seems all six are gathered." the smallest, old toad stated. What had Tsunade called him again? Fukasaku, Sakura thought.

"You want me, right?" Naruto seethed, glaring into Pein's eyes without a hint of fear.

"_I–Incredible!_" Sakura heard a Hyuuga stammer. "_He's destroyed one of Pein's bodies with a single blow_!"

But that meant little if they continued to recover, Itachi added silently. Sure, it was great that the Uzumaki had improved and sure, he may actually stand a chance, but what good was destroying their bodies if one of them could simply recover the others?

_What will you do, Naruto–kun_? He silently asked the blond.

"Jii–sama," the largest toad that Gamakichi was standing on top of spoke up, "doesn't this remind you of the two backs we used to watch?"

Fukasaku smiled. "It certainly does."

Deciding to intercept their conversation, the leader of the six bodies of Pein spoke up. "Uzumaki Naruto–"

Naruto cut him off angrily, just the sound of his voice pissing him off even further. "I'm going to settle this!"

Suddenly, the four others were moving themselves around the leader, seeming to be guarding him, whilst the final member remained unmoving by Naruto's feet.

"Katsuyu–sama," Sakura murmured, feeling as though if she spoke any louder, she would be interrupting the fight, "are you still attached to Naruto?"

"Yes, Sakura–chan. Tsunade–sama made sure that he kept us connected, as I have information that will be useful to him in this battle." she paused for a moment, assessing the distance, before adding, "He wishes for everyone to move back and not interfere."

What?

"Please, Sakura–chan." Katsuyu quietly begged. "It is important to him that nobody interferes, as it will be difficult keeping everyone safe whilst fighting Pein."

Feeling Sasuke, Shisui and Itachi falling back, Sakura realised that it was for the best and nodded once, telling Katsuyu to send the message to everyone else.

The only female Pein suddenly slammed her hand into the ground. "_Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!"

It was with that, that one of the most intense and terrifying battles, in Sakura's eyes, begun.

* * *

It was brutal. Absolutely brutal.

And for a moment, Sakura had almost screamed at Naruto for his recklessness, but he proved her wrong. Instead of using the _Fuuton: Rasen Shuriken_ Sakura had been expecting, he instead threw the attack, utterly stunning everyone.

Ever since the mentioning of Jiraiya, of Pein informing Naruto that he was also a former student of Jiraiya's, Naruto had been… livid. There was no other word for it. Pein continued to talk calmly, to remain clam, but Naruto… No. He was completely unforgiving out on that battlefield and not a single one of them could blame him for his suffocating hatred, his unadulterated killing intent.

It was with his improved _Fuuton: Rasen Shuriken_ that another one of Pein's bodies had been destroyed.

Sakura continued to mentally scream her cheers for him, continued to encourage him without distracting him.

Quite a few of the Konoha–nin had been ordered to head back to the village and do what they could to save people. There were people trapped, some that Katsuyu couldn't get to, so they had gone to free those people. It made Sakura rather uneasy, having only herself, Itachi, Shisui, Sasuke, Naruto, team Gai and two other Hyuuga clan members left behind, but she tried her best not to focus too much on that. Naruto was there and he was going to save them.

All she had to do, was make sure those who needed her help, got it.

Blue chakra glowed brightly as Sakura once again sat down in her seated position, as her hands once again clasped together and she began the healing network with Katsuyu. People needed her and she was going to help them with everything she had. On each of her sides and behind her, stood the three Uchiha men, making sure there were no sneak attacks on Sakura as she healed the others.

"Why aren't we helping?" Rock Lee demanded, his raised fist clenching tightly. "Naruto–kun needs–"

"No," Itachi cut him off, "if Naruto–kun has really become a sage and mastered senjutsu, then he is on a different level than us. You can see the difference in his fighting techniques." Watching for a moment, he then added, "As you can see, Naruto–kun can damage Pein's bodies without actually touching them."

Sakura refrained from showing her shock. Stronger than Itachi and Shisui combined? How? No, Sakura was not brown nosing or kissing anybody's ass or anything of the sort, but… But they were _Itachi_ and _Shisui_!

"Yes, we would make a difference, but this is Naruto–kun's battle." Shisui added.

Not to mention that if Naruto won, the villagers would acknowledge him. They would be grateful to him.

They would finally accept him.

"Shisui–san," Sakura called, closing her eyes in concentration, "would you be able to transport to the other base camps and check them out for me, please?"

"Of course." he replied. "I will take a part of Katsuyu–sama with me so that you can stay connected to me."

She nodded once. "Thank you. If there is anybody wounded, take them to the village. A make–shift hospital has been set up there for the wounded."

Without another word, he was gone.

Itachi glanced down at his lover, not able to deny that he was proud of her for all of her efforts. "Sakura, is somebody with Hokage–sama?"

"Yes." she gave a small smile, looking up at Itachi and Sasuke. "Both of your parents are protecting her right now."

The strength of the feeling that suddenly lifted from Sasuke was hard to explain, but he knew what it was.

Relief.

"Are they okay?" Sasuke asked.

"They're both fine." she replied quietly. "Your dad was injured, but thanks to him, your mom is still alive. He risked his life to save hers."

Of course he had, Itachi thought, glancing over in the direction of Konoha, Fugaku's bond with Mikoto… It was almost like his with Sakura. Impossible to break.

Suddenly, Neji folded his arms over his chest and dipped his head lower a fraction, eyes closing to hide his annoyance. "You should have stayed in the village."

A woman came out from the trees, panting harshly from pushing herself so hard. "Naruto–kun… He…"

"He's fine." Neji replied and the two other Hyuuga clan members seemed to agree with him on his next statement. "You, however, had no reason to leave the village, Hinata–sama. It is reckless of you to be here."

She shook her head, hand pressing to her heart. "I had this… awful feeling in my gut."

"Gut instinct." Sakura murmured quietly, eyes still shut in concentration. "Kakashi–sensei… The first thing he taught us was to never ignore our gut instinct. Hinata, while it's reckless of you to be here, I'm glad you came. I'm needed for the network healing, but I know that I can depend on you to protect Naruto, should he need the help."

Seeing that Sakura was giving her more of a reason to be there other than her feelings for the blond, Hinata gave her a grateful smile. In a way, they understood each other. Their feelings for the men they loved made it impossible to think selfishly. Instead, they thought only of them, and they would do anything for them.

Stepping forward, Tenten frowned. "Hinata, the situation in Konoha–"

Sakura cut her off with a shake of her head. "Don't ask that question. You won't like the answer. Until this is over, just…" her eyebrows knitted together above her closed eyes, a clear indication that the things she was seeing, were awful. "Just don't ask."

When they all looked to her for confirmation, Hinata sadly shook her head. Half of the village had just about survived the attack thanks to Tsunade and Katsuyu and even then, there were hundreds, thousands, who hadn't made it. It was awful. Heartbreaking. At one point on the journey to this particular base camp, Hinata had even lost her stomach.

"Do you need any help, Sakura–san?" Hinata asked softly, desperate to get the painful images out of her mind.

Sasuke shook his head. "Just keep an eye out for the Iwa–nin. They retreated earlier, but it doesn't feel like they've gone too far. The last thing we need right now is another attack."

It was with that thought that Itachi summoned his crow, staring into its eyes for a moment before he threw it up into the air and it flew off in the direction of Konoha. His parents would know to trust his crow and would listen to his message. The message? Something Sakura could have given via Katsuyu, but if it came from him, then they were more likely to listen. That was just who his parents were. The message was to take control of the situation and make sure that Konoha was as protected as it could be. There may have also been a little sentence in there that would ease their minds. Itachi had added that Sasuke was with him, as was Shisui. They would be home soon.

"His sage mode has worn off."

The look of horror on Hinata's features was a mirror of her own as Sakura's eyes snapped open, staring up at Neji since he was the one telling them what was happening on the battlefield.

"Naruto–"

"Keep healing, Sakura." Itachi murmured, his red and black eyes watching the battle carefully. "Naruto–kun has told us already not to get involved."

It annoyed him more than anything, but like Deidara was Sasuke's battle, like Sasori was Sakura's, Pein was Naruto's. He had just taken out the third body of Pein, his senjutsu making it a lot easier for him than it was for the rest of them. Even with eyes such as their own, against the rinnegan, they didn't seem like anything too special. That was most likely because the rinnegan was much more advanced than their eyes.

Hinata's head snapped left. "Iwa–nin are heading straight for Konoha!"

"How many?" Itachi asked.

"Several hundred." Neji muttered, his eyes following what Hinata was seeing. "We'll hold them off."

Sakura slowly stood up, the blue chakra that had been enveloping her hands fading away as she did so. "We all will."

Shaking his head, Sasuke sighed. "You need to stay here and heal everyone, Sakura. You need to prepare them for another attack."

"He's right." Gai told her. "Don't worry, Sakura. My team and I will do our absolute best not to let them anywhere near our beloved village!"

It was odd, but Gai's exclamation, his 'good guy' pose and overly bright smile that almost blinded her, comforted Sakura greatly. This guy had been Kakashi's rival. That meant that he was just as powerful in his own way. He could protect their village. She nodded, though froze when Itachi turned to leave with them. "You're going, too?" Itachi nodded once. "What about Naruto? What if he needs your help?"

Giving her a small smile, Itachi faced her once more. "Sasuke is here, as is yourself."

"But–"

He surprised Sakura, surprised them all, by kissing her forehead. "I will deal with Iwa and then come back, Sakura." Itachi promised her, cupping her cheek. "Stay here until then and continue doing what you do best. Saving people."

Those were the words she had needed to hear. Sakura sighed, closing her eyes. "You'd better be careful, Itachi. All of you better be careful."

"Yes, Sakura–san!" Lee exclaimed, already getting excited for the battle.

Tenten and Neji exchanged a look before nodding once.

When Itachi stepped back, Gai stepped forward, giving Sakura a saddened, yet serious look. "Knowing my rival as well as I do, I know that he will be proud of you, Sakura." It hurt him seeing the pain in her eyes, seeing them filling with tears, so he placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her a smile. "He would be proud of all of you. Do not forget that."

Biting her lower lip, Sakura nodded once, trying her best to stay composed. "Yes, sir."

"Let's go."

At Itachi's order, they left.

Sasuke shifted closer to Sakura when she sat back down, going back to her healing, before glancing over at Hinata. "Use your Byakugan and look out for attacks. We need to make sure Sakura is uninterrupted."

Nodding determinedly, Hinata's already activated Byakugan carefully watched the area surrounding them, keeping watch for any sudden or surprise attacks. The battle between Pein and Naruto kept distracting her, however, and she didn't like how Pein was gaining the upper hand now that Naruto was no longer in his sage mode. How–

The toad!

He was summoning something!

Suddenly, there was another Naruto out on the battlefield, sitting on the scroll that had just been used to summon him. A clone? Why? Hinata hid her frown as she looked more closely at the clone's features. However, just as she got a good look at him, the clone was released.

And Naruto's sage mode returned just in time to block the black rod aiming straight for him.

The fight was no longer one sided, making Hinata sigh quietly with relief as she once again looked around the area surrounding them. There were no enemies nearby other than Pein.

"They have confronted Iwa." she informed the two beside her. "They are battling as we speak."

Sakura swallowed hard, forcing herself not to break concentration.

Sasuke waited a few minutes, watching as Naruto held his own against Pein, before asking, "Who has the upper hand?"

Silence for a moment. "Shisui–san has joined the battle – he seemed to appear out of nowhere by Itachi–san's side!" He didn't answer her, silently demanding that she continue. "They are all fighting hard, but it seems that for now, we have the upper hand."

All heads turned as a familiar sound reached them.

_Another?_

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, watching the battle intensely. He was using another rasen shuriken? What happened to it almost destroying his arm? Was it because Naruto could throw it now, that he was safe from that happening?

Another Pein dropped in front of the leader, making Sasuke growl. This was the one who absorbed all ninjutsu and just as the thought entered the Uchiha's mind, that particular body of Pein's lifted his hands, doing exactly as Sasuke had predicted. He absorbed Naruto's rasen shuriken.

How had he even gotten up after Naruto had defeated him? Sure, it was only a single punch, but it had him down and out. How was it that he–

That other Pein! Damn it. The one who could bring back all the bodies of Pein. That one was the first one who should've been defeated. Then the summoning woman and then whoever the hell Naruto wanted to kill next. Now, all his previous efforts were pointless – wait, no. Maybe not. He'd only revived one of the bodies and not the other three.

As the battle went on after Naruto threw down a couple of smoke bombs, Sasuke glanced down at Sakura. "How many have you healed?"

She bit her lip, shaking her head. "Not enough. If Iwa were to get into Konoha… We're going to lose a large portion of our shinobi – not to mention how much information they'll find due to the already deceased." Both Hinata and Sasuke fell silent, understanding that their clan's secrets could be stolen. "I'm trying my best." Sakura told them, keeping her eyes shut. "I just… I haven't done anything like this before, so I'm still new at it and–"

"Relax, Sakura." Sasuke grunted. "Just keep doing what you're doing. There are still many in the village who are capable of protecting it, isn't there?"

"…I suppose."

"Tenten–san has been injured!"

Gritting her teeth, Sakura focused through the Katsuyu part that was with Shisui, thankful how he immediately passed the slug over to Tenten. The woman was badly injured, but not fatally. To save on her chakra, Sakura could only stop the bleeding and close the wound. She unfortunately couldn't take away the tenderness – hadn't even been able to do that for herself.

The ground shaking caught their attention and knowing that Sakura would want an update since she was busy focusing on healing, Sasuke told her, "Naruto's just defeated the one who can revive the others. He's pinned down the one who absorbs ninjutsu, too."

He was going to do it, Sakura thought with a hopeful smile.

"_Shinra Tensei!"_

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as, just when Naruto was about to finish off yet another body of Pein, the leader of them used a certain jutsu that Katsuyu had warned them about. During their short battle, he hadn't used it once and this was the first time he was using it against Naruto. Now, seeing the effect it had, seeing Naruto being blasted away by seemingly nothing (although his eyes could pick up the chakra), was a shock to say the least. The force was enough to destroy Naruto's clone, making it pop out of existence, whilst the real Naruto grunted with pain, tumbling further and further away until he was back near the old toad.

It seemed to take him a few moments to get to his feet, sharing a few words with the old toads, and during that time where he tried to recollect his thoughts, the massive three toads came down on Pein and his other body with their weapons. They were dodged like they were moving in slow motion. And then Pein went on to toy with the toads, dodging them all easily until he once again used that jutsu of his to blow them all away.

"Get down!"

Sasuke knocked Hinata to the ground, keeping Sakura's body shielded with his own as suddenly, one of the toads went flying right over their heads. Had they been stood up, the impact may have severely injured them or possibly even knocked them unconscious. No, it probably would have killed them. Hinata shakily nodded her thanks, standing back up, whilst Sakura got straight back into her seated position, surprising Sasuke that her hands hadn't broken the seal for even a second.

"All of them are badly injured." Hinata whispered in horror. "They will no longer be able to help Naruto–kun."

It seemed Naruto realised this too, as he suddenly glanced in each direction they had gone in, cursing to himself.

Hinata watched him with a saddened look on her face, a torn look as she whispered his name softly.

She didn't like how he was fighting alone.

Sasuke grabbed her arm roughly just as Hinata went to run to him. "Stop."

"B–But Naruto–kun is–"

"You're only going to be in Naruto's way if you join the battle." he told her coldly, pinning her with a serious look, his sharingan making it more intimidating. "He said he wants no one to interfere for a reason. Respect his decision." Hurt flashed over her features, but Sasuke refused to be bothered by it. If Hinata truly loved Naruto, then she would respect his decision and realise that she didn't stand a chance fighting alongside him in a battle against Pein.

Pulling out of his hold, Hinata clenched her fists tightly.

_Naruto–kun…_

Pein raised his hand, making all breathing stop. "_Banshō Ten'in_."

And suddenly, Naruto was being dragged forward at a fast pace and punched in the stomach by the ninjutsu absorbing Pein, ripping the air from his lungs and causing him to be defenceless against the full nelson hold he was now locked in.

"Naruto–kun." Hinata whispered, wanting nothing more than to help him, but like Sasuke had stated, she would do no good out on that battlefield. She would only get in Naruto's way.

When Naruto went limp and the senjutsu was drained out of him, Sasuke's eyes widened.

"_The capture of the Kyuubi is complete_."

No!

Sasuke pulled his katana from its sheath, sharingan blazing. Akatsuki couldn't get their hands on Naruto or the Kyuubi. He didn't particularly care for the beast, but if they were to extract it, then that meant Naruto would die. That wasn't an option. Sasuke gritted his teeth. He was supposed to be the Kyuubi's watcher, yet he was completely useless against a guy like Pein. It was those damned eyes. The rinnegan.

"_Don't get ahead of yourself…_" Naruto muttered.

There was a small smirk on the blond's lips, like he knew some big secret that the rest of the didn't, before he shut his eyes.

What the hell did he think he was doing?

But then Sasuke sensed the building chakra, with his eyes, he saw chakra flowing towards him.

What was he trying to do?

Both Sasuke and Hinata frowned in confusion as the Pein restraining Naruto began to act strangely, parts of his body morphing. Warts were covering his skin and not even a few second later, his skin was turning a deep green colour and was–

He was turning into a toad!

No, he had been petrified.

"The fifth Pein has been defeated." Sasuke informed Sakura. "He absorbed too much of Naruto's senjutsu chakra and couldn't control it."

Naruto quickly broke out of the full nelson, destroying the arms belonging to Pein as he did so.

But then, as words were exchanged and the old toads seemed to be preparing for something, Pein raised his hand and used his jutsu to yank the old man toad closer, ignoring his wail of surprise. Naruto lunged without a second thought, trying desperately to reach the old toad, but before he even had a chance, Pein was dropping a black rod into his hand from within his cloak and impaling the toad on it.

Before him, Naruto fell to the ground, stunned and utterly horrified, whilst the old woman toad cried out in loss. It seemed to be that cry that woke him up, however, as Naruto shot up to his feet, preparing himself to attack Pein, only to catch Fukasaku when the old toad was flung at him like he was nothing more than an old, filthy sock.

"_Banshō Ten'in_."

Shit, Sasuke cursed, frozen in his place as he watched Naruto be choke slammed into the ground, a crater forming around his body. And then only a few seconds later, Pein was flipping Naruto onto his stomach and shoving black rods through his body, ignoring the blond as he yelled and screamed in agony and squeezed his eyes shut.

"S–Sasuke…"

"Stay back, Sakura." he muttered, his wide eyes fixed on the scene before him in pure horror.

"No, it's not that!" she hissed. "It's Hinata!"

She was gone.

* * *

"Peace and justice… Don't fuck with me. _Don't fuck with me_!" Naruto spat hatefully, his voice cracking. "You killed my shishou… My sensei… Hurt my friends… Destroyed my village!" he screamed, raw pain and hatred so very clear in his voice. "So don't stand on your own little throne and spew out bullshit, _after all you've done_!"

Pein watched Naruto for a moment, watched how the man panted into the ground. Whether it was from pain, or the intensity of his emotions, he couldn't tell. "Then tell me what your goal is."

"I'm going to crush you and then bring peace to the world of shinobi!"

"I see." he stated tonelessly. "That's splendid. It's the epitome of justice. Nevertheless… What about _my_ family? _My_ friends? _My_ village? Does Konoha alone have the right to proclaim peace and justice, after causing this very destruction to my village?"

Disbelief washed over Naruto. Konoha had… Konoha had done something like this to somebody else's village? "What do you mean?" he demanded angrily.

He stared the man down. "The Fire Country, along with Konoha, grew too big. To protect their own interests, they warred with the other great nations and, in doing so, securing their own gains was necessary. Had they not their nation and villages would be in famine. However, it was _our_ small nation and villages that became the battleground. Time and again, our country was invaded and left in ruins. We suffered through wars many times until finally, The Great Nations stabilised… While all our tiny country had left was a pain out of this world."

Hearing his words had Naruto frowning, had him looking away from those purple eyes.

"We aim for the same thing." Pein told him. "We're trying to bring forth the peace Jiraiya–sensei spoke of. You and I are no different from each other. We are simply driven by our own sense of justice. You're trying to do the same to me, as I did to Konoha. The pain of loss is the same for us all. You and I have both suffered this pain. You fight for your justice… and I for mine. We are ordinary humans, driven by revenge in the name of justice. However, if we disguise our revenge by words of justice, this 'justice' grows, gives birth to revenge and thus the chain of hatred begins."

Finally, Naruto looked back to him, not sure as to whether he should feel sorry for Pein, or to hate him still. What he was saying… It was getting through to him, but Naruto didn't know whether or not the words were the truth. It sounded like the truth. What reason would Pein have for lying to him? If Konoha had truly done the things Pein was saying, then was his destruction of Konoha justified? No. So… Would Naruto's killing of Pein be justified, given all the bad things he had done?

Inwardly, he sighed. There was no justifying murder.

"By living through these events now, by knowing the past, we can look into the future. That is what we know as history." The look Pein gave him, despite being emotionless, was intense. "And from it, we learn that humans are incapable of opening their eyes, or of understanding each other! The world of shinobi is ruled by hatred."

But… Jiraiya…

He had entrusted Naruto with finding the answer to peace, for people finally understanding each other.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto glared down at the ground.

"To create peace, how will you face this hatred?" When Naruto remained silent, he continued. "Let's hear your answer."

It made him ache admitting it, but… "I don't… know how."

"I created Akatsuki for the very purpose of stopping this chain of hatred. I can stop it. However, to do it, I need the Kyuubi's power. By using the power of all the bijuu, I will create a bijuu–weapon untold times stronger than what destroyed your village. Strong enough to destroy an entire country in an instant."

* * *

Sasuke's eyes widened as he read Pein's lips.

This guy… He was insane.

All this crap about true pain known to the world… Where would that leave them?

"Sasuke–"

"I can't leave you here defenceless." Sasuke snapped. "If the Hyuuga had stayed here, I would have gone to help him. There are too many enemies lurking around for me to just leave you here like this. It's too risky."

But what about Naruto?

Sasuke could now understand the difficult decision Kakashi had had to make when they went up against Sasori and Deidara. He now understood the pain of having to choose between what was right, what was best for the village, and what he wanted to do. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke barely held back a growl. Damn it… What was he supposed to do?

His mind became more rushed as Pein dropped another black rod into his hand.

Every time he shoved another one of those rods into Naruto, Sasuke didn't fail to notice how Sakura flinched, how tears were silently slipping down her cheeks. Of course. She could sense everything already due to Katsuyu.

Naruto was completely pinned down and Sasuke could tell that his chakra was disturbed, clashing with another he presumed to be Pein's. He could no longer move by himself.

Just as Pein raised his hand to him, however, they finally found Hinata.

She came out of nowhere, eyes narrowed and determined as she slammed her palm down into the ground, forcing Pein to move away from Naruto.

"_I won't let you lay finger on Naruto–kun_!"

* * *

It was only five minutes later that Hinata was defeated.

The sudden explosion of dark, disgusting chakra had Sakura flying backwards, a pained yelp escaping her as she slammed into a tree. She knew that feeling. And if the way Sasuke had frozen in his place, seeming incapable of moving, meant anything…

"How many tails?" her voice was thick, strained and not only because of the pain due to her cracked ribs.

He swallowed. Hard. "Six."

Slowly, Sakura pulled herself to her feet, trying her best to mask her grunt of pain. "We need to help him."

Sasuke's eyes snapped to her face, his sharingan activated and his features livid. "You're no match for him in this state, Sakura. If Naruto kills you, he'll never forgive himself. Do you want that on his conscience?"

He was stunned when her seal was released once again, moving over her skin like it would her shishou's. "I have to try." Sakura told him once it was over, giving him a serious look. "Just like I know you will."

Reluctantly, he nodded once. "Find Hinata and heal her. I'll go after Naruto."

* * *

She found Hinata.

Trying not to let her emotions get the best of her, she knelt down beside the unmoving, pale woman. "It's me, Hinata." she whispered, raising her hands over Hinata's chest. "I'm going to heal you now. You fought so well!"

"S–Sakura–san…" Hinata gasped, ignoring her words and instead grabbing Sakura's hand in a weak attempt to grab her attention. "Naruto–kun…?"

Sakura smiled weakly, her chakra increasing as she attempted to stop the bleeding, to close the wound that had pierced and jaggedly torn her heart. It was impossible. Even with her seal, it was impossible. Medic–nin were not magicians. "He's fine, Hinata. You saved his life."

The smile on Hinata's face was breathtaking, despite the fact she was covered in blood. She looked at peace, happy. "I'm… glad…"

A heartbreaking sob escaped Sakura as she felt Hinata's heart beat a final time before it gave out.

* * *

**A/N - Since I got quite a few reviews last chapter, I decided to update this story earlier than usual as a treat for you all!**

**In other words, I'm ill and in bed, procrastinating and trying to put off doing the assignments my teachers have sent me. I don't know what the hell is going on, but I'm _so tired_ lately and have a constant headache. Just going downstairs makes me breathless! Ugh. Anybody know how to get more energy other than sleeping? It's all I've been doing lately! I had twelve hours last night and I'm still tired. My doctor said it could be stress, but I doubt it. I have to have blood tests next Friday now, as well. -.-**


	31. New Beginnings

**Chapter 30 – New Beginnings**

When Sakura caught up to Sasuke, her face a mess of dirt, blood and tears, he didn't need to ask to know how it had gone.

"Come on," he grunted, moving faster, "they went this way."

She nodded silently, picking up her pace as they followed Sasuke's lead on Naruto. How did they know for sure that they were on the right path? The two were connected due to Sasuke being the Kyuubi's watcher. He could sense wherever the Kyuubi was, meaning he could sense Naruto.

The lead took them straight to the battle between Konoha and Iwa.

It was safe to say that Iwa quickly put space between themselves and Konoha at the sight of a close–to–transforming Kyuubi. Sasuke growled. Damn it! They were up to the seventh tail already.

"Sasuke!"

"I know!" he growled in return to Shisui's exclamation, trying his best to catch up to Naruto. It was difficult however, due to the Kyuubi's vengeful, hateful eyes being set on Pein.

"Sakura."

The unspoken question in Neji's eyes had her shaking her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Neji–san. I tried everything I could."

He took a step back. And then another. He'd been watching the battle even whilst taking care of the Iwa–nin, knowing that Hinata would pull a stunt such as the one she had and now, she had lost her life because of her emotions.

Neji darted after Pein, uncaring of the Kyuubi.

_Bastard!_

Sakura looked around herself, unsure as to what she was supposed to do. All she could hear were people screaming and fighting and–

Suddenly, her head was slamming into the ground.

Her vision was blurred, everything had slowed down immensely and her heart was pounding in her chest. The dizziness that suddenly washed over Sakura was overwhelming and the urge to turn over and empty the contents of her stomach was almost impossible to ignore.

"Sakura–san!" Lee yelled, rushing over to her and easily defeating the Iwa–nin who had struck her down. Pulling her to her feet, he assessed her warily. "Are you okay, Sakura–san?"

"I… I couldn't save her." she whispered to him. "I couldn't."

Lee frowned, quickly pulling Sakura away from danger. "Who?"

"Hinata. I couldn't save her."

Seeing the distraught look on her face, hearing her words, had Lee's features also flashing with distress, especially as he realised that Neji was no longer around. Knowing the Hyuuga the way he did, Lee was guessing he'd gone straight after the one who had killed Hinata.

Pein.

"Sakura–san, you–"

Something knocking them out of the way had Sakura yelping in pain, had her clutching at her upper arm in agony.

"The Kyuubi." Lee breathed, once more dragging them both to their feet.

It seemed Sasuke had captured the attention of it and lured it back to the battlefield, trying to keep the damage and loss of lives to a minimum. If the Kyuubi took out a few Iwa–nin before Sasuke managed to subdue him? There was no major loss there. And as the Kyuubi's tails lashed around, striking people, Lee suddenly realised what had struck himself and Sakura, although more her than himself due to Sakura being in the way.

Her seal was trying to heal her, but it seemed Sakura was running low on chakra and the wound was much too deep. That thought was only confirmed as the markings on her skin travelled along it once more, going back to her forehead until they were gone altogether.

"Your seal is gone." he told her, his eyes widening with worry.

"There's a… a rule." Sakura murmured to him.

Lee frowned in response. What was wrong with Sakura? Why did she seem so out of it? "Sakura–san?"

"At the hospital. We have a rule." she told him quietly, fresh tears shining in her eyes. "If somebody from the Hyuuga main family dies, we have to store their bodies away in order to protect the Byakugan and only a Hyuuga can open the scroll again." Lee stilled. "Will you…" Sakura rasped, releasing her heavily bleeding arm to hand him a scroll from within her pouch that was now equally as bloody. "Give this… Give this to… Neji–san. He'll know what… what to do."

Just as she fell forward, somebody appeared before her, lifting Sakura easily. "Lee–san, please go and find Neji–san. Do as Sakura told you and hand him that scroll. Also remind him of what is important right now. Protecting our village. Not being led astray by hatred and revenge."

The younger man's frown deepened, staring down at the scroll in his hand. "Itachi–san, what is wrong with Sakura–san? She seems… different."

"This is what being a shinobi does to people." Itachi answered vaguely before disappearing into the trees.

When he was high enough for nobody to see them and knew for sure that nobody knew they were there, he leaned Sakura backwards against the trunk of the tree and silently removed her flack jacket, tearing off the destroyed sleeve of her sweatshirt once he had. The wound was vicious looking and it was deep. It had to be healed immediately. However, one glance at Sakura told him that she no longer had enough chakra, not after fighting all day and then going onto healing more or less the entire village (or what was left of it). The fact that she hadn't passed out sooner considering they had been returning from a mission, surprised him greatly.

Sighing, he cupped her face and forced her heavy eyes to meet his. "Remember what you have told me before, Sakura." Itachi told her seriously. "Medic–nin are not magicians."

"Itachi… I'm so tired."

Concussion, he noted silently, taking a look at her head wound. Blood was running down her face, causing her hair to stick against it, but head wounds always bled more than others. However, the fact that she was so tired, so disorientated and unable to focus, made it clear to him that she had a concussion. Itachi sighed. What was he supposed to do with her now? "You have done more than enough today."

And it was the truth. To say that Sakura had never done network healing through Katsuyu before, she had done a good job. It wasn't surprising that she was so low on chakra. How many had she healed? Hundreds? A couple of thousand? All with various wounds, also. Altogether, there used to be over ten thousand people in Konoha. Pein's attack had halved that number. Sakura…

"You have done more than enough." he repeated in a quiet murmur.

It wasn't fair to ask any more of her.

She smiled sleepily, hand fisting in his flak jacket and pulling him closer. "I love you, 'tachi."

"You cannot fall asleep here, Sakura." Itachi stated seriously, knowing what she meant by telling him that. Well, aside from the obvious. Before going to sleep, Sakura always told him that she loved him. It didn't make the words any less meaningful having her repeating them every night. Actually, it was the opposite. Sakura made sure to tell him that because every night, she was incredibly grateful that they'd both made it through the day, and that she got to be with him once more. It was her way of making sure that he knew she loved him, should anything happen. "It's not safe."

"You're here." Sakura shrugged, head falling to his shoulder. A second later and she winced. "Ow…"

They didn't have time for this. The Kyuubi was currently giving Sasuke quite a bit of trouble, Neji and Lee were off somewhere (hopefully returning), Shisui, Tenten and Gai were trying to keep the Iwa–nin back and away from Sasuke, whilst he… Itachi sighed. They didn't have time for this. Pein would be returning soon and they couldn't risk losing Naruto to Akatsuki.

Glancing down at the battlefield, Itachi narrowed his eyes, trying to find somebody he could trust to take care of Sakura. She was clearly not capable of defending herself right at that moment in time and–

Tenten.

Summoning another one of his crows, Itachi sent it down to Tenten, though was frustrated when she batted it out of the way with annoyance, muttering about 'stupid birds'. Thankfully, Shisui noticed and, in his own way, relayed the message.

Not even a second later and Tenten was by their side with the help of Shisui transporting her. He hadn't so much as looked at her, merely placed his hand on her shoulder for a second or two.

"What the–" she cut herself off at the state of Sakura. "Sakura!"

"It is vital that the medic is never killed on a mission." Itachi stated tonelessly, standing up. "Keep her alive and tend to her arm."

And then he was gone.

* * *

"Sasuke–"

"He's lost!" Sasuke snapped in return, just about dodging a blow that would have no doubt knocked him out. "Naruto is lost right now. I can't reach him!"

Shit. That meant that the Kyuubi was almost fully in control – well, that and the fact he was now up to eight tails. The chakra that was cloaking Naruto was no longer how it usually was. It was now in the actual shape of the Kyuubi. Height, width… The lot. The bone structure was also beginning to show. If they wasted any more time, they were going to lose him for good. That–

"_Shinra Tensei!"_

A grunt of pain left Sasuke through gritted teeth as he was blasted by what felt like a wall of chakra, as he was sent tumbling and rolling across the clearing and into a tree. The others were just as unlucky, although it seemed Itachi and Shisui had somehow found a way to withstand it. How? Sasuke glanced at his brother before looking down at his feet, surprised to find that he had stayed standing by simply sending chakra to his feet. It was really so simple?

Pulling himself up, Sasuke barely held back a shout of agony at the aches all over his body. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Neji and Lee had finally returned, but it seemed like Pein would not acknowledge them, as his eyes were fixed on the Kyuubi's.

Damn it!

Tails lashed out as the Kyuubi roared in pure hatred, the sound booming around the clearing and causing people to cover their ears. The Iwa–nin were wisely staying away from him, but that mattered little when the Kyuubi's tails suddenly lashed out once more, knocking them to the ground and killing some of them with a single blow.

They were losing him.

Realising this, Sasuke shot forward with the intent of gaining Naruto's attention once more, but then it all went horribly wrong as he miscalculated his timing and instead of leaping over the tail that whipped out at him, he should have ducked and rolled away.

All Sasuke could do was stare in horror as his eyes picked up on his mistake because he wasn't fast enough to make it in time.

However, just as he waited for the tail to lash a hole straight through his chest, somebody was jumping in front of him, susanoo was surrounding them…

It didn't make it in time.

* * *

"Sakura, you need to wake up."

Somebody was shaking her roughly, making her scowl. Itachi wouldn't wake her up in such a way. In fact, he usually woke up by doing the complete opposite and pleas–

"_Sakura!"_

The voice had her eyes snapping open despite the brightness almost blinding her. It wasn't the same voice as the person who was trying to wake her. This one was male and by the sound of it, he didn't know where she was.

"You have to get up, Sakura." the first voice stated and after a moment, she noticed it was Tenten. "I know you're hurting and low on chakra, but we have to move. Naruto's completely losing control and–"

"_Sakura_!"

Pushing Tenten away, Sakura took a deep breath and jumped out of the tree, stumbling in her landing and twisting her ankle. The short nap had made little difference, but it had given her a short amount of time to try and sort through her thoughts, to think more clearly.

"_Sakura!"_

The desperate scream of her name caught Sakura's attention once more, making her head snap to the side to follow the voice and at the sight before her, she felt her knees grow weak even though one of them was already on the ground. Her breath left her as though somebody had punched her in the gut and her heart felt like it was being stabbed with a white hot kunai.

Laying on the ground, unconscious with a large, gaping wound on his upper torso…

Was Itachi.

It had been Sasuke who screamed for her, no doubt to help his older brother, and right at that moment in time, Sasuke was trembling. His hand was grabbing the side of his face in obvious agonizing pain. But that wasn't what caught her attention the most. It was his eyes. They were morphing, changing. The _Mangekyō_. The utter terror he could feel was enough to awaken the _Mangekyō_ – or in his case, finish the transformation. It shouldn't surprise her – the Uchiha brothers were extremely close and everybody knew it.

"_Help him_!"

The words had barely even left his lips before Sakura was darting forward, ignoring the aches of her body and quickly leaping out of the way as a Kyuubi tail almost batted her to the ground as though she was nothing more than a fly. Her heels and hands dug into the ground, attempting to stop her momentum and a second later, she was leaping into the air once more, avoiding a blow that would have no doubt killed her. It had caused a crater where it landed!

Rock Lee was suddenly in front of her, his fists clenching, elbows bent and body flushing red as he opened the sixth gate and dashed forward faster than she could even see, slamming his fist into the Kyuubi's face and sending him hurtling backwards and through the trees.

"Now is your chance, Sakura–san!" he yelled over to her and once again ran towards the Kyuubi with Sasuke behind him. "I will hold Naruto–kun back whilst you heal Itachi–san!"

A part of her was inwardly screaming for him to hold back, to not hurt Naruto! This wasn't Naruto's fault. He couldn't control the Kyuubi and Sakura knew that once he was fully aware of himself, once he was in control once more, it was going to kill him inside knowing all of the things that had happened. However, her need to heal Itachi was stronger than reminding Lee of those things, because she knew that he already knew them. He wouldn't hurt Naruto unless he didn't have any other choice. They were friends, after all.

She fell to her knees beside Itachi, barely holding back her sob at the state of him. How was this even possible? It shouldn't be! Uchiha Itachi was not supposed to be fatally wounded, as childish as she sounded. Her hands were shaking as she ripped his shirt open to fully reveal his wound and it was only with the experience Sakura had gained as a medic that stopped her from vomiting. It wasn't as gruesome as it could have been, but it was just the fact that this wound was on Itachi's body. It shouldn't be there.

"Wake up." she whispered, immediately summoning her chakra and placing her hands over his chest, trying desperately to stop the bleeding and close the wound. "Please, wake up!"

It wasn't long until her tears were falling, until she was sobbing over his motionless body with such force that her own kept trembling, violent coughs shaking her. Oh God… She was going to be sick! This could not be happening. It couldn't.

"_Wake up_!"

Somebody fell to their knees beside her, but Sakura didn't dare look away from Itachi's wound to see who it was. Even though her vision was blurred with tears, even though she could hardly even see, she could not look away.

"Sakura…"

The voice belonged to Shisui and he sounded like he was in great pain.

"Shut up!" she sobbed and lowered her head to Itachi's bloody chest, a cry of horror clawing out of her throat when nothing reached her ears. There was no heartbeat. "_Itachi_!"

She had stopped the bleeding. The wound was closed. Why wasn't he breathing? Why was his heart not beating? Itachi wasn't dead. He just couldn't be. Sakura couldn't even feel the ground quaking – most likely from the battle with the Kyuubi. All she could see was the light fading from Itachi's eyes. His beautiful, beautiful eyes.

"He's not dead." Sakura muttered, quickly forming a chakra blade and cutting into his side. She didn't have time to feel disgusted as her left hand slipped inside and gingerly clutched his heart, honestly startling those around her, shielding her and Itachi from any attacks. With her other hand, she pinched his nose shut and pressed her lips to his, forcing the air from her lungs into his, keeping an eye on the way his chest rose and fell. Parting from his lips, she then gave his heart a squeeze, attempting to trick it into beating once more. "He's not dead."

He wasn't dead. That couldn't happen.

It felt like forever was going by as she continued to work on him, forcing air into his lungs whilst forcing his heart to continue beating. Others would have given up on him a long time ago. But they didn't know Itachi like Sakura knew him! They weren't involved with him like she was. Which was why there were certain laws and rules at the hospital. You could not perform surgery on friends or family, even if it was only minor. It took away all rational thoughts and made you act recklessly. Like she was currently doing.

Instead of working over the lifeless body beneath her, Sakura knew in the back of her mind that she should be healing herself and others who were still living, who were in need of her assistance. But she just couldn't. Itachi had to live.

And then something happened that had her faltering for a split second.

His heart beat. And she wasn't the cause of it.

"He's alive!" she gasped and removed her hand from within his chest, though was prepared to get right back to work if needed to. Obviously not with sticking her hand in his chest for that might not be necessary anymore. She could just do chest compressions.

By her side, Shisui sighed with relief, thanking whoever was listening to his silent prayers.

Itachi's eyes widened, the light snapping right back into them as he gasped for air and Sakura quickly leaned back to give him room to breathe, wary of crowding him.

He couldn't breathe.

A slight panic was filling his eyes as he clutched at his chest with a trembling hand, his face faintly flushing red from lack of oxygen.

And once more, she was getting right back to work, giving him a trembling smile when Itachi glanced up at her, when he stared into her eyes like he was seeing her for the first time.

Green light began to glow from her palms, though when it flickered, telling her she was running low on chakra, Sakura took a deep breath, startling those around her when the green faded into blue.

Shisui's eyes widened. "Sakura–"

Itachi grabbed her hand, his eyes bleeding red with an angered look, knowing exactly what she was doing, what she was going to do.

Chiyo's technique.

She shook her head, smiling down at him. "Trust me, Itachi. You're not leaving me and I'm not leaving you. We promised each other, right?"

Slowly, unsurely, Itachi nodded, forcing himself to remain calm despite the fact he couldn't breathe.

Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated hard. And they could all tell when Itachi could finally breathe, for he greedily gasped in as much air as he could, his body demanding that he did so. As soon as she noticed he could breathe by himself, Sakura stopped giving him her own life energy, feeling slightly dizzy although she did a good job of hiding it. Instead she helped Itachi sit up, pressing her face into his shoulder and holding him.

"Idiot. I thought I'd lost you!"

"…Forgive me." his voice was hoarse, but somehow still managed to sound as soft as it usually did.

"Sakura, that technique…"

She looked up at Shisui, nodding once. "It was my own life energy. I know, it was reckless of me to use it, but," she sighed, giving Itachi a heartbreaking look, "you were dead, Itachi." Sakura quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve, forcing herself to remain calm. "Chiyo–baa–sama did the same for me, when we were fighting Akasuna no Sasori, so I knew that I wouldn't die if I used a small amount of my life energy to help you, Itachi. The reason why she died whilst reviving Gaara was because he was actually dead. I managed to revive you a different way. You were alive when I was using my life energy."

Smart, but incredibly risky giving how injured and low on chakra she was. "What about the Kyuubi?"

"Sasuke has gone after them." Shisui murmured. "Itachi… He's done it. Seeing you die right in front of him caused his eyes to finish the transformation. He's got eyes like ours now."

There was silence for a moment as Itachi absorbed the news, still shocked by the fact that he had actually died. Susanoo had failed him. How was that even possible? No, he was not fully manifested as of yet, as you had to take your time unless you wanted to damage your eyes beyond repair. Itachi stared straight ahead for a moment. He'd been fairly close to the Kyuubi when he was struck, and after battling all day, Itachi's chakra wasn't exactly full, so perhaps that was the reason why?

It was actually quite a relief, in a messed up way. It made Itachi realise that despite everything people said, despite what they believed, he was not invincible.

Uchiha Itachi was human.

"Sakura, go back to the village." Itachi murmured, finally looking up once more. "Take–"

"For a genius, you're such an idiot." she cut him off with a shake of her head. "I don't care how much weaker I am than all of you. I need to be here."

"You are only in the way."

Her stomach dropped horribly and for a moment, Sakura was certain that she was actually about to throw up. "…What?"

"Out here, you are only going to be in the way." Itachi told her, his eyes never leaving hers. "You–"

She punched him.

She didn't care if he had just died. She didn't care that he was probably still tender since she didn't have enough chakra to take all the pain away. Sakura didn't care that those who were no longer fighting, suddenly stilled with their breath leaving them in gasps.

All that kept going through her mind was his words.

_Only in the way._

How many times had Sakura heard those words growing up? Too many times. Too many times had she been shoved aside and forced to stay out of the battle. Too many times she had had to witness her friends and loved ones take beatings.

Somebody grabbed her wrist, just in case she tried to hit him again. "Sakura–"

She yanked her wrist out of Shisui's hold, her eyes still locked with Itachi's. "If I'm only in the way, how the hell did I just save your life?" Sakura demanded. "If I'm only in the way, then why the hell is your face bruising already?" Before either of them could reply, she was standing up and glaring down at Itachi. "I may be low on chakra and sure, I'm hurting all over, but I'm not weak." For a split second, pain flitted over her features, but she forced herself to remain strong. "Out of everyone, I least expected to hear something like that come from _you_."

Just as Sakura went to walk away, a hand was once again wrapping around her wrist, although this time, it was roughly yanking her back down so that she was on her knees. "You have a concussion, Sakura. The bandages on your arm are already soaked with blood." Itachi lowered his voice, bringing her closer. It surprised her to see such a hard look in his eyes. "You need to go back to the village and be healed. How are your friends supposed to be able to fight when they're worried about you?" More quietly, too quietly for anybody else to hear, he added, "How am I supposed to fight when I'm worried about you?"

There was nothing she wanted more than to scream at him. Why? Because Itachi always managed to make her sound like she was the one in the wrong. No matter what she said and how right she knew she was, Itachi always managed to outwit her, or say something that sounded so much better. What he was saying now made a lot more sense, but hearing those words, coming from him of all people, hurt.

"What happened to believing in me?"

"Itachi–" Shisui tried to speak, nodding once to Neji beforehand.

"What happened to seeing my potential?" Sakura cut him off.

Even though his features were blank, the look in Itachi's eyes hardened. "What happened to knowing your own limits? You have done more than enough today, Sakura."

"Itachi–" Shisui tried again, only to once again be cut off.

"People still need to be healed and Naruto will–"

"Save your domestics until after!" Shisui finally snapped and for a moment, Itachi could only stare at him in barely hidden shock. In all his years of knowing the older Uchiha, he'd never once seen Shisui lose his control over his temper. "As Neji–san was _trying_ to tell you both, as _I_ was trying to tell you both, Naruto–kun is once more in control and has defeated Pein."

Well, that escalated quickly, Sakura thought numbly before shaking her head, only to groan miserably and clutch her head as the dizziness returned. "H–How?"

There was a sigh, but Sakura didn't notice the look the two Uchiha exchanged. "I'm not sure." Shisui replied. "Neji–san simply saw that Naruto–kun gained control by himself, and then defeated Pein."

"It's over then." she smiled.

"No, it's not."

The new voice had Sakura looking up, surprised that Sasuke was there. "Why isn't Naruto with you?"

"He's gone after the real Pein." he muttered, kneeling down beside them. All the Iwa–nin had either retreated, or been killed by the Kyuubi. "When he was being pinned down by those black rods, he managed to pick up the signal and where that signal is coming from. He–" Sasuke cut himself off as he got a look at his brother's face. "You look like you were punched by Sakura."

"He was."

Sasuke's head snapped to the side to look at Sakura, a look of confusion on his face. "Why?"

"He said I was in the way. So I punched him."

The look he gave Itachi was blank, unimpressed. It amused the two older Uchiha that Sasuke actually looked disappointed in Itachi. "You deserved it, then." For a moment, rage flitted over his features and it took another couple of moments to calm himself. "How can you say she's in the way, nii–san? She saved you!"

Itachi held back his aggravated sigh. "Look at her, Sasuke. Think of everything she has done today, and then all the wounds she has suffered. Her chakra is running dangerously low right now."

"She still wouldn't be in the way." the younger brother growled, standing up and roughly pulling Sakura to her feet, although he flinched when she gasped in pain. The state of her arm had him scowling, especially since Sasuke knew what had caused it. "Naruto wants everyone back in the village."

With that, Sasuke turned his back to Sakura and told her to climb on, disappearing ahead of the others.

Shisui blinked in surprise as the other shinobi followed after him, leaving himself and Itachi alone in the clearing. "Did he just… steal your woman?"

A dark look flashed in Itachi's eyes. "No."

"It kind of looks like he just stole your woman."

"Shisui–" Itachi cut himself off, feeling surprisingly short on patience. "I think it is time we returned to Konoha."

For a few seconds, Shisui regarded the younger Uchiha, genuinely worried about the kid. No, Itachi was not a kid, but in Shisui's eyes, in a way, he was. Itachi was like his kid brother, like Sasuke was Itachi's. "What you did was incredibly risky, Itachi." he told him seriously, all amusement leaving him. "Stupidly risky."

He sighed. "She wasn't using her chakra enhanced strength, it–"

"You know that's not what I'm talking about." A coldness had entered Shisui's voice, one that had Itachi holding back yet another sigh. "I'm talking about the fact that you let the Kyuubi hit you."

"It was the only way to move Sasuke's eyes onto the next level."

"At the cost of your life?" Shisui demanded with obvious disbelief. "You risked your life just so that Sasuke could fully–" he stopped talking abruptly, rubbing his aching eyes. "You could have pulled Sasuke away with the help of susanoo. Hell, you could have restrained the Kyuubi with susanoo, since yours is much more developed than mine. Why risk so much, Itachi?" When Itachi didn't reply, he shook his head. "What about your family? Me? What about _Sakura_? She spent the last of her chakra and even used her own life energy reviving you. You didn't see her face, Itachi. She was petrified of losing you. How could you put her through something like that?"

"I never expected to die." Itachi answered truthfully with an exhausted look. "I fully expected susanoo to absorb most of the strength – it merely had to look like I was dying."

Shisui shook his head angrily. "You were dead before you even hit the floor!"

The look he received was blank, empty. Itachi was pushing him away. "I cannot stand to see him like he was last year, Shisui. Blind and helpless, depending on others. That is not who Sasuke is and as long as that block was on his eyes, there was always that risk of the power of his eyes trying to force its way through the block and blinding him permanently instead of temporarily. This was the only plan I could come up with, and it had to be believable. Taking advantage of and going up against the Kyuubi… It worked. And now Sasuke has eyes like ours."

"You're lucky Sakura–san is so damn stubborn." Shisui told him with a dark look, standing up and holding out his hand to Itachi, helping him stand. "If that had been any other medic, you'd still be laying on that ground right now and you would never be getting back up. You–"

Itachi glanced over his shoulder, causing Shisui to pause in his words and as soon as they stopped talking, eleven Iwa–nin were stepping out of the trees, daring to take their chances now that the Kyuubi, Akatsuki member and all other Konoha–nin were gone. The two Uchiha just barely held back their growls of annoyance. Why did they have to be so persistent? Couldn't they see that they would rather get back to their village and deal with that mess?

Itachi watched the Iwa–nin for a few moments, unnerving them greatly with his blank expression until suddenly, kunai seemed to be coming out of nowhere and impaling each and every one of the Iwa–nin.

Not a single one of them moved after falling to the ground.

It didn't even look like Itachi had blinked or moved a muscle.

* * *

"Sakura–"

"He said I'm in the way." she murmured, staring blankly ahead of them as Sasuke moved within the trees.

If Sasuke hadn't been travelling so fast, he would have closed his eyes as he sighed. His brother could be an ass when he wanted to be. If he thought it was best, Itachi would be as harsh as he needed to be. Getting Sakura out of danger and back to Konoha? That would have been high up on his list. If he had to be harsh with her to make her leave, then he'd do it.

But damn it, Sasuke inwardly growled, did he have to such an ass? Being told she was in the way was more or less calling Sakura useless – and Sasuke had made that mistake before. Telling her that she's useless (or even just in the way) was highly offensive to Sakura and he didn't blame her for taking the words so personally. If you told Sakura she was useless, you'd hit her right where it hurt and she would then go on to do everything and anything to prove you wrong.

That was partly the reason why Sasuke had gotten her out of there.

"He told me… that I'm _not_ useless, but… But he just said…"

There was a mixture of pain and confusion in her voice, making Sasuke sigh. The last thing he wanted to do was fix the mess his brother had made, but if he didn't? Sakura was going to be in pain. Result of that pain? Who knows. She was an impulsive person, so there was no telling what she'd do. Just taking one look at Itachi's cheek told everyone that!

"Itachi had his reasons for saying that, Sakura."

"Yeah?" Sakura snapped, although by the sound of her voice, it was obvious there were tears in her eyes. "And what's that?"

"To keep you safe. Sakura," Sasuke sighed again, tightening his hold on her when he dropped to the ground and continued on foot, "you have to be patient with Itachi. I know he's supposed to be a genius and whatever, but he's useless when it comes to relationships and friendships."

It still hurt. Closing her eyes, Sakura rested her head against her arm, sighing as she did so. "He has a lot of making up to do." she mumbled tiredly. "Tell him that."

"Tell him yourself." the Uchiha grunted. "He's catching up to us."

"Do I have time for a quick nap?"

"No." Sasuke stated firmly, giving her a quick shock with his lightning element just in case. "Stay awake until we get to a medic–nin."

After controlling the quick spasming of her body, Sakura giggled softly. "I _am_ a medic–nin, Sasuke–kun!"

Yeah, a medic who was on the brink of passing out and was suffering from a concussion. There may also be an issue with blood loss, too, if they didn't make it back to the village in time.

Thankfully, only a matter of minutes later, Sasuke burst through the trees, but instead of feeling relief at the sight of the village, he felt a stab of pain right through his gut. Their village was gone. It was a complete wreck.

"Keep moving, Sasuke."

The voice startled him for a moment, making him glance up at the two who were suddenly flanking him.

"Itachi is right, Sasuke. Sakura–san needs to see a medic immediately."

Sakura raised her head with obvious effort, looking up at Itachi as he stared ahead. "All… All I need is a soldier pill." she suddenly pouted. "And an apology from _you_, Uchiha Itachi." He glanced down at her, raising his eyebrow by a fraction, but Sakura cut him off just as he opened his mouth, dropping her head onto Sasuke's shoulder once more and shutting her eyes. "You're not getting any until you apologise properly."

It was so amusing feeling Sasuke tense, but what made that amusement grow was the fact she heard Shisui bark out a laugh whilst Itachi remained silent, although she could feel his eyes on her face.

"I mean it, 'tachi."

Suddenly she was being removed from Sasuke's back, making Sakura's eyes open tiredly to see what was happening, but his scent reached her first. Itachi.

"Y–Your wounds, you idiot! Don't–"

"I'm apologising to you properly." Itachi stated, holding her bridal style and close to his chest. Who cared about wounds? He had told her before, back when they had merely been writing letters, that if he knew he was in the wrong, then Itachi was not above apologising. It seemed Sakura vaguely remembered too, for she went quiet, staring up at him with hurt in her eyes. "I never meant to upset you, Sakura." Itachi told her honestly, walking forward as he did so and ignoring those behind him. "I wanted you to realise that you need healing."

"That's not an–"

"Let me finish." he cut her off quietly. "I…"

It was so strange seeing Itachi struggling to find the words he wanted to speak, as he usually had no problem at all. Right now, however, it was like he knew how much he had hurt Sakura with his words, and Itachi was trying to find the right words to make her forget all about it. But they both knew that no matter how pretty those words were, she wouldn't forget about what he said. People had tormented her with words such as those for so long, and to suddenly have _Itachi_ saying them to her? It had cut her deeply.

"There are no words that could possibly tell you how sorry I am." Itachi murmured, refusing to take his eyes from hers as they finally entered what was left of their village. Not because he was afraid to look at it, but more because he was afraid of Sakura looking at it and getting worked up about it. She needed to be calm and try to keep her stress level as low as possible. "I'm…"

"Stressed." she finished for him, not daring to look around. It was bad enough she could see how badly destroyed their village was out of the corner of her vision. "I get that. I just–"

Bright lights suddenly erupting around them had Sakura cutting herself off and looking around with wide eyes, not missing how Itachi's hold tightened on her as he brought her impossibly closer. She herself was clutching a tight hold of what was left of Itachi's shirt, having torn most of it off earlier whilst saving his life.

They could only watch in awe as those bright lights slammed down into the bodies of the deceased, making Sakura feel like she was in a horror film as they all began to wake up and look around in confusion, as they began to stand and–

"Kakashi–sensei!" Sakura called, noticing his silver, unruly hair the instant he sat up. Without a word, Itachi took her over to him, setting Sakura onto her feet even though she fell to her knees the moment he released her, assessing her sensei with wide eyes as he stared back just as shocked. "Y–You're alive… How? You were dead! Katsuyu–sama told me that you were dead!"

Sasuke dropped down beside them a few seconds later, seeming just as shocked. "It seems everyone who died has been brought back to life."

Looking around, Itachi thought it over for a moment. "That creature." he spoke up. "Do you remember the body of Pein who could revive the other bodies? Perhaps it is something to do with that."

"But Naruto–"

"That power had to have come from somewhere, Sasuke." Itachi told his brother patiently.

"Sensei," Sakura sighed, pulling him against her into a surprisingly strong embrace, even though he wasn't the type for hugs, "I'm so glad you're okay."

It was obvious the man was in shock, leading Sakura to pulling back ever so slightly and frowning as she assessed him without chakra, asking him a few routine questions until he finally had enough. "Sakura, I'm okay. I feel fine. Shocked, but fine." Standing up, he ruffled his former student's hair with a gentle smirk even though they couldn't see it. "It's nice that you were so worried about me, though."

Of course she was worried! He was her sensei.

"Kakashi–"

"Sakura." he gave her a blank look, but she could see the warmth in his eye. "Stop. Take care of yourself for once."

Reluctantly, Sakura nodded once, feeling too overwhelmed with relief and gratefulness to argue with the man. Instead she watched him as he glanced over in a different direction, seeming to be thinking something over. "Kakashi–sensei?" she asked when he started to walk away. "Where are you going?"

Kakashi paused and looked at her, giving her that same old eye crease that told her everything was going to be okay. "I'm guessing Naruto is going to be exhausted right now, so I thought I'd be a kind sensei and bring him home."

Once again, Sakura nodded quickly. "Be safe."

He waved over his shoulder at her, already walking away. "You too."

"Sakura," Shisui called to her, but when Sakura looked up at him, he wasn't looking at her, "the medic–nin are with Hokage–sama. Please go and be healed."

Despite saying 'please', she knew he wasn't asking. He was ordering her to go and be healed. Shaking her head, Sakura stood up and sighed, pushing aside her dizziness. "Bossy Uchiha men." she muttered, walking in the direction of the medic–nin, only to immediately be stopped by three of them who spotted her. There were no greetings, merely them sitting her down and getting straight to work.

* * *

He found her sitting on top of the Hokage monument, staring out at the ruins of their home. It was easy to see that it distressed her greatly, so why was she looking at it? Why was she sitting on the Hokage monument, staring at it?

Because this was where they had begun to meet more and more often.

And when her eyes met his, he found that twisting in his gut lessening, found that unlike all those other times, the words were forming on his lips and allowing him to share with her everything he'd never been able to tell her before.

"I'm so very glad you're okay." Shisui sighed, closing his eyes with relief as a heavy weight lifted from his shoulders. "The moment I heard about the village… You were all I could think about."

Kurenai paused in brushing the hair off her face, her hand falling to her stomach. "Shisui…"

"I know." he told her quietly. "I know that you love Asuma with all your heart – and most likely always will. I know that and I _understand_ that. I'm…" Shisui gave her a small, sheepish smile. "I have to admit, that I may be good at many things, but talking of my emotions, I am not. With you… I feel as though I am being…" his sentence broke off and he frowned. It seemed that block was still there. "It all seems so clear and so easy to explain in my head, but the moment I open my mouth to tell you these things, it all scatters away." he sighed, trying again. "What I am trying to say, Kurenai, is that even though you may not return my feelings, even though there is a possibility that you never will return them, I will always be here for you, and for your child. And when your child is older, should they ever need anything, I will still be here for them. Nobody and nothing will ever be able to replace Asuma, not in your mind and definitely not in your heart – and I understand that."

Tears were filling her eyes, making him smile sadly. "I have admired you for a long time, Yuhi Kurenai. Much longer than I ever want to admit. However, it was long enough for me to be able to say that I saw you fall in love with Asuma, I saw those feelings form and develop and strengthen over the years. It is why I never approached you, or came forward about my feelings." he gave a shrug. "I couldn't come in between a love like that."

She wiped at her cheeks, eyes falling to the side somewhere. "I can't forget him, Shisui."

A breath of air left his nose and he gave another gentle smile. "I'm not asking you to."

"Then what _do_ you want?" Kurenai asked, eyebrows knitting together as she finally met his intense gaze. It had always seemed intense to her. "Asuma… He's… I love that man. He may be dead, but I still love him. We may not have been married, may have only been lovers–"

"There was no 'only' to your relationship with Asuma, Kurenai." he sat down beside her, staring up at the sky. "What you had… It didn't need a label. It didn't need any fancy wedding, or signed papers, or rings! All you needed was each other."

"That doesn't answer my question, Shisui."

"What I want…" Looking away from the sky, Shisui glanced down at her, giving her a heart warming smile. "What I want is you. I always have. Even if I could only have a tiny piece of your heart, even if you can never fully let go of Asuma, I still want you."

Kurenai shook her head with a sigh. "You deserve much better than that, Shisui. You deserve a woman who isn't tied down by grief, or her love for another man and especially not by a child who isn't his own! Do you know what the villagers would say about all of this?"

Onyx eyes rolled. "I have never particularly cared for what the gossipers have spoken of before, so why would I start now?"

"You're avoiding–"

"I'm not avoiding anything. I'm not saying that you should magically fall in love with me overnight. It took years for me to understand the depth and intensity of my feelings for you and it wasn't until I saw you on the Hokage monument that I decided to approach you. I knew something wasn't right, and as usual, my gut instinct was right." There was a pause, one where he stared down at her seriously. "All I'm saying, is that you should give me a chance. Don't push me away. And even though this child is Asuma's, even if you can never fall in love with me, they will always be able to come to me if they need a male role model, or something of the sort."

Red eyes closed sadly. "For an Uchiha, you're very kindhearted."

It stung a little, he wasn't even going to deny it. Not that he was being called kindhearted, but the fact that she had thought he wasn't because of his surname. Shisui had never really thought about what Kurenai thought when she looked at him, though, deep down, he'd hoped it was positive things, and not negative. "Not all Uchiha are like that, Kurenai." Shisui replied quietly. "I know many that are, or were, very open and expressive."

She seemed to go back in time when her eyes opened once more. "Forgive me. I didn't mean for it to come out that way. It's just that… The only Uchiha I've ever truly spoken with, who has been so kindhearted, warm and open, died a long time ago. He was a member of your clan, yet tossed aside and ignored."

His eyes were glued on hers. "Obito, right?"

"Obito." Kurenai nodded. "I've never seen a love more intense than his. Rin wasn't as clueless as he thought – about his love for her, I mean. For a while, she didn't return those feelings. Loved Kakashi, in fact. After a while, though, when she began to truly get to know him…" she shook her head sadly. "By the time Rin understood her feelings for him, it was too late."

"I knew of Obito." Shisui confessed to her. "He was three years older than I am, and looked out for me. Always checking up on me." At her curious and confused stare, he sighed. "My parents died whilst I was very young and when that happened, I was placed into this… building, I suppose you could call it. It is where all Uchiha children stay when their parents pass away. I was… I'd say around eight years old when I moved into that building. I was young, traumatised and constantly on edge. Despite being in a large clan, I had never felt more alone.

"Obito… He reached out to me. Small things at first, such as making sure my refrigerator was fully stocked, and that all my clothing was clean. He took care of me like he was my older brother, even though we were complete strangers. This was our routine for about four months, but then one night after a rather bad nightmare, I went to him. For the first time since my parents' deaths, I reached out to somebody. And without a word, Obito took care of me. He allowed me to cry, he allowed me to express my emotions, without making me feel like a failure for doing so. Then, once I was calm enough to be more coherent, he took me to the training grounds and forced me to spar with him, to get everything out of my system. All of the building anger, all the pain… He took it without complaint. Even though my eyes were so much more powerful than his own, even when I became stronger over the months and years, even when I began to actually hurt him, he still took it."

His eyebrows knitted together then, like his features were attempting to form a certain expression, though had been taught not to. Kurenai couldn't help but feel saddened. "And then two years later, I was informed of his death. That… That was when I awakened the _Mangekyō_. The loss of such an honourable person, such a caring and kindhearted person, was agonising to me. Other than my parents, he was the first person to show me such kindness. I may be one of the prodigies belonging to the Uchiha clan, but I was still never shown that amount of kindness. And when he died, I was alone again."

Turning his head to the side, he regarded Kurenai's sad–looking features. "Hearing about my awakening the _Mangekyō,_ Fugaku–sama approached me and asked for me to train his eldest son. Itachi was only a toddler back then, barely even three years old, but he was still advancing quickly. I wanted to say no, to tell Fugaku to train his own son instead of passing him to someone else, but then I met Itachi. I saw something in him, I saw the same kindness Obito showed."

Kurenai's eyes widened almost dramatically, making him smirk. "Itachi can be one of the coldest, most intimidating men that I know, but nobody other than his precious people have seen the man he truly is inside. Growing up, I made sure to teach everything Obito had taught me, to Itachi. And then he went on to show that same brotherly affection to Sasuke. What I'm trying to say is… The villagers, people in general, see only what they want to see. Those in the Uchiha clan may seem cold hearted and distant, but when we care for someone, that bond is deep and damn near unbreakable."

It becomes the Curse of Hatred when forced to break.

* * *

The way everybody welcomed Naruto when he returned was heart warming. Sakura had gotten so emotional that she had actually hugged him – well, after punching him, she did. She was just so relieved to have him back, to know that _he_ was there and not the Kyuubi.

However, only an hour or so after his return, somebody else returned, the sight of the woman making Sakura tense and clench her fists tightly. The pain in her arm was still strong, but if she had to, she'd fight. Too much damage had already been done to their village. Naruto had already defeated the six bodies of Pein, as well as the real one (Nagato, she thought she'd heard him say). What could this woman possibly want?

But then something happened that had Sakura's eyes widening, that had even Itachi by her side staring with stunned silence.

Konan handed Naruto some flowers. Paper flowers, but the meaning was not lost.

There was a great pain that was building in the woman's eyes, one that her impassive features could not hide and when Sakura noticed this, she felt all anger and hatred falling away. This woman… She was lost now, in a way. Despite the small smile on her face as she spoke to Naruto, that pain in her eyes was screaming to Sakura that the woman no longer had anyone left.

When Itachi suddenly made his way over to them, hiding everything and seeming tall, confident and proud, Sakura followed him, frowning as to what he would do. He was completely calm, utterly blank. And finally, when they reached Naruto and Konan, the blond smiled and introduced them.

"Konan–san, there is something we must ask you for."

Straight to the point, Sakura noted whilst trying to hide her shock.

She didn't even need to think about it. "His eyes." When Itachi nodded once, Konan shook her head. "No. Those eyes are a part of who Nagato was. They were a burden to him in the beginning, but they were a part of him."

"Can you honestly say that you will be able to keep those eyes safe? They are powerful, meaning should anyone else find out about them, they will come after you for information until they eventually find Nagato–san's rinnegan. Can you swear to us that you will be capable of stopping them from falling into enemy's hands?" At her silence, Itachi continued. "The power of those eyes should not be within our grasp. Nagato–san, whilst clearly skilled with using the rinnegan, surely had difficulty controlling it."

Pain flashed through her eyes, making Sakura bite on the inside of her cheek, but then the woman nodded. "He did. Jiraiya–sensei tried all he could to help Nagato control the rinnegan, but not much helped."

Sakura held onto Naruto's hand as this time, it was his eyes that flashed with pain and it seemed he was comforted by the gesture, for he smiled down at her in thanks, giving her hand a soft squeeze.

"So you understand why we are wary of letting the rinnegan out of our sight."

Konan sighed, nodding once. "How do I know that you won't use his eyes for yourself?"

Naruto gave her a small smile. "Because I won't let them."

There was a pause, one where Konan regarded Naruto silently, unsurely. "What do you plan on using them for?"

"We don't." Itachi answered simply. "They will be put away, far out of anyone's reach, and will remain hidden and a secret. That way, destruction such as what has been done here, won't happen again."

Peace. That was what Jiraiya had wanted.

It took her a few minutes to reply, weighing the pros and cons in her mind, until Konan inwardly sighed. What use had she for those eyes now? None. And she knew that her days were numbered. At least this way, the eyes would remain untouched and hidden. Nagato would remain undisturbed in his permanent slumber.

"Take them. However, Uchiha Itachi, if I find out that you have lied to me and that your village is using them for your own selfish gain, I will return for them." she replied, voice toneless but threat obvious. "You may be powerful, but remember, I was a member of Akatsuki for a reason."

Silence.

And then Naruto spoke up, his voice low and quiet. "So what are you going to do now? I hate to think that you're returning to Akatsuki."

"I'm leaving Akatsuki." she stated calmly, in that same toneless voice. "Yahiko and Nagato meant everything to me. Yahiko's dream and Nagato's dream… If both of their dreams have been passed on to you, then you now embody their dreams. Nagato put his faith in you. So will I. Ame will pursue their dreams with you."

Remembering all the people who had told him that had Naruto's blue eyes falling to the ground. "The name Naruto," he murmured, finally looking back up at the blue haired woman, "the guts to never give up and pain." The look on his face was determined, strong, making Naruto look so much older than he actually was. "That's what I inherited from my shishou and sibling disciple!"

When nothing more was said, Konan regarded him silently, something softening in her eyes as she, for the last time, decided to put her faith and trust into Naruto, as she trusted him with _their_ dreams.

Turning her head to the side, Konan murmured softly, "Take them. Naruto, I trust that you will take good care of Nagato's eyes."

He gave her that same determined look, raising the flowers she had given him whilst nodding. "Of course."

After watching the woman's eyes for another moment, Sakura stepped forward, looking between the two paper–covered bodies for a moment until one of their faces was revealed. He looked incredibly old and extremely malnourished, his bones protruding and his skin grey, but Sakura focused little on that. The jutsu he had used to revive all those in the village would have surely had some negative effects.

Reaching into her medical pouch, Sakura gave one last look at Konan, silently asking if she was sure. When the woman nodded once, she got on with carefully removing Nagato's eyes, gently wiping away any mess that was made with his blood. Itachi met her with a glass jar, surprising Sakura for a moment with the fact that he had one on him, but then she saw Shisui in the background. No doubt he had brought it to them.

"This time," Konan spoke softly to Naruto, eyes never leaving Nagato's face, "I pray that you will be the blossom of hope that never wilts."

* * *

It was an hour later that she found herself alone with Itachi, although they weren't really alone. Tenzo had built as many cabins as he possibly could, housing civilians, the elderly, children and those who were pregnant first. Then came the major clans. Luckily, considering her mother was a civilian and her father was a retired shinobi, Sakura had been housed quickly, allowing a certain blond idiot to also stay with her considering the fact it would take them weeks to house him. After all, shinobi were capable of sleeping anywhere. Sakura just thought he deserved it after everything he had done. And, fortunately for Konoha, once they had heard about what happened, Suna sent over whatever supplies they could spare.

"What do we do with them?" Sakura mumbled, staring at the purple ringed eyes unsurely.

Itachi's features were blank, everything about him empty. "We destroy them."

And then suddenly, they were engulfed by black flames.

She didn't argue with him. Those eyes were too powerful for humans. If they fell into the wrong hands, then it could mean chaos for everyone. It was the safest thing to do.

* * *

Looking for her blond best friend, Sakura glanced around, wanting to tell him that he could stay with them until Tenzo was capable of creating more cabins. As it was, her parents had already opened up their cabin to a few other families and Sakura wanted to make sure that he had somewhere to stay.

In all honesty, ever since Konan left, Naruto had kept to himself. People kept congratulating him and thanking him, but it was like he could only half hear them.

When she finally found him sitting in front of a lake down near where the Uchiha district used to be, Sakura slowly made her way over to him. The area was destroyed and there was so much rubbish and debris littering the once beautiful lake. It made her sad. This had been such a beautiful place one time. The memory of Sasuke singing that song to her, the song she had then gone on to sing to Aiko, had her smiling sadly. It had been here that he sang that song to her. Kogane no Hikari.

"What're you doing all the way out here?" she asked softly, leaning over Naruto's shoulder. "I thought you'd be happy since everyone has finally acknowledged you!"

His blond eyebrows knitted together. "Not everybody is here though, are they?"

"Naruto–"

"She told me that she loves me." he mumbled, almost sounding as though he was talking to himself. "Hinata… She said she loves me and that she'd gladly give her life to protect me."

Tears filled Sakura's eyes as she sat down next to her best friend, her legs dangling over the pier, mere inches from touching the water. "You know, the last thing she said to me was that she was glad you were okay." She placed her hand on Naruto's, giving him a shaky smile as he looked down at her. "Hinata was happy that she saved you–"

"Happy that she lost her life so that I could live mine?" Naruto asked and even though he sounded angry, Sakura knew it wasn't directed towards her. He was grieving for the loss of his friend and everybody mourned differently. Some got angry, others became distant. But in the end, they were all feeling that same, unbearable ache. "I liked her." he told her after a couple of minutes. "Maybe not love, like the way she loved me, but… I liked her. Hinata always had my back, even when I wasn't aware of her being there. She always defended me. I keep thinking," his teeth gritted together, "I keep thinking that I should've spent more time with her. Maybe I could have loved her back, you know?"

Her bottom lip trembled as Sakura watched a tear slip down Naruto's cheek and before it even had the chance to reach his chin, she was pulling him against her, allowing him to rest his head on her chest as she held him tightly. Her face was buried in his wild blond hair, but she didn't mind. "I know." she whispered. "Just know that even though you don't feel the same way, or returned her feelings, Hinata was happy with simply being your friend. That's what true love is. She did a lot of things just to see you smile."

He nodded, his body shaking once with a silent sob and her shirt growing wet with his tears.

Sakura closed her eyes and tightened her hold. "She wouldn't blame you for this, Naruto. Please know that! Hinata died with a smile on her face, she died feeling happy that she managed to protect the boy she loved with all her heart." Her voice was shaky now as she fought against the sobs working their way up her throat. "Hinata would never blame you for her death, but she would be upset if she knew you were blaming yourself. I know this because if it was me in her place, and Hinata in mine, I would be angry with you, or with Sasuke–kun, or with anybody I love for feeling as though it's their fault. She loved you. Remember that."

Shaking slightly, he raised his head, his eyes red–rimmed. "Did I really… almost kill Itachi?" Pain flitted over her face and it was with that look that Naruto knew he did. He had almost killed the man she was in love with. His best friend's brother. "I'm sorry, Sakura–chan." he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." she told him, once again pulling him against her. "Itachi's fine. I healed him. I… I feel guilty, though. I should have done what I did with Itachi, to Hinata. It's all I can think about."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because the idea didn't even enter my mind until I saw him laying on the ground, unconscious and bleeding out. He wasn't breathing when I reached him. His heart wasn't beating. He was dead! I just…" she sobbed quietly. "It's sounds so wrong, but it hit me so much harder. My body acted on its own." Sakura took a deep, shaky breath. "Her heart had been pierced, Naruto. Medic–nin are not magicians. We can't save everybody. Itachi… His lungs had been cut through, but his heart hadn't been. It just had to be tricked into beating again."

He nodded, not entirely understanding, but not blaming her either. He knew Sakura and Naruto knew that she would be hurting for not being able to save Hinata. Just the raw agony in her voice told him that. "I… I hurt you too."

Sakura shook her head. "No you didn't. The Kyuubi hurt me, Naruto. Not you."

The look on his features as he finally glanced up at her was exhausted and heartbreaking. "He's a part of me, Sakura–chan. If he hurt you, then that means I hurt you, too. I'm sorry."

Sighing, Sakura pulled him to her again. "It's my own fault for not concentrating on my surroundings, Naruto. An Iwa–nin managed to bash my head on the floor and I could barely even think, let alone dodge." Deciding that it was time for a lighter conversation, as her throat was really beginning to ache with the need to cry, Sakura swallowed before smiling shakily. "Do you have anywhere to stay?" He shook his head. "You do now. There's a space at the cabin Tenzo–taichou made for my parents. I've already spoken to them about it and my mom would gladly have you stay with us."

Naruto relaxed against her, comforted greatly by his best friend's presence and kindness. "Thank you, Sakura–chan."

"That's what friends are for."

"Naruto–kun?"

Both Sakura and Naruto tensed at the voice, something suddenly warming in her eyes as she looked up and saw the woman standing there unsurely. A bright, grateful smile pulled at Sakura's lips as she thanked whoever was listening for bringing her back to them, for allowing Nagato's jutsu to work on her also, despite the fact she had been stored away. It was probably why she had only just approached them now.

Seeing the shock, the frozen look on Naruto's face as he slowly sat up straighter, had Sakura chuckling. "Idiot! Go and welcome her back."

He did without another word, quickly wiping at his eyes and standing on his feet. There was uncertainty in the way Naruto and the woman stared at each other.

And then Naruto made her relax by sending her one of the warmest smiles she'd ever seen on the blond's features before. Not his bright grin, but a tender and warm smile. "Hinata."

Without another word, Naruto moved forward and yanked her towards him, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"N–Naruto–kun…"

"I'm so glad you're okay." he whispered, inwardly chuckling when he felt her cheek heating up against his, telling him of her blush. "And about what you said…" Naruto pulled back ever so slightly and seeing the unsure, wary look in her eyes had him sighing. "Give me some time. I'm not… used to people feeling that way about me. I know I have Sakura–chan and Kakashi–sensei and Sasuke but… This is different, right?"

The look of uncertainty was so great in his eyes that it both warmed Hinata's heart, and killed her a little on the inside. Poor Naruto… How painful must it be to not truly understand love? "Yes, it is different." she whispered in return, not able to find her voice. "I…"

When she clammed up, Naruto glanced over his shoulder, smirking and shaking his head at the lovestruck look on Sakura's features. "You don't mind if I go with Hinata for a bit, do you, Sakura–chan? Having you look at us like that is unnerving."

Sakura returned his smirk and raised a suggestive eyebrow. "Take all the time you need, but I expect to hear positive things coming from the both of you. God knows we've all been waiting long enough!"

Hinata's face turned bright red, making Sakura chuckle as she stood up and dusted down her clothing, despite the fact that it was ruined and there was a large hole that revealed her abdomen and back. Many people had commented on it, had stared at her in shock and horror. One person had even fainted whilst others looked as though they'd seen a ghost. Not really confusing, given the fact that, had Sakura not had her seal, she would have died instantly. Even Hinata and Naruto looked a little pale as they got a proper look at her. Sakura paid no attention and instead waved them goodbye, going to find somebody else to check up on.

* * *

It was around midnight when Itachi sensed somebody moving nearer to his family's cabin, when he noticed somebody slipping in through his window. He didn't even need to open his eyes to know who it was, but he did so anyway.

"You've been distant all day." Sakura murmured as she sat down in front of his makeshift bed. It wasn't even a makeshift bed, actually. It was simply a sleeping bag. "Is something wrong? Aside from the obvious, I mean."

Itachi watched her for a moment, his expression blank but his eyes tired. A moment later and he was unzipping his sleeping bag, pulling Sakura into it. "I have had a lot on my mind." he told her as he held her against him, seeming to relax as he did so. "You don't have to worry."

She smiled sadly, glancing up at Itachi. "Telling me not to worry doesn't make me stop."

The smile was returned, although there was no hint of sadness in his. "You will find out soon. Now… Is not the time."

Now wasn't the time? Sakura narrowed her eyes, trying to think of what he could mean, until she gave up with trying to think the same way as Itachi and instead rolled him onto his back, raising an eyebrow. "I think now _is_ the time."

It amused her greatly seeing his eyes widen a fraction, his usually perfect composure slipping. "Sakura, we cannot. The others–"

"We'll just have to be quiet." she smirked. A second later and Itachi was dropping his head back onto his pillow, resisting the urge to groan and squeeze his eyes shut as Sakura wrapped her fingers around him. The smirk on her lips widened. "No clothes?"

He sighed when she started a slow and gentle pace. "My mother insisted on washing them." Or what was left of them. "It is only until we manage to get some supplies…"

The feeling of Sakura's lips pressing to his chest had Itachi's sentence trailing off, watching her with heavy lidded eyes. Those eyes only continued to darken with lust the lower her lips moved, much like the racing of his heart and breathing. This was not appropriate. In fact, it was very inappropriate. All of the cabins Tenzo had managed to create were very basic, the walls between rooms extremely thin. Whilst his parents were across the hall, he had Shisui and Sasuke on each side of his room as well as the elders of his clan on each side of his parents, meaning–

All concern about somebody hearing them slipped away when Sakura's lips met his hard length, kissing it almost tenderly as she made her way down to the base of the shaft, only to make her way back up it again with her tongue. Damn it. Only this woman could get such a reaction from him. Only Sakura could make all thoughts leave his mind. If anybody else had attempted to seduce him, they would have failed. Only Sakura could effect him in such a way.

The feeling of her lips wrapping around his tip, tongue tracing it, had his hips very nearly bucking up to her mouth, and the second that she was taking him into her mouth, he did so. Hand fisting in her hair, Itachi watched intensely as Sakura dragged her lips and tongue up and down his length, her hand moving in time and adding to his pleasure. Having her hair tugged must have felt good, because she was moaning against him in response, the vibration making all breath leave him.

This wasn't appropriate… but as Sakura continued, Itachi found it increasingly difficult to care about the others.

Tugging on her hair had her reluctantly pulling away, wondering if Itachi was still worrying about being heard. Ino had told her that if you gave a man a blow job, he'd do anything you'd want him to. Why didn't that work with Itachi? Wasn't she any good at it? Yes, his self control was phenomenal and his–

Itachi rolled them over, hovering over Sakura as he helped her out of her sweatshirt, mindful of her arm which was still most likely hurting. If she felt any pain, however, she said and showed nothing of it. Instead she stared up at him for a moment, trying to figure him out, before pulling Itachi down against her, closing her eyes and sighing with pleasure as he worked on her pants.

It was difficult moving around in his sleeping bag and in the end, he sighed against her cheek in frustration, putting a stop to his movements. Hearing the frustration made her giggle, pressing her face into his shoulder to try and muffle the sound and once she was no longer giggling, Sakura shuffled out from beneath him and out of the sleeping bag, standing and allowing her pants and underwear to drop to the ground.

She paused for a moment in climbing back into his sleeping bag, watching how Itachi's eyes ran over her skin with a barely restrained hunger.

The moment she was beneath him once more, he was kissing her, his knee parting her thighs and his hand running down her body teasingly until he reached a place that had her sight blurring and her breathing turning shaky. His fingers moved within her slowly, gently, just as her hand had moved along his length and after a few moments, Itachi saw that Sakura was holding back her sounds of pleasure. It disappointed him, as he always enjoyed hearing her moan his name, but he was simply grateful to have her there.

"Itachi, please…" she breathed, eyes sliding shut. "No more foreplay."

Removing his fingers from within her, Itachi also closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers, enjoying the feeling of their insistent hands caressing each other's bodies, of their bordering on desperate kisses. It had been a hard day for everyone and it felt like it was suddenly catching up to them, making them crave each other and that blissful release. However, he refused to rush it, instead entering Sakura gently and making love to her slowly, intimately holding her body as close as he possibly could.

His forehead pressed to hers again, watching the hazy look in her fresh apple green eyes as she fisted his hair in her hand, as her legs shifted up his body and wrapped around his hips. Had they zipped the sleeping bag back up, Itachi doubted that they'd be able to have as much movement as they currently had and even though there was a draft, it was barely even noticeable, the couple too caught up in the feeling of pleasure.

Neither of them lasted nearly as long as he'd hoped, but considering the amount of stress they'd been under earlier that day, Itachi thought that it was perfectly understandable. Shifting his position ever so slightly so that they'd both be more comfortable, Itachi caught Sakura's moans with his lips, trying to keep the noise down so that they did not wake the others or keep them awake. What was happening now was far too intimate and he wanted nobody but himself and Sakura to be a part of it.

And once their bodies slowly began to calm down, he felt his mind once again wandering back to what had been troubling him since his death.

Life was too short.

"Sakura," Itachi murmured later on that night as he drew soothing patterns on her now–cool skin, "there is something I must ask you."

She frowned sleepily, burying her face into his hair. "I'm too worn out for another round, 'tachi. How you can keep going after today is beyond me!"

His relaxed state allowed a low and throaty chuckle to pass his lips, effectively bringing a smile to Sakura's lips as she both felt and heard his mirth. "No, it is not about that. Although, I will be waking you again at some point during the night with those intentions." She sighed shakily, shifting closer to him and in response he tightened his hold and brought her closer. "Something my mother said a few months back when I presented you as my chosen partner had me thinking. About us and our relationship, actually."

Sakura couldn't stop the groan that escaped her. If she was guessing right… "I thought we agreed to go slowly? Your clan will want a massive wedding and children by the end of the month. And you know Ino will somehow hear about this and by tomorrow, I'll be the most hated woman in the village for officially taking you off the market!"

That did not sit well with him. The thought of his rather persistent 'fan–girls' causing Sakura trouble unsettled him. However, he knew she could defend herself with little trouble. Those fan–girls though… Even he, Uchiha Itachi, had to repress a shudder. "Let me finish." he told her softly, his hand trailing up her spine and to her face, brushing the hair from her eyes. "I was considering that we make our relationship public knowledge – not just guessing or rumours." There was a pause of silence and he felt her tense. "I want to show other males that you are, and will forever be, unavailable." Her breathing hitched, making him smile as he cupped her cheek and tilted her face upwards so that he could see her reaction. "I wish to make you my wife, Sakura."

Raising her eyebrows, she gave him a serious look, seeming to be very much awake now. "Me? Your wife? Itachi, you _are_ aware that if you marry me, this will be the biggest mistake of your life, right? I have anger problems and I hate being forced to be submissive and obedient. You know just as well as my team that if I have something to say, I _will_ say it. Not always knowingly, but it will definitely come out."

"Sakura–"

"And I have a really big forehead!" she told him, sitting up with wide eyes. The sleeping bag, since it still hadn't been zipped up, slipped from around her waist, falling to her thighs until it was off her completely as Sakura turned quickly to face him. That also meant that he was revealed. "The matriarch of the Uchiha clan has to be beautiful and flawless! I'm–"

"Just as beautiful as my mother." he told her quietly, enjoying the blush on her cheeks. Like her, Itachi also sat up. "Don't think that this is just something that I am saying. I have thought about this several times over the past couple of months, but it wasn't until I almost died that I realised I am ready to settle down." More softly, understanding what this would mean to her, he added, "I want you to be the mother of my children, Sakura."

Tears filled her eyes, her entire body shaking as she bit her lip harshly. "I can't do that, Itachi! I'm… I couldn't even… save Aiko! She trusted me… yet I couldn't… I couldn't keep my promise to her."

Despite finding peace with herself and Aiko's death after coming clean to Aiko's uncle, the thought of having her own children frightened her.

"And because of this, you will fight even harder to protect our own children." Itachi said to her, knowing better than to reach out and coddle her. Despite what many thought, sometimes, it was best not to crowd her with embraces and kisses. In fact, it had been his own brother who told him that when Itachi had asked him why he didn't go after Sakura when she had clearly been upset. That had been when the young girl died in Sakura's arms. "Sakura, you cannot push away what you want most for something you could not help. Do you remember what you told me that day before we first made love? You informed me that there had been no hope in saving her, as there had been a deadly poison working its way through her body and her immune system had already been low. Her body had been too young to fight off the poison quicker than adults would. You did what you could as a medic and gave her a more peaceful death."

Her tears started to fall, slipping quickly down her cheeks and splashing against her hands, which were clenched into fists on her thighs. "D–Do you think… think that she believes she's asleep?"

Despite not being one to say things such as this, Itachi gave her a gentle smile. "I believe she does and in her sleep, perhaps she has forgotten about all the bad things that happened to her. In her final days, you showed her a happiness that not many would have given to her, not even myself. I saw the look in her eyes, Sakura. Even though it was only a few short days, she loved you and was extremely grateful for everything you did for her. Think of her sleep like an eternal genjutsu, but instead of inflicting pain, she is only thinking happy thoughts."

"But that's a lie." she whispered brokenly, looking up at Itachi with pained eyes. "It would all be a lie. In that genjutsu, she might think that she's still alive."

"Sakura, you have already accepted her death." he told her quietly, seriously. "Do not move backwards. Her uncle has already told you that you have nothing to feel guilty over and deep down, you know that any dream would be better than some of the horrors she has faced."

Sakura nodded, wiping her tears away. "It's been…" she laughed weakly. "One hell of a day. I had an entire arm shoved through my stomach and out of my back, you _died_…" Fresh tears began to stream down her cheeks. "You died."

"Sakura–"

"Please don't." she begged, her voice strained. "Please don't leave me like that again."

His eyes saddened. "We're shinobi, Sakura. Neither of us can make promises such as that."

Her lower lip trembled, the look in her eyes before she closed them telling him that she was in pain. "I know." There was a pause, one long enough for Sakura to compose herself and once she had, she glanced up at him with a small smile. "You're still waiting for your answer, aren't you?"

Itachi gave her a small smile. "Take as much time as you need to think it over."

* * *

Embarrassed.

Sakura was feeling so very incredibly embarrassed.

Not only had Mikoto found Sakura and Itachi curled up together intimately, but so had Shisui, Fugaku and one of the elders as they had been passing. And, according to Sasuke, they hadn't been quiet enough last night as, at one point, he had heard her moaning Itachi's name. Hearing them wasn't too bad, as Sasuke had seen them actually together so it could have been worse. However, knowing that Itachi's family had seen them together, with her front pressed down onto the sleeping bag/ground with Itachi half on top of her, curled around her (naked, might she add), with his arm resting around her face and their legs entangled, was embarrassing. Until she saw them, it had made her feel warm and protected, like she was untouchable in his arms.

But then that moment had shattered with Mikoto opening the door.

Thankfully, unlike her parents would have done, they didn't make too much of a fuss, although Sakura had noticed the warmth in the woman's eyes as she set down Itachi's clean clothes, apologised and then shut the door.

"I should get going." Sakura yawned, stretching against Itachi in a way that wasn't unpleasant in the slightest. "My parents will be wondering where I am."

Instead of pulling her closer and making love to her again like he wanted to, Itachi nodded, pressing a single kiss to her lips when she turned in his arms. "I will be with your team and Shisui later, if you need me."

Sakura nodded silently, quickly dressing, although paused just as she turned to the window. "Do I go out the window, or through the front door?"

"Whichever way you want to." he murmured, standing and getting dressed into the clothes his mother had left. They were still badly damaged, but thankfully, the blood was more or less gone and it no longer stunk of it. Being able to smell his own blood had been driving him insane, but adding Sakura's blood to it? Well, it was a good job that his mother had washed them.

"Think I'll stick with the window." she stated as she listened to the movement down the hall from them. It sounded like everyone was up. "No offence, but I'm not ready to meet with the elders of your clan again, especially not whilst looking like this. Anyway," Sakura moved forward, kissing him a final time before climbing out the window, "I'll see you later!"

* * *

They were moving too fast. She knew it. He knew it. Part of her kept screaming at Sakura that moving too fast could be dangerous. Not physically, but emotionally. And yes, she was a little scared that it could all go horribly wrong. Not too long ago, Sakura had read in one of Ino's magazines that to truly get to know your partner, you should wait for two to four years before marrying them. Those who did so rarely got divorced. It was believable but at the same time it wasn't.

How long they had been together meant little to Sakura. It was now over a year, she believed. The three months at camp, then eight months being at home and returning to camp and then the added six months that had just been. There was probably a few months she was missing, but who cared? All she could think about was how close she came to losing Itachi, how hard it had hit her. She had been petrified of losing him and her emotional display had caught the attention of everyone, so they were definitely no longer a secret or just a rumour.

He had told her to think her answer over carefully before giving it to him, though she could see clearly in his eyes that Itachi wanted her to say yes, that he _knew_ she was going to say yes. After all, he wouldn't have asked her to marry him if she was going to reject him! Sakura sighed.

There wasn't even anything to think about.

Yes, she was a little scared by how fast everything was going and yes, it worried her, but…

But nobody could make her feel the way Itachi could. And even though they hadn't even gotten permission from his clan yet… Sakura wasn't even sure how to word her thoughts as she knocked on Itachi's door, smiling softly at him when he answered.

She was sure about Itachi and already she loved him so deeply and intensely. Like she had previously thought in the beginning of their relationship, that love was going to consume her.

"Yes." Sakura told him, not caring about the fact that there were others in his cabin. They were going to find out sooner or later. "Yes, I'll marry you."

Sasuke dropped the kunai he had been sharpening, Naruto froze in an awkward half–sitting, half–standing position, whilst Kakashi simply stared in shock and Shisui smirked proudly.

Itachi smiled.

* * *

**A/N - Sorry it's taken so long to update! I've had (and still have) thirteen assignments to complete and hand in, in only a week. Safe to say that it's been stressful. Despite still being ill, I've had to have sleepless nights and working on the assignments every chance I got - my eyes are killing now because of it as they're all online/Google Docs. I can't have any more time off, either, because I need my attendance near-perfect if I want them to keep me on another two years to do my a-levels. So yeah, I'm sorry that I haven't updated! My mum's thinking of complaining to the college about all the stress it's putting on me, but meh. There's no point. I'm obviously not the only one receiving ridiculous amounts of assignments (some have even more than I do) and if I pass everything and get to go on to doing something I actually want to do as a result? Then I'll do it. It simply means I won't have the time to be updating every week like I usually do.**

**So yeah, from now on I'll be updating whenever I can (still on Wednesdays and if not, then at the weekend).**

**Anyways, I'm finally going to go and have a good sleep. Editing this chapter was a bitch to say the least!**


	32. Waking Up

**Chapter 31 – Waking Up**

She was awake.

When Sakura had approached him, throwing herself in his arms and crying with happiness, Itachi had wondered just what on earth was going on, but then she whispered, "She's awake. Shishou's awake!" in his ear – more like cried it.

It had been a few weeks since the attack and everyone was putting their skills to use. Tsunade's tent was right in the centre of everyone should there be another attack, so that they could protect their Hokage. Since that awful day, since Shizune had placed her there and she and Sakura took turns tending to their shishou, everything had been building around Tsunade's tent.

Slowly but surely, Tenzo continued to make cabins, going up to three hundred and fifty cabins every day. That was only temporary though. Every day, he made less and less of the basic cabins, instead helping the builders and carpenters who had been brought in to make more official and cosier homes and buildings. To say that the attack had been over eighteen days ago, their village was looking a lot better than it had. Then again, anything looked better than the state Konoha had been in.

Kakashi had been asked to become the next Hokage and, surprisingly, the man had tried to turn the role down, had tried passing it on to someone else. Who? To Itachi. The Uchiha wasn't too sure on what to think about receiving such a role and had told Kakashi that when the Copy–Nin sat down with him to talk about it. Was he ready to be the next Hokage? Would the villagers accept that? The elders hadn't. They hadn't wanted an Uchiha being Hokage.

Luckily for Itachi and Kakashi, Tsunade was now awake.

It was such a relief.

"She's making great progress." Sakura smiled brightly as they got stuck into their lunch. "Shizune–senpai and I thought that she'd be out for so much longer considering just how much her chakra was depleted, but…" her smile widened. "She's awake!"

Itachi couldn't help but return her smile with a small one of his own. The happiness in her eyes was so great that it lit up her entire face. "How is she feeling?"

"Hungry." she chuckled. "When I left, she was already shoving anything edible into her mouth. She knows we have limited supplies, though, so Tsunade–shishou is trying to make it last."

But it would be difficult considering the fact that she hadn't eaten in a while. Even before the attack, Tsunade had had difficulty keeping food down. It was no surprise that she was hungry.

"Your mission, Itachi…" Sakura's smile slipped away as she watched him. "You'll be careful, right?"

"Of course." he told her without hesitation.

"And… You'll come back to me."

Itachi gave her another small smile. It wasn't right to promise such things, but since Sakura had accepted his marriage proposal, he found himself wanting to give her everything and anything. "Always." he murmured, enjoying the faint blush on her cheeks.

If he was being completely honest, Itachi would marry her right this instant. That blush on her cheeks, the way she brushed her hair behind her ear and the way she smiled before taking a bite of her meal, was all so endearing to him. Even when bloody and bruised and looking like she was on death's door, Sakura looked so beautiful. At first, Itachi had believed that it was her eyes. Now? Now, he knew that it was because of the person she was. Kindhearted, selfless and so very protective of her loved ones and village.

"Before I leave, Sakura," Itachi spoke up after a few minutes, "I would like to do something."

"Mm?" She paused, chewing her food and swallowing it. "And what's that?"

"I have not been able to give you a ring, since the village was destroyed and there is nowhere for me to buy you one. And also, you asked those who already know of our engagement to keep it to themselves for now whilst we settle into the feeling of being engaged." Sakura nodded slowly. "I would like to tell our families tonight that we are engaged."

A smile graced her lips. "You don't think we're moving too fast?"

He shook his head. "I died, Sakura. Perhaps if it was another couple who has not been through what we have, then yes, I would think that they are moving too fast. But not us." Itachi smirked at her, earning him another blush when he added, "I want to make you mine in every way possible."

The warmth that suddenly flooded both her heart and stomach was pleasant, and it made her feel giddy. Sakura bit her lip and stared down at the ground for a moment, trying to control the flipping of her stomach, the fast beating of her heart and her quickened breathing. It was difficult.

"Sure." Her voice was a little higher than usual, the romantic side of herself popping out, but Sakura quickly cleared her throat and looked up, giving Itachi a bright smile. "I'd like that!"

* * *

"I thought I'd find you here."

Sakura stiffened at the voice, having been too busy just outside the walls of Konoha and looking for certain herbs to hear her approaching. "I have nothing to say to you."

The other woman sighed and sat down next to where Sakura was kneeling. By now, after weeks had gone by, they had managed to scavenge around for more supplies so thankfully, they were no longer walking around in clothing that was just about holding together. It was a good thing, too, because Sakura's stomach and back had been getting awfully cold as the temperature continued to drop the closer they got to winter.

"Nobody would tell me where you were. I had to guess."

Silence.

"Sakura–"

"Go away, Ino." Sakura muttered and stood up, holding her basket on the crook of her elbow. "Like I said, I have nothing to say to you."

"I didn't mean–" Sakura walking away cut Ino off, making the blonde growl angrily and rush after her. She would have grabbed her arm, but there were bandages on the one that wasn't holding the basket, meaning her friend was still injured. "Listen to me, will you?" she demanded. "I'm sorry that I told everyone, okay?"

She took a deep breath, telling herself to remain calm. It was easier said than done. "No, it's not okay."

For a split second, Ino paused, wondering whether or not it would be safe to continue, but not even half a second later, she was carrying on with pestering Sakura. "I didn't mean for it to come out. You just kept yelling at me like you were so much better, telling me and my team that we're wrong for wanting to avenge Asuma–sensei. I just got _so angry_ because–"

"Because I only knew Aiko for a couple of weeks, right?" Sakura asked coldly and sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. "Surely I couldn't care about someone if I only knew them for a few short weeks, right?"

"That's not what I'm saying–"

"No, it's what you said."

"Stop interrupting me, damn it!" Ino finally snapped, grabbing Sakura's shoulder instead of her arm and reaching out when the basket tipped precariously. "You know all about acting impulsively, or saying or doing things in the heat of the moment. I never meant to say those things to you, forehead. I was _grieving_. I still am! That anger… It just came out of nowhere, and only continued to build because of the things _you_ were saying."

Green eyes hardened, but the down turning of Sakura's lips told Ino that she was hurting. "You nearly got Kakashi–sensei killed, Ino." she said softly, her heart aching. "You nearly got yourself killed."

She nodded. "I know. And I know now that you were only scared of losing me – who wouldn't be? Okay, okay!" Ino sighed at the warning look flashing in the other woman's eyes. "At the time, I wasn't thinking straight. Everything was all over the place. I may be good with other people's minds, but my own?" The blonde gave a small, pathetic smile. "I'm still trying to figure that one out." When Sakura merely nodded, she sighed. "I've had time to think over everything now, Sakura and like Shikamaru said, I regret it. I regret every single word I said to you! I regret every single word I said about you! Those things you shared with me were so private and even I can't believe I blurted them out like that."

Never before had Sakura ever seen Ino looking so sincere. "Ino…"

"I accept that you may never be able to forgive me and I sure as hell know that you'll never forget that I betrayed your trust like that. Just…" Another pathetic smile. "I miss my friend. I miss you, forehead."

A weight lifted from Sakura's shoulders. "I missed you too, pig."

It was heart warming seeing the hopeful smile on her lips, seeing her blue eyes brightening. "How about I treat you to some ramen?"

"I can't." Sakura said apologetically. "There's going to be a dinner tonight with my family and Itachi's."

Ino's eyes went wide. "Don't tell me…"

Sakura grinned, thankful to finally have her best friend to talk to. "I'm engaged!"

* * *

It was safe to say that Ino had wanted _every detail_. Right from how Sakura had approached Itachi, right down to the way Itachi's mouth had moved when he asked her. The blonde had laughed when Sakura told her she had freaked out, but had soon sobered up and smiled warmly when she found out that she'd eventually accepted, no matter how hard Ino had tried to hide that warm smile.

Also, after informing Ino of just how badly her blurted out words had effected her, the blonde had felt incredibly guilty. Hours cut in half? No longer allowed to perform or take part in operations? But… Surely all Sakura's work during the attack would give her back her old position? Ino clenched her fists beneath her head, glaring up at the sky with a determined expression when Sakura was too busy focusing on different herbs to notice.

No matter what it took, Ino was going to make damn sure Sakura got her old position back.

"Who are the herbs for, anyway?"

Observing said herbs, Sakura answered distractedly, "I'm collecting two sets of them. One set of medicinal herbs for Shizune–san, and the others are just the seasoning kind. Nothing special, of course. Everything else was lost and this is all I have to work with."

"So you're saying that _you're_ cooking dinner tonight."

The deadpan and disbelief was not lost on Sakura. "So what if I am?" she pouted, continuing with her search. "I'm not that bad of a cook."

No, she wasn't.

Sakura was a terrible cook.

"I'll tell you what, forehead." Ino sighed and pulled herself to her feet, dusting down her clothes. "If you let me join you all tonight, then I'll help you make dinner. That way I can fix whatever you screw up with all your nutritions and ratios."

"Join us? But–"

"I know, I know. I'm not family and this is only supposed to be Uchiha and Haruno. Tell me, though. Is Naruto joining you?" When Sakura was silent, Ino folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "He's not family, either. So why can't I join you?"

Damn it. The blonde had her there. "It's not that… It's just that the elders of Itachi's clan are going to be there and…" she grimaced. "I can force Naruto into traditional wear–"

Ino laughed. Loudly. "Traditional clothes? Sakura, pretty much everything in the village has been wiped out. That includes clothes! What traditional clothing are _you_ going to be wearing?"

Dumping the herbs into one section of the basket, Sakura also stood up and bit her lip for a moment. "Well, you see… Itachi and I were just returning from a mission when the attack happened–"

Ino's expression emptied, everything about her becoming serious. "You have more clothes."

"Civilian clothes." Sakura corrected with a frown. "It took a few days sorting through the scrolls with ANBU, but I eventually found the scrolls that I'd left in Tsunade–sama's office when I was sent out again." They were lucky that those things were damn near indestructible. "I was planning on wearing one of my qipao dresses."

There was no chance of her squeezing into something of Sakura's. Even though the pink haired woman had been filling out quite a bit lately, Ino knew that her chest size was nowhere near hers. If she put on one of Sakura's qipao dresses, chances were, it'd be tearing in half. Damn it! "What about Naruto? Or Sasuke? Are _they_ going to be dressing up?"

Once more, Sakura bit her lip. "The Uchiha clan have a lot of hideouts, pig."

Vague. Ino narrowed her eyes. "Are there any in the village? Surely they were destroyed?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"Because they're secret hideouts, Ino."

"I won't tell–" she cut herself off, frowning. "Fine. But that doesn't mean Naruto will be wearing anything traditional."

"Naruto and Sasuke–kun are around the same size." Sakura shrugged, turning away to head back to the village. "I'm sure Sasuke–kun will let him borrow something that doesn't have the Uchiha emblem on it."

Ino pouted. "If I find something traditional, can I join you? I told you I'd help with dinner, too."

Sakura grimaced. She could do with a hand in the kitchen… "If you find something suitable and appropriate, you can. That means you can't be flashing your cleavage at the elders, pig."

The blonde smirked. "I won't."

She had the perfect woman to go to for traditional and respectable clothing.

* * *

"How's this?"

It was safe to say that Sakura was stunned. She hadn't actually thought Ino would be able to do it, hadn't thought that the blonde would ever own a piece of clothing that was remotely traditional. Yet here she was, twirling once to give Sakura a full view of the respectable yukata she was wearing.

The yukata was rather plain, but it was still beautiful in a way. Elegant and graceful. It was a deep purple colour, almost like the clothing Ino wore on a daily basis, but the sash around her waist was a much lighter shade of purple. The sleeves weren't as long as they could have been, though they still covered Ino's hands when she dropped her arms to her sides and it covered all skin except for her neck and feet.

Sakura immediately knew who the yukata belonged to.

"This is Hinata's."

Ino grinned. "I know! She let me borrow it as long as I don't get it stained or anything."

"Ino! This is the only yukata she has left. What if there's a clan meeting? Or what if there's a family meal where–"

The blonde placed her hands on Sakura's shoulders, keeping her still. "Calm down and breathe, Sakura. I'm taking it off in a second to help you cook and before the guests arrive, I'm going to put it back on, just like you're going to put your qipao on." She gave her friend a serious look. "I asked Hinata if she'll need it and she told me she won't, because her team is going out on a mission in a few hours."

So that was where Naruto was.

"Ino–"

"Breathe." she told her with the same serious look. "Everything's going to work out fine tonight and if you somehow mess up, I'll mess up even worse to take the attention off you."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You'd really do that in front of the Uchiha clan elders, patriarch and matriarch?"

Ino gave her a small smile. "I have a lot of making up to do, don't I? Might as well start here." When Sakura pulled her in for a hug, Ino smirked. "You're going to crease Hinata's yukata, forehead." The arms around her vanished immediately. "Now. Where do we start and what am I fixing?"

"My cooking is fine–"

"Forehead."

She sighed and pointed over at one of the pans. "Start there. I just finished adding nutrients."

* * *

Pulling her hand away from her arm with the green glow of healing chakra fading, she smiled at the fact that her wound from being hit by the Kyuubi was gone, but that smile soon faded away. "Don't you think it's too tight?"

Ino gave her a blank look. "Stop worrying. It looks fine!"

Since she had no mirror to use, Sakura had to rely completely on Ino's words. It was worrying to say the least. "But my–"

"It finally looks like you have breasts, forehead. You always keep them hidden with your wrappings. _That's_ why you feel so uncomfortable. You can't wear your wrappings with this one and your breasts have finally started to grow."

It was the truth. Sakura bit her lip and glanced down at her qipao dress whilst Ino continued to do her hair. It was long, though around the knees, it flared out slightly to her feet – kind of like a mermaid's tail now that Sakura thought about it. And, like almost all other clothing that she wore, it was a deep red colour, bringing out her eyes and pale skin tone. However, if there was one downside to the dress, it would be that it felt more like a second skin than a dress. It may have covered a lot, but it also accentuated a lot and Sakura wasn't sure as to whether she was comfortable with that or not.

Sure, most of her clothing was formfitting but they were for practical reasons. This qipao had been from her mother and Sakura only just managed to figure out why. It was beautiful, there was no doubt about it, but it also made Sakura appear a hell of a lot more feminine, showing off her curves and everything else that was usually hidden by wrappings or flak jackets.

Right at that moment in time, Ino was helping Sakura pin her hair up. As usual, her bangs were parted and framing her face, but the rest of her hair had been pulled back and was being pinned up with her hair sticks (well, it had been parted into two sections and only the top half was being pinned up – the rest was being left down and straight), the same ones she had used whilst on that mission with Itachi.

"So are you and Itachi going to be moving in together?" Ino questioned curiously. "I mean, you're engaged now and before the attack, you had your own apartment – one I know for a fact Itachi visited more often than his own home."

How did Ino know that? Gossip. Sakura honestly didn't know where some of the women in Konoha found time to gossip as much as they did. Shouldn't they have better things to do? She sighed. "I don't know yet. We agreed to take it slowly, but…"

Ino raised an eyebrow, finishing the last touches to Sakura's hair. "But?"

Thankful that her back was to the blonde, she allowed a smile to pull at her lips. "But I don't want to anymore. It's like… It's like seeing Itachi die right in front of me…" Sakura sighed, willing the images that wouldn't stop haunting her to go away. "I just don't want to waste time. I don't want to take things slowly. I want to be with him in every single way possible." There was a pause as she bit her lip. "I want to be his wife, to carry his children and make him happy!"

"I always knew love would make you even more of a hopeless romantic." Ino groaned, but then her own warm smile curved her lips and she was also thankful that Sakura was facing the other way. "But it's nice. How long have you been together now? Well over a year! To hell with waiting. If I were you, I'd marry Itachi today. I'd be starting my family today. We all just barely escaped death and I guess that has some sort of effect on everyone…"

Sakura chuckled. "Don't go putting ideas into my head, Ino."

"You–"

A knock on the door cut her off, making Ino frown as Sakura murmured for the person to come in. Apparently, they were in Itachi's bedroom, although you wouldn't be able to tell considering how empty it was. It could have passed for an empty storage room since it was quite small, too.

"Are you decent?"

Ino glanced back at her friend, raising an eyebrow with a knowing smirk. She merely brushed off the blonde's amusement and sighed. "We're both decent, Itachi."

It was obvious he wasn't too happy about the fact his room was being used as a dressing room, but the moment he saw Sakura when she stood up, running her hands down the sides of her dress to brush out any creases, all annoyance was forgotten. "Yamanaka–san. Please give us a minute."

The knowing smirk never left her face as Ino sauntered out of the room and the second they were alone, Itachi closed the distance between them, cupping Sakura's face and tilting her head upwards so that he could kiss her. "You look beautiful."

"The dress–"

Seeing her anxiety, Itachi smiled softly. "The only bad thing about this dress is that it is silk, meaning I cannot have you before the others arrive without ruining it."

Despite his words, Sakura couldn't help but feel soothed. "It's not too revealing?"

"All that is on show are your arms, neck and part of your shoulders."

"You know what I mean." she sighed, enjoying the feeling of his large hands brushing along and down her arms, taking her hands in his. Compared to Itachi's hands, hers seemed so misleadingly dainty and fragile.

"I do not like repeating myself, Sakura." he murmured quietly.

_You look beautiful_.

She couldn't help but lean up to brush her lips against his and when she pulled back, Sakura gave him a nervous smile. "I'm ready if you are."

* * *

"The food is great, Sakura–chan!" Naruto exclaimed, not caring for the rules within the clan of only speaking when spoken to.

Sasuke sighed, resisting the urge to punch the blond he was unfortunately sat next to.

"Sasuke." one of the elders spoke up. "It seems you have yet to train your jinchūriki."

She damn near almost choked on her food, as did many others around the table.

However, Sasuke seemed uncaring, continuing to calmly eat his meal (which was probably an even bigger surprise to Naruto, Ino and Sakura). "Despite his lack of manners and the way he acts, Naruto is not an animal and is definitely not my pet."

"Your responsibilities as his watcher are serious, Sasuke." another elder, the one sat beside Sakura, told him. "You must train him."

Directly opposite her, Sakura noticed Naruto clutching a tighter hold of his chopsticks, his features twitching for a moment as though he was trying his best not to scowl, or to snarl words back at the men. It always pissed him off that the elders of the Uchiha clan felt as though they owned him because of their ties to the Kyuubi.

"Daiki–sama," Shisui spoke up politely, "please do not speak of Naruto–kun in such a way, as though he is not here. Sasuke may be his watcher, but he is not _Naruto–kun's_ watcher. He is the Kyuubi's. What use is there in teaching him table manners? I for one think it makes a good change."

At the widening of Daiki's eyes, Itachi smirked, pausing for a moment in putting food into his mouth. "It is not as stiff or lifeless around the dinner table."

Mikoto just about managed to hide her amusement. "Itachi, Shisui. Behave yourselves."

On Shisui's other side (he was sat next to Naruto), Ino bit back her smirk, although her eyes flashed with surprised laughter as they met Sakura's. Who would've thought that the Uchiha clan had emotions? Sakura could see that question in the blonde's eyes and whilst it was annoying, she could understand what Ino meant and that she meant no harm or disrespect in saying/thinking such things.

"So, Itachi–kun." Mebuki called. "I heard that you were asked to become Hokage, should Kakashi–san not want the role. Is that true?"

"It is." Fugaku answered for him proudly.

"That must have been an amazing offer." Kizashi commented. "Would you have accepted?"

Itachi thought about it for a minute, thought over his replies calmly before finally answering, "Had there been no other choice, then yes. I would have accepted the role."

Ino frowned, tilting her head to the side. "But not if there were any other options?"

"No." he replied simply. "The village needs my skills too much for me to remain seated behind a desk, rarely leaving the village to complete missions."

There was also the fact that the elders would have done everything and anything to make sure he never became Hokage, or failed so badly that they would have to replace him. "You're just a workaholic." Sakura teased quietly, smiling as she took a bite of her meal. Thank God for Ino! The woman had rescued the cooking.

"Like you can say much." Sasuke smirked. "How many hours did you spend healing people the other week?"

Sakura sent him a dry look, but the amusement in her eyes was obvious. The truth was, was that she hadn't spent nearly as much time as she could have healing others because of that damned ban Tsunade had placed on her. Shizune knew of it, as did other senior medics, so they had stopped her when they thought appropriate. "How many hours did you spend training today?"

His eyebrow twitched for a moment, as did the corner of his lips, before Sasuke managed to reign in his smirk, going back to his blank expression.

"There's a reason why you called us all to this dinner." Daiki stated, officially ending Sasuke and Sakura's banter. "And made sure that everyone was traditional. What is it?"

Always straight to the point. Sakura glanced up at Itachi, giving him a nervous smile.

"Oh no." Mebuki gasped, hand closing over her mouth. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"

"Mom–"

"Mebuki, don't jump to conclusions." Kizashi sighed with annoyance, patting her shoulder. "Sakura is a smart girl, remember. She is _our_ girl." Sakura blushed at his words. "Either she is using medical jutsu to prevent pregnancy, or is holding on until marriage."

Ino just about stopped herself from bursting in to laughter, as did Naruto.

The members of the Uchiha clan all seemed amused, like they knew some huge secret her parents didn't.

"Actually…" Sakura murmured, the blush still on her cheeks as she set down her chopsticks. "There _is_ a reason why we called you all here."

"We wanted to inform you all that I proposed to Sakura."

When he said no more, she rolled her eyes. "And I said yes."

"We have not discussed this." The elder sat beside Fugaku scowled. "This is–"

"What we both want." Itachi told him firmly, ignoring the stunned looks sent his way. "I will be marrying Sakura with or without the clan's approval."

"You are the heir of the clan, Itachi, you cannot–"

"He can." Fugaku informed them all. "As patriarch of the clan, I give my full approval and support."

Mikoto nodded once. "And as matriarch, I also give my full approval and support."

Daiki shook his head angrily, his greying hair shaking as he did so. "You cannot shut us out of all negotiations and meetings, Fugaku! Your son is heir, so to have him marrying outside of the clan will be–"

"What he wants."

"Fugaku–"

"We have always known that Itachi would refuse to marry someone within the clan. The same goes for myself and Sasuke, Daiki–sama." Shisui told him calmly, trying to defuse the tension before somebody said the wrong thing and started a fight. It wouldn't take much to break it up, but he'd rather a fight didn't break out. "Our Uchiha genes are very dominant and our eye prowess is by far the most powerful in our clan – not including the deceased, of course. Chances of the sharingan being tainted, as you fear, are slim to none."

Nodding once in agreement, Sasuke added, "If anything, Sakura will add to their children's strength, should they ever have any. She has perfect chakra control and can also teach them how to activate that seal."

In her seat, Sakura had a difficult time hiding her smirk. Who would have thought that members of the Uchiha clan – no, that _Sasuke_ would start kissing her ass? It seemed he caught onto her thoughts, as Sasuke's eyes met hers and hardened, telling her that he was not amused. She smirked in reply.

Daiki noticed the interaction. "And the relationship between yourself and Haruno, Sasuke?"

His eyes hardening on Sakura was with amusement, was playfully. This time when they hardened on Daiki, it was with a dark look that had Naruto pausing in his eating and watching him warily, picking up on the anger and hatred easily. "There is not and has never been a romantic relationship between myself and Sakura. The villagers and even members of our clan, only see what they want to see. We are close friends with a strong bond. That is all."

"If you want this to work out, you will have to accept our terms, Itachi, Sakura." The elder beside Fugaku told the couple.

"What are the conditions, Fumio–sama?" Itachi asked, although Sakura had the feeling that he didn't really care what the conditions were. It was in the way his voice drifted to the man, the way his stare was half lidded – like he was bored.

"If your firstborn does not show any potential, he is to be stripped of his future title of heir to the clan." Fumio said coldly. "You will try again until a child is born who can–"

Sakura gritted her teeth. "And the firstborn? What happens to _him_?"

Her team, parents and Ino looked at her warily.

"He will be placed under the care of the Uchiha orphanage and will be raised the way any ordinary Uchiha is."

Not even a second after he started talking, Sakura's fist came down onto the table, almost breaking it in half and causing the contents of cups to almost spill, causing the plates to clatter. "No such thing will happen." she snarled. "If I have a child, he will be _my child_."

Mebuki looked just as outraged, though stayed silent when Kizashi gave her a warning look. Sakura could handle herself, not to mention the heir of the Uchiha clan was her fiancé, therefore the elders wouldn't dare attack her. Mebuki was merely a civilian. "Sakura, control yourself." he warned his daughter. "They–"

"They're telling me to give up my children if they're not good enough!" Sakura yelled, fists clenching tightly. "How the hell am I supposed to be calm about that?"

"Sakura." Itachi sighed. "They will not take our possible future children from us."

"Itachi–"

"Please be quiet, Fumio–sama." Shisui said tonelessly. "You are causing unnecessary upset by bringing up a subject such as that. Itachi and Sakura–san have only just gotten engaged, I am sure they wouldn't want to be discussing future children as of yet."

Well… Sakura bit her lip, her eyes meeting Ino's and in response, the blonde gave her a discreet wink. She sighed inwardly. No. Having children was a pretty big thing, so only when she and Itachi were married and settled into that marriage should they decide to have children. Plus, given all the trouble with Akatsuki and Iwa, it would only be adding stress to them both. They'd be constantly fretting over the children's lives.

It would be selfish to bring children into the world whilst it was in its current predicament.

Taking a deep breath when Mikoto fractionally raised an eyebrow at her, Sakura bowed her head to the elder. "Forgive me for my bad temper, Fumio–sama." she told him, knowing that it was important to stay on the elders' good sides.

"You have a maternal streak." the man sighed, continuing with his eating. "While that is acceptable, as you will be able to protect and train the children, it is still a weakness. Perhaps that is one of the things you should train your future wife, Itachi."

Her heart skipped a beat and she damn nearly let her face split in two with a grin. In fact, Naruto seemed to pick up on her feelings, as did Ino, for they both couldn't help but send her bright grins, whilst Sasuke smirked and her parents smiled.

She had been accepted into the clan.

She was going to marry Itachi.


	33. What's The Rush?

**Chapter 32 – What's The Rush?**

"Something big is coming." Shisui frowned. "Can you feel it?"

By his side, the woman nodded once with her own frown in place. She was starting to get along in her pregnancy now, advancing quicker than she had even thought possible, but Shizune was there every step of the way and constantly reassured Kurenai that both herself and the baby were healthy. "You should never ignore your gut instinct."

No, you shouldn't. Shisui's frown deepened as he paused in their walk, glancing up at the Hokage monument. That was usually where they would meet up, but it was becoming tiresome for Kurenai to be going up hundreds and hundreds of stairs every day. So, instead of going all the way up there, they began to slowly walk around the village, admiring how quickly everything was coming along and how hard the villagers were working to restore their once beautiful village.

It had been around a month now since the official announcement of Sakura and Itachi's engagement. Christmas was just around the corner and they could all feel it. It hadn't yet begun to snow, but Shisui could tell that this particular Christmas, was going to be a cold one.

Holding out his arm, Shisui watched the monument for a few extra moments whilst Kurenai looped her arm through his, thankful for the support as they slowly continued their walk.

"So you were saying about Itachi and Sakura's engagement…" Kurenai pushed gently, trying to take both of their minds away from the twisting in their guts, if only for a short while.

He gave a small smile. "It won't last long. The engagement, I mean. Those two…" Shisui shook his head and gave a low chuckle. "I never thought I would say the words, but Itachi is madly in love with her. If she asked for the moon, he would do whatever possible to bring it to her."

Kurenai also chuckled quietly. "I still can't believe you half of the time, Shisui. The things you say about Itachi… It's just hard to imagine him acting that way with Sakura. Sakura, however…" They both chuckled this time. "The girl is a hopeless romantic with such a big heart. She reminds me of Hinata, in a way. Their love for their men is completely selfless."

Despite walking arm in arm, Kurenai had made it clear to Shisui that she just wasn't ready for another relationship, especially not so soon after Asuma's death. She'd been worried that he would no longer stick around, wouldn't want to, but Shisui had surprised the dark haired woman by continuing to be there for her. Instead of pushing or making it obvious he wanted more, Shisui continued to be her friend, to be her support.

"Speaking of Hinata–san." Shisui smirked. "I heard that she and Naruto went on their first date just last night."

She smiled warmly. "They did. She woke me up this morning with breakfast and told me all about it."

"Naruto–kun was telling Sasuke all night, even though he repeatedly told him to shut up and leave." he rolled his eyes. "It took Itachi placing him under genjutsu to finally make him quiet down."

Now _that_ was something she could imagine Itachi doing. "He better treat her well." Kurenai teased him lightly. "Otherwise I'll be trying out _my_ genjutsu on him. It's been a while since I've been able to use any of them."

Shisui looked down at her, giving her an unimpressed look. "That is because you are not supposed to use too much of your chakra during pregnancy, Kurenai. You know that it is risky, as it–"

"Disturbs the baby's growing chakra, yes I know."

He was definitely more open with her now. Shisui felt comfortable opening up to her, with letting down his guards and revealing his emotions to her. Why? Because she knew exactly what that meant, and how big of a deal it was. Kurenai never judged him or made him feel ashamed of himself. Instead, she also began to let her guards down, too.

The unimpressed look slipped away as Shisui once again looked up at the monument, a disgusting chill creeping down his spine. "Come, Kurenai. I think it is time you went home."

She didn't argue.

* * *

Something was going to happen. Sakura could feel it. Itachi could feel it.

It was why they had suddenly gone to the first place they thought of, why they had come to the decision with a single shared look, despite it only being a month.

"Tsunade–sama." Sakura called out, though soon bit her lip when the blonde finally sighed, placed down her papers and glanced up at them. "We, uh… we need a favour."

Her eyes narrowed.

Taking that as his turn to speak up, Itachi said rather simply, "We wish for you to wed us tonight."

Silence.

Eyes widened a fraction.

And then…

"Marriage?" she repeated softly, like the breath had just been slammed out of her. "What's the rush?"

"Life's too short, shishou." Sakura almost whispered, remembering what had happened not too long ago, how close she had come to losing Itachi. And now her gut was warning her that something bad about to happen. "We're shinobi, so it could be even shorter for us. Itachi and I… We decided that we want to make every second count. You know, live by the whole 'we might not get a tomorrow' kind of thing. We just want to be together, to start a family of our own. Our jobs are–"

"You're rambling, Sakura." Tsunade sighed with a shake of her head. "And here I thought I'd beaten that habit out of you years back. You only learned how to hide it from me, right?" Sakura smiled sheepishly. "Uchiha, have you even spoken to your clan about this? Have you thrown tradition out the window or did you ask for Sakura's father's permission?"

He gave her a small smile, honestly surprising Tsunade. In all her time as Hokage, she had never once seen him smile. Only blank expressions or serious looks. The occasional narrowing of his eyes or smirk, too. Never a smile, though. "Of course. Kizashi–san wishes us the best, as does Sakura's mother, Mebuki–san. My parents," he paused, but then smiled once more, "respect my choice and have agreed to this. We simply wish to be married now, instead of waiting."

A pause. Tsunade blinked in surprise, her mind trying to keep up with everything. Not only was Uchiha Itachi – the man who showed about as much emotion as a rock – stood in her office, smiling and asking her to wed him and Sakura, but Fugaku – the same Fugaku who had fought hard against her becoming Hokage – had agreed to it. Sakura's parents didn't really surprise her, for Tsunade knew how badly they wanted their daughter to marry. Mikoto simply wanted her sons to be as happy as possible. But… But Fugaku? _Fugaku_? Had she suddenly been thrown into a parallel universe?

She shook her head. Itachi didn't really need permission from his parents, however, he was heir of the clan, so he had to have at least the patriarch's and matriarch's approval. And he had it. "First off, you need witnesses. Who–"

"We already have them." Sakura blushed. "Outside your cabin."

Oh she _knew_ she could smell that damned Hatake Kakashi! The smell of dog always lingered around him, but that wasn't what had ticked her off. It was the fact she could _taste_ his reluctance, his laziness. That bastard had been putting off mission reports again, which made her life harder! Tsunade smirked to herself as she focused on the chakra outside her temporary office.

It seemed they brought her a little friend to torment.

Tormenting Uchiha Sasuke was one of her favourite pastimes as of late, since she wasn't allowed to do much else.

"Shishou." Sakura sighed, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "Please don't bully Sasuke–kun."

"Bully? Please." At the raised eyebrow from her apprentice, Tsunade's smirk widened wickedly. "Bring in my playthings, Sakura."

It made Itachi more than a little uncomfortable how she called Sasuke her 'plaything', but he had to admit, tormenting Sasuke could be amusing. As children, it had been something that he did often just to see his brother's reactions.

"You feel it too, then." Tsunade muttered as Sakura went off to let the others in.

"I do."

"Which is why you're both suddenly getting married, just in case something goes wrong."

His answer was simple. "Yes."

She sighed. "Your honeymoon would have to wait. You _do_ know this, don't you?" Itachi merely nodded once. "Whatever this feeling is… It's evil. I haven't felt anything like this in years."

And he knew exactly what she meant. "Orochimaru."

There was another sigh, although this one sounded raspier, causing Itachi's eyes to snap back to hers, having wandered to the side as he stared off in a certain direction. If that sound meant anything, then it meant that fluid was filling her lungs. Itachi knew this because it was the sound he had made often whilst going through his treatment. "Don't interrupt me." she murmured, raising a hand. "I know that whoever this is, isn't Orochimaru. He can hide his presence like a snake about to attack. Whoever this is, is still learning. Still young. They're…" she cut off for a moment, taking as deep a breath as she could. "They're reckless. This chakra… This chakra is one I've encountered before, but this time, it's disturbed. Like there's been a change, or it's going through a change."

"Tsunade–sama, you–"

Sakura returning with the others had him cutting himself off, forcing his expression to remain blank, just like Tsunade suddenly did. Instead, she gave her apprentice a soft smile as she younger woman grinned at her warmly.

"Sasuke–kun was reluctant to come in," Sakura teased lightly, ignoring the glare the younger Uchiha brother sent her, "but I made him."

Behind Sakura was her team, along with Hinata and Ino. They were all dressed in uniform, all having sensed that awful chakra and had their guts twisting something terrible. However, despite this, Naruto was grinning brightly, encouraging the couple loudly until Sasuke shot him a dark look, telling him to shut up. To add to the assault, Ino punched him over the head. Kakashi merely sighed whilst Hinata frowned softly, watching Naruto as he rubbed his poor head.

"Do you want the short version, or the long version?"

Sakura glanced up at Itachi. "Short version. I don't think we have time for the long version."

Tsunade nodded once, standing up from her seat. Only Itachi and Kakashi noticed the fraction of a second pause, the one that had her gripping the desk tightly and forcing herself to continue. "Do you Uchiha Itachi, take Haruno Sakura to be your beloved wife? Do you promise to be a tender, faithful husband? Do you promise to love and cherish her, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, and look to her as an equal partner through the rest of your life?"

Itachi's answer was immediate, without hesitation. "I do."

The blonde nodded once, taking another deep breath. "Do you Haruno Sakura, take Uchiha Itachi to be your beloved husband? Do you promise to be a tender, faithful wife? Do you promise to love and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, and look to him as an equal partner through the rest of your life?

Sakura nodded. "I do."

"As your Hokage, with these five here as witnesses, and by the authority and power vested in me, I now announce you as husband and wife." There was a pause as Tsunade raised a thin eyebrow at the Uchiha. "Well, kiss your bride, Uchiha!"

Naruto smirked wickedly at the Uchiha's pause. After all this time, he was finally going to show some public display of affection for Sakura! That didn't include the time when he and Sasuke had walked in on the couple having sex well over a year ago, as that had been a mistake and had Itachi known it was going to happen, it wouldn't have happened.

Ino was a little disappointed that her best friend wasn't having a big fancy wedding to show off her new husband like Sakura had always dreamed of doing, but instead of complaining, she smiled warmly at the happiness in Sakura's eyes. Her best friend was finally going to be happy. And so what if this was a rushed exchange of vows? It didn't mean that they couldn't renew their vows and have a huge wedding in the future. Ino would see to it that they did! And that forehead had better make her maid of honour, otherwise the bride would be looking a little beaten up walking down the aisle.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but watch the warmth in his brother's eyes, the happiness in Sakura's. Hinata smiled softly, so very grateful that she had been asked to be a part of the union, whilst Kakashi smirked beneath his mask. It was about time somebody married his adorable little student. All those men lusting after her had been making him feel sick, as he hadn't been able to go for a peaceful walk whilst reading his book without hearing people talking about her. Now that she was no longer Haruno Sakura, but instead Uchiha Sakura, they would learn to keep their foul mouths shut without him having to not–so–politely warn them to.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Itachi leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, his hand coming to rest on the side of her head to pull her face closer to his. He would have liked to run his hand through her hair, to feel the softness of it between his fingers, but Sakura had put it up into a high ponytail with only her bangs parted and framing her face as they usually did. However, Sakura returning the kiss wholeheartedly made up for not being able to run his fingers through her hair.

Suddenly the sound of somebody transporting into the cabin had them breaking apart, had Itachi glancing down at the man who had just entered and threw an unconscious body to the floor.

"Hokage–sama," Shisui sighed, "we have a problem."

"That's quite an entrance, Shisui." she murmured, looking over her desk and down at the cloaked body. "Who's that?"

"This is the chakra I have been watching closely all night." he informed her. "I was out for a walk when it suddenly became more noticeable, when it grew closer and closer to the village. After everything that has happened, I went to investigate. This man…" Shisui paused, surprising them all as a look of disgust flitted over his features. "This man was stealing bodies from graves in the cemetery."

Tsunade's fist immediately came down on her desk and even in her weak state, it still broke in half, everything falling to the ground. "_What_?" she all but yelled, stomping around yet another destroyed desk and to the unconscious form. Grabbing the back of his cloak, she lifted and turned the man effortlessly and slammed him down onto her broken desk. She let go of him the second she saw his face and when Tsunade spoke, her voice was blank and features filled with shock. "Release the genjutsu on him, Uchiha."

Noticing how she was seeming more than a little spooked, Itachi made his way over to the unconscious man, who was slowly beginning to wake up and was surprised to see that he was none other than…

"Yakushi Kabuto." Tsunade growled. "What the hell are you doing in my village?"

When no answer reached her, Itachi had to hold back a sigh, seeing she was growing more agitated by the second. "I will use Tsukuyomi, Hokage–sama."

She nodded once, glancing at the others in her cabin who seemed to be in shock. "Kakashi, you stay here with Itachi. You too, Shisui. Everyone else, go to the cemetery and make damn sure no bodies are taken."

They nodded quickly and disappeared.

"Which bodies was he trying to steal, Shisui?" Kakashi asked, his mask hiding the down turning of his lips. It made him feel so incredibly angry that those who died for their village, couldn't even rest in peace.

"When I arrived, several coffins had been dug up." he answered tonelessly, eyes fixated on Kabuto's as he got stuck in the world of Tsukuyomi. He looked different, more like Orochimaru and it confused them all greatly. "Hyuuga clan members… Uchiha clan members… Your father's… Sarutobi Asuma's. Many graves had been dug up and they were in the process of taking more. It is almost like Kabuto was trying to collect the strongest and most powerful."

Kakashi felt like ice cold water had been poured over his body. Kabuto had tried to steal his father's body? For what reason? Why would he try to take Hatake Sakumo's body? Yes, he was known as the White Fang and yes, he was powerful, but the point of the matter was that Sakumo had been dead for well over twenty years now, pushing thirty years even. What use would a rotting corpse have for Kabuto?

That was when Itachi straightened up, when he released his hold on Kabuto, who stayed down with his blank eyes staring up at the wooden ceiling. He looked almost dead and there was blood dripping down from his nose. "He attempted to push me out." Itachi stated emotionlessly, explaining the state of him easily. "And there were blocks in his mind to try and keep me from entering it."

But nothing could stop Tsukuyomi. The harder you tried to fight it, the more damaged your mind would become when Itachi eventually got through.

And he always got through.

"What did you find out, Itachi?" Tsunade demanded, eyes narrowing.

"Kabuto has been practising one of the Nidaime's most forbidden jutsu."

Their eyes widened and a moment later, Tsunade growled out two single words, two words that had shivers running up their spines, "_Edo Tensei_."

* * *

The sight before her had Ino practically trembling with anger, with hatred. It had her heart tearing into pieces, her stomach twisting and burning with hatred. It had tears filling her eyes before those blue eyes were narrowing and hardening with rage.

"_Get the fuck away from Asuma–sensei!"_

The group of rogue–nin, most likely former Oto–nin, were leaning against the coffins like they were nothing more than pillars, like they were nothing important. It broke Sakura's heart seeing the dead being abused in such a way, it made it bleed and ache viciously that anybody could disrespect honourable shinobi who had given their lives to protect their village.

So that was why she didn't stop Ino as she began her assault of kunai, that was why she didn't stop Sasuke when he noticed the coffins from the Uchiha graveyard. That was why she didn't stop Hinata when she noticed the Hyuuga coffins. Two of them were protecting their clans' secrets. They were protecting their clansmen who had died and could no longer protect themselves. One of them was in pain at the sight of her sensei not being able to rest in peace like he should be allowed to.

All Sakura and Naruto could feel, was numbed shock. Who could be vile enough, could be so cold and dead on the inside, to try and… and do who knows what with the deceased?

It was cold out, but Sakura felt even colder on the inside.

A rogue–nin leapt on top of a coffin, smirking down at them nastily. "What–"

A flash of silver was all that could be seen and the rogue–nin was dead before he even hit the floor.

Standing in front of the coffin was none other than Hatake Kakashi, a dark rage in his single eye. It was when he turned around, staring down at the coffin, that Sakura realised he must have known that person. She walked over to him slowly, careful not to startle him as Sasuke, Hinata and Ino finished off the last of the rogue–nin, Naruto helping them.

"Kakashi–sensei?" she called softly, placing a hand on his arm. He didn't shrug her off.

"This…" he murmured in return, voice low and husky. "This is my father's coffin."

"How can you tell?" Sasuke questioned with a frown, staying close to his clansmen's coffins. "There's no marking on it like there are for the Hyuuga and Uchiha coffins."

Kakashi glanced over at the young Uchiha before tapping the coffin. "The colour of it, and you're wrong about there being no marking. There's a small one carved into the centre of it."

Sakura frowned for a moment, trying to figure it out. It then hit her as her eyes fell on the mark. The coffin was white and the mark was of a fang. "The White Fang."

"You were always my smartest student." he gave her a soft smirk and ruffled her hair. It didn't work so much considering her hair was up, but he successfully messed her bangs up. "Come on. Tsunade–sama wants us to return them all to their resting places."

"What's to stop this from happening again?" Naruto asked, practically demanded.

Hinata nodded softly. "If they managed to enter the Hyuuga graveyard without being detected… It shouldn't even be possible."

In response, Kakashi sighed. "Let's just get this done first, shall we?" Noticing a distressed looking Ino staying near the back, he patted Sakura's shoulder. "Ino, Sakura and I will help you with Asuma's coffin." The blonde nodded quickly, fresh tears filling her eyes and slipping down her blood smeared cheeks. "Sasuke and Hinata, a few members of your clans are on their way to give you a hand. Your fathers will be with them."

* * *

It was safe to say that the shinobi within Konoha were uneasy.

Knocking once on the cabin door, Itachi sighed and entered once he was shouted to do so.

Perimeter runs had been doubled, ANBU were watching over the cemeteries – _all_ of them – and all coffins were having or due to have, a jutsu placed over them, locking the bodies within the coffins so that they were untouchable. It went against many people's beliefs and wants, but at that moment in time, nothing was more important than making sure all secrets were protected and that the dead _stayed dead_.

This wasn't how he had expected his wedding night to be when he married Sakura earlier that night. Deadly, yes. With battles, yes. But this was… It was unforgivable. Itachi had known that their wedding night wouldn't be filled with passion and he and Sakura had silently agreed to it, only a single look at one another being needed. All they had wanted, was to be married. No fancy wedding where their guests were people they barely even knew, no over the top ceremony. All they had wanted was to be husband and wife, just in case a repeat happened and they wouldn't be able to do so another day.

"What do you want, Uchiha?"

Itachi regarded the woman for a moment, watched her expression. She was defensive, it seemed. He shut the door without a word, shutting away the light that had been leaking outside when it was open.

"Uchiha." she growled, clearly not in the mood. "State you purpose or get out."

"You are ill, Hokage–sama."

Tsunade gave him a blank look, sighing when it was only returned. "I'm not ill."

"There is no use in lying." he told her tonelessly. "I can sense how ill you are."

"I'm not ill. I'm dying."

His eyes widened a fraction. "Hokage–sama…"

"Don't you, of all people, go pitying me or getting all sympathetic on me, Uchiha. This is my own damned fault. Years of abusing my _Sōzō Saisei_ technique and drinking quadruple my body weight in sake has done this to me. Basically, I'm like an animal who is on it's last legs."

The Byakugō. Itachi's heart literally skipped a beat. "Hokage–sama, Sakura–"

Tsunade shook her head. "Sakura shouldn't be effected by this unless she goes down the same path I did. Just make sure she doesn't overuse that seal or uses it for anything unnecessary. Speeding up the regeneration cells is risky to say the least." A pause. "I would also appreciate it if you kept this between us."

No telling Sakura? But this woman was like a second mother to his wife. He swallowed hard, unable to fight back the indecision and his emotions. "How long…?"

"Do I have?" Tsunade questioned when he trailed off and when Itachi nodded once, she sat back in her chair and sighed. "Not long enough. And when I _do_ go, I don't want to be leaving this village without a suitable Hokage who can protect it. I need one who I know for a fact can be the leader it needs."

Itachi tensed noticeably, unable to hide his reaction.

"Congratulations, Uchiha. From this day forward, you are now and shall forever be, the Rokudaime Hokage."


	34. An Old Woman's Wish

**Chapter 33 – An Old Woman's Wish**

"What are the symptoms?"

After the news of becoming the next Hokage, Itachi had finally sat down opposite Tsunade, the weight of both the responsibility of such a role, and the knowledge of the Godaime's fast approaching death, making him sluggish. He wasn't one to act in such a way, to give in to his emotions, but this woman… She had saved his life from a supposedly terminal illness before. Why wouldn't she do the same for herself? Why would she not allow Sakura, or Shizune, to save her? Why did she have to die?

Tsunade sighed, leaning back in her seat. "I think you already know most of them, Uchiha, given that I haven't been acting like myself for quite a while. I can barely eat or drink. I'm easily confused and agitated. What happened with Sakura just before you both left for that mission in Iwa…" She sighed again, seeming to feel incredibly guilty. "That shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have snapped at her in such a way."

His eyebrows twitched, trying to knit together, but in the end Itachi kept up his blank mask. "You–"

"Had no right to treat her in such a way." She cut him off. "No matter how ill I am, or how close to death's door that I am, my apprentice had been confiding in me and I lost it. That should never have happened and you had every right to threaten me, even though I know you could have made that threat so much more intimidating or deadly."

Itachi nodded once. "Is there no cure?"

A small smile pulled at her lips, her expression exhausted. "Even if I don't look it, I'm an old woman now. I've seen so many things in my life and sometimes, I think I'm unfortunate to have lived it this long, losing so many people that I love." It stunned him when tears filled her honey coloured eyes. Like himself, like most shinobi, Tsunade disliked having her emotions on show, especially her sorrow and grief. "Seven months, eight at most, I'll finally be able to join them. Nawaki… Dan… Jiraiya… I don't plan on making them wait too much longer."

"What about the living?" he questioned quietly. "What about Shizune–san and Sakura?"

"They're both strong women." Her smile was still there, although it looked more proud than sad now. "I've taught them… everything I know and even if they haven't been able to master one of two techniques or jutsu of mine, I can die peacefully knowing that they can protect themselves. They flourished under my teachings, Uchiha. Shizune… When I first met her, she was as useless as Sakura used to be, perhaps more so. A couple of years down the line and she was breathing out deadly poison like it was nothing, was hitting close to all her targets without hesitation. Sakura…" She gave a short chuckle. "She can bring down mountains with that strength of hers and heal _thousands_ all at once."

"They wouldn't have been able to do it without you, Hokage–sama."

"And Sakura wouldn't be on the road to greatly surpassing me if it wasn't for you." she countered without missing a beat. "Before you came along, I knew it was a possibility of Sakura surpassing me. That thought only solidified when she activated her seal. And then you saw the exact same potential I did. You didn't push her aside and ignore her because of her flaws, like so many in the past have." Tsunade sighed. "Uchiha… _Itachi_. Take care of that girl. Take care of my Sakura, and my village."

Seven months left to live, eight at most. Itachi sighed and closed his eyes, thinking of just how badly such a loss was going to hurt Sakura. "I have a request, if you are to make me the next Hokage."

There was a short pause, one where Tsunade regarded him. "What is it?"

"You have to tell both Shizune–san and Sakura." he told her seriously, reopening his eyes. "You are her shishou, therefore you know how hard this will hit Sakura."

She huffed with dry amusement. "You just don't want to be the one who has to tell her I died."

"That's not it." Itachi argued calmly, quietly with a soft frown on his face. "Sakura… She will not rest until you are well unless you make your wishes known to her." he sighed again. "She knows the Suna–nin's technique, Hokage–sama."

"Chiyo's…" the blonde breathed before her honey eyes were narrowing dangerously and her fist was coming down on the still–broken desk. It shuddered warningly beneath the assault and they both knew that it wouldn't take much to completely destroy it. "_When the hell_ did she learn a jutsu like _that_?"

"It must have been when we were staying in Suna." he replied. "Chiyo used that jutsu on her when Sakura suffered a fatal blow that should have killed her within minutes, and that isn't including the poison that had been coursing through her veins. It must have been there, that Sakura picked up fragments on how to use such a jutsu, and during our stay, she spent most of her time with either the Kazekage, or one of the other elders. Chiyo's brother, I believe."

Damn it.

_Damn it!_

Tsunade bit down on her thumbnail for a moment, thinking over the possible scenarios, before growling with annoyance and releasing her nail. "Shizune already knows." At his silent surprise, she huffed with obvious annoyance. "She continuously stayed by my side and tried healing whatever she could. My illness being one of them. When I woke up, when we were alone, she confronted me about it and demanded that I give her permission to fully examine me."

Which would explain why Shizune was looking so pale and lost whenever he saw her around the village. She had lived most of her life as Tsunade's assistant and now, she was being told that the blonde was going to die and there was nothing that could be done about it. She had to unwillingly give up on her.

"And what about Sakura?"

"Sakura won't be able to handle it." she told him seriously. "But… I agree, it will be better coming from me. That way she'll know my reasons, know that I'm ready to die." Tsunade closed her eyes, resting her elbows on the broken desk and dropping her head into her hands. "I just wish I didn't have to be the one to tell her."

It was going to break her.

"Give me…" her throat felt tight, her eyes stinging. "Give me time. Let me tell her when I'm ready."

Itachi's eyes unnoticeably saddened on the blonde. "She–"

"Deserves to know, but I'm not ready to tell her yet, Uchiha. I still have a few months left in me. Let me do it in my own time. Until then, I'm sorry, but you'll have to keep this from her."

It made him feel sick to his stomach keeping something such as this from her. However, it was an order from his Hokage. He had to. Itachi closed his eyes and sighed. "I understand."

She gave a grateful smile, though didn't look at him. "Now go be with your wife, Itachi. It _is_ your wedding night, after all." a short pause. "Thank you for allowing me to marry you both, even if it was rushed."

It allowed her to believe love still existed in a world filled with so much hate.

* * *

"It's not much." Sakura smiled somewhat nervously as they walked into the small cabin. "But… Everyone thought it was time that we had a place to ourselves, especially on our wedding night."

"Sasuke?"

She chuckled, nodding to Itachi. "Yeah, he looked more than happy to find out it was ready. I think he's tired of hearing or accidentally seeing us in the act."

It was already fully furnished, which confused him greatly for a moment before Itachi began to recognise the furniture and decorations. Some were pieces that had been sent by other villages, mostly Suna, whilst the decorations were the ones he and Sakura had bought whilst in Iwa. There was a vintage look to their small home, one that gave it personality. It seemed warm and comforting, a place that welcomed you home from a long mission with open arms. Or maybe that was the woman by his side who suddenly gave him another smile, looking up at him warmly.

"It seems being around me is making you rather impulsive, too."

She was teasing him, he realised slowly after a few moments. However, all Itachi could see was the woman who was going to be broken in just a few months. All he could hear were the words Tsunade had said to him, telling that not only she was dying, but that the burden of protecting the village as it's Hokage was going to fall on his shoulders. And he couldn't even confide in his wife about it all, because Itachi had to keep it from her. He had to keep it from everyone.

Sensing something was wrong, Sakura frowned. "Itachi? What's the matter?"

How was he supposed to keep something such as this from her?

Instead of answering her, Itachi leaned forward and cupped her face, pressing his lips to hers with surprising intensity.

The surprise kiss distracted Sakura long enough for Itachi to reach beneath her skirt and slip her underwear to her knees, for them to drop to the ground as he gently backed her to the sofa, lowering her onto it.

Sakura did not argue, both realising that Itachi needed this, and enjoying his attention too much. Instead she parted her legs when he lowered himself on top of her and worked on his pants, shoving them down his hips until his erection was freed.

It seemed part of him was still considering her pleasure as Itachi's fingers ran down her body until she caught them, giving him a smile. "Just take me."

He paused, watching her eyes and seeing that pained look in his only strengthened her words in her mind, made her more determined to try and take that pain away, even if only momentarily. Something big had happened to make him crave her touch. He did so anyway, but this was different, this felt different. He _needed_ a distraction.

After a few moments of consideration, Itachi's forehead pressed to hers and he kissed her lips softly, like he was saying thank you, before entering her.

His thrusts were forceful, hard yet slow, making her breath leave her and her eyes slide shut when Itachi kissed her neck, wrapping his arms around her and holding Sakura as close as possible. All she could do was hold on. Her legs were locked around his hips, nails digging into his back harshly and his groan of pleasure against her neck was answered by her own moan.

* * *

It was hours later when Sakura finally plucked up the courage to ask what had happened. By that time, they had made it to the bedroom, although Itachi was far from finished with her. She just couldn't understand where he got all the energy from, but then that thought made her sad, because something must have effected him greatly for Itachi to need her in such a way. And she wasn't too sure, but Sakura could have sworn that, during her orgasm, just after Itachi had finished, he had whispered that he was sorry to her in her ear.

Maybe it had been her mind playing tricks on her or maybe she'd been completely caught up in the pleasure. Whatever it was, Sakura was fairly certain that Itachi had in fact told her that he was sorry. Sorry? Sorry for what?

"So… What happened?" Itachi stared at her blankly. "Don't hide things from me, Itachi. Something happened to make you come to me like that."

He sighed, closing his eyes. "I missed you, Sakura. Tonight… brought back memories of the attack on the village, both Pein's and Iwa's."

"I know." she murmured, resting her head on his chest once more. "I kind of… I kind of froze when we confronted the rogue–nin. Everything was just moving so quickly while I just stood there. It wasn't even like I was confused or lost… I knew exactly what was happening and what I needed to do – I needed to protect the information in their bodies, I needed to protect the corpses. But… I couldn't. I couldn't move."

Exhaustion was washing over him, but Itachi forced himself to stay awake, rolling them over so that he was looking down at her. "Were you injured?" She shook her head, brushing the hair off of his face with her hand. "It was a deadly battle, Sakura. It's okay if you're still tormented by it. A lot of people are."

A pause. "…Are you?"

"Sometimes." Itachi answered truthfully. "Sometimes I have nightmares, where it's just repeats of not my own death, but yours. You didn't die in the battle, I know, but you could have if it wasn't for your seal."

Sakura frowned softly, leaning up slightly to kiss him. She didn't know what to say in response. Was there even anything that she _could_ say?

"Promise me something."

Her frown deepened at the look in Itachi's eyes, the intensity of them. "Anything."

"Do not fight so recklessly." he spoke quietly, seriously. "And do not rely completely on this," he tapped the diamond shape on her forehead, "to save you."

"Itachi–"

"Promise me, Sakura."

"I promise." she whispered without much hesitation, shaken a little by the intensity in his eyes.

* * *

News of their exchange of vows spread around the village faster than Sakura even thought possible – and it had Yamanaka Ino written all over it. Only the blonde could find ways to get everybody talking about it all at once, to the point where Sakura couldn't even walk down the newly constructed streets without hearing hers or Itachi's names being whispered. She'd even had somebody approach her and address her as 'Uchiha–sama'.

It wasn't like Sakura was complaining. Instead of the negative reaction she had been anticipating, the villagers welcomed it. Some expressed their sadness that it hadn't been a big wedding, one that would bring up the spirits of the villagers, but that hardly mattered. An old woman had smiled softly at her and offered her a gift. Sakura had tried to refuse, had tried to tell her it wasn't necessary, but then more gifts began to arrive at their new home.

Those gifts ranged from flowers to dishes filled with delicious food (enough to last at least another week or so) as well as old hand me downs that survived the attack, such as clothing, or house decorations. One old couple had even offered them their wedding rings. That was where Sakura had put her foot down, though. There wasn't a chance in hell that she was taking somebody else's wedding ring. It belonged to _them_, not her and Itachi.

They'd already discussed the whole ring situation. For now, they could live without them and at the next opportunity, if they went by a pair of wedding rings that really caught their eyes and they had enough money, then they would buy them.

"Uchiha–san."

Sakura quickly looked over her shoulder, though smiled warmly at Kakashi as he stepped into her makeshift office. The hospital had yet to be fully built but was thankfully quickly coming along. It was mainly just the offices that needed to be finished. The wards were the first things to be done.

"I'm still trying to get used to that." Sakura chuckled. "It's been a couple of weeks and I'm still not used to it."

"You will." Kakashi told her with a smile, even though it was hidden by his mask. "It just takes time."

She nodded. "So what do you want? It's rare to see you willingly walk into a hospital."

The Copy–Nin chuckled and scratched his cheek. It was a sheepish gesture that Sakura had picked up on over the years. "Well, you see, Tsunade–sama wanted to give me a physical earlier, but she seemed more agitated than usual. To save my b–"

"Okay, okay. I got it." Sakura had to bite back her smirk.

"Ah, good. I was hoping my sweet little student would understand–"

"Sweet talk me all you want, sensei. You're not getting out of this one."

He sighed dejectedly and and followed Sakura out of her office, walking to one of the examination rooms. It didn't look much like it previously did, but it was obviously clean and sterilized and that was just his nose picking up on all the different cleaning and sterilizing products. That was part of the reason why he disliked hospitals. The smells were always overwhelming and he _always_ left with a headache and burning nose.

It was without a word that Kakashi dressed down and sat in the spot Sakura pointed at. Having his former student examining him and giving him physicals should have been awkward and uncomfortable, especially when they got to a certain part of the physical. However, due to how professional she was, it calmed him down. It made him willing to let her examine him. Don't get him wrong, because when she examined his penis, it _was_ a little uncomfortable, what with the touching and the handling and the checking. He sighed. It was probably more uncomfortable for her, having to touch men's penises every day.

"How's everything going?" Kakashi asked as Sakura began his physical.

"Okay, I suppose." she answered distractedly. "Itachi's on a mission right now but couldn't tell me what it's about. It's extremely classified."

Kakashi frowned beneath the hospital mask that had replaced his own. The change had been quick and it was nice that Sakura knew him so well and respected his privacy, as she hadn't even glanced his way, hadn't even spoken a word when she chucked the mask over her shoulder to him. "Extremely classified?"

"Mm–hm."

Extremely classified… No, it wasn't unusual for Uchiha Itachi to be sent on highly classified missions, but _extremely_ classified? Was it personal to Tsunade, perhaps? Unfortunately, Kakashi wouldn't be able to find out unless the Godaime told him herself. Sakura shouldn't even know that Itachi was going on an extremely classified mission, despite the fact that she was his wife.

In order to change the subject, Kakashi smiled down at her teasingly. "Any buns in the oven, yet?"

It amused him greatly when her movements faltered, when her cheeks were immediately a deep red shade and those apple green eyes widened. "You can't ask that, Kakashi–sensei!" Sakura snapped, trying to calm down the racing of her heart. "We haven't been married long and it's impolite!"

Oh, so he had hit a nerve. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Many couples are pregnant _before_ marriage nowadays. Besides, Naruto has told me about yours and Itachi's–"

She cut him off for fear of her face permanently staying red. "Do I _look_ pregnant to you?"

Yeah, he'd definitely hit a nerve. "Of course not. You're as slim as ever, Sakura–chan." he smiled, hoping she wouldn't punch a hole through his chest. "But it could take months for the bump to show, as you probably already know given your profession."

Instead of keeping up her anger, Sakura sighed and kept her eyes on her hands as she continued the examination. "No, I'm not pregnant. I don't think I will be for a while." When silence met her, she knew that it was Kakashi's way of telling her he's listening and that she could continue if she wanted. That's what Sakura had always liked about the man. He didn't push her to say anything and instead waited for her to be ready. "Itachi and I… We don't want to bring children into the world while it's in this mess. We'll be having children just to put them at risk." A pause. "And… I can't do that to them. If I have children and something happened to them… It'd kill me. Just thinking about it hurts."

She'd always been rather emotional, his student. "Do you really think something could happen to your children when they're surrounded by some of the most powerful shinobi in our village?" Kakashi asked quietly. While he may not seem the type, he never liked the thought of people putting their personal lives on hold because of the state of the world, regardless of their professions. "Their parents will be Uchiha Itachi and Sakura. Their uncles will be Sasuke and Shisui." Even though Shisui wasn't actually Itachi's brother, it was obvious they thought of each other as brothers. Any kid of Itachi's would automatically be under the protection of Uchiha Shisui. "Naruto will also be like an uncle, just like Ino will be like an aunt." he gave her that certain eye crease that always told Sakura everything would be okay. "I'll be there, as will Tsunade–sama. And you know she'll destroy anyone who tries to harm you, so I think that goes for your children, too."

"But…" she whispered, hands trembling ever so slightly. "What if I'm not a good mother? What if I can't protect them?"

"You know that you can." he told her simply. "Think back to all the times you saved our team, Sakura. Hell, just a few months ago, you protected the entire village," or what was left of it, "by using Katsuyu's network healing."

"That doesn't answer whether or not I'd be a good mother."

"Of course you will." Kakashi smiled. "You've always had a maternal streak in you, Sakura. Like the mother hen of our team."

A weak chuckle escaped her. "And you're not just saying this to make me feel better?"

When she looked up at him, Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Have I ever lied to you before?"

No, now that Sakura thought about it. Kakashi had never actually lied about anything to her. Sure, he once or twice told her everything was going to be okay, only for everything to fall apart, but that wasn't really his fault. He couldn't see the future. He couldn't know for sure what was going to happen. All Kakashi had been trying to do, was comfort her.

"Speak to Itachi about it, Sakura." he murmured. "He may be more open to the idea than you think."

"If he isn't?"

"Then at least you have both talked about it and gotten it off your chest. That way, there can't be any misunderstandings."

Sakura smiled softly. "Thanks for listening to me, sensei." Then, her smile slipped into a smirk as she purred, "You're still not getting out of this, though."

Kakashi resisted the urge to pout, knowing that the look in his eye would amuse her greatly.

It did.


	35. Here's To Trying

**Chapter 34 – Here's To Trying**

"What do you think about kids?"

Itachi paused in his reading and after a moment, he closed his book and placed it down onto his lap, thinking over her question carefully. He wasn't too sure on how to answer her question. Surprisingly, it wasn't sudden, he simply hadn't expected her to just blurt it out. "Why do you ask?"

The bed dipped as Sakura climbed onto it, choosing to sit at the bottom of the bed next to his legs. Her own legs were folded Indian style and she placed her hands on her knees, refusing to fidget. "I want children."

Yes, he was already aware of that. Whether Sakura knew it or not, she had been silently telling him – and anyone else who could pick up on the signs – that she was ready to start a family. It wasn't anything too big, just the occasional thing here and there. Such as gazing off into space whenever she saw a child running by her. When Sakura saw families together, she would smile softly and watch them and Itachi could pick up on the feeling of longing coming from her. The biggest sign, was how she had acted with Aiko. Sakura had a maternal streak. She would be a good mother.

When there was nothing but silence, Sakura bit her lip. "We never really talked about it before getting married, I know, but–"

"Okay."

She blinked with surprise. "Okay?"

Itachi gave her a smile, nodding once. The thought of Sakura carrying his children was a pleasant one, one he wouldn't mind becoming a reality. In all honesty, Itachi had never been able to see himself settling down until he met Sakura. Well, until he proposed to Sakura. Now, however, he could see it clearly.

"You really want children?" Sakura asked quietly, hesitantly, as she crawled over to him. "Even though I couldn't pro–"

Once more, Itachi cut her off. "You need to stop blaming yourself for Aiko's death, Sakura. Stop trying to move backwards." he told her softly, cupping her cheek once she reached him. In response she bit her lip more harshly, her eyebrows knitting together. It seemed she was finally, _truly_ beginning to put it in the past, though, because previously she would have broken down into tears or shut him out. "I understand that you miss her, that you feel as though you could not protect her, but you need to try and let those feelings go. Otherwise, they will always be weighing you down."

He didn't want to see his wife wither away into nothing, into a shell of herself.

When she continued to bite her lip, Itachi sighed. "Do you want children? Your actions and your words are entirely different, Sakura. You say you want them, yet you seem scared."

"Of course I'm scared!" she snapped suddenly. "And that fear is only going to grow if we have children. Every mother worries for her children. I just… I don't want them to be forced into shinobi life. I don't want them to be forced into anything." Sakura sighed, giving him an understanding look. "But I get that our child, or children, will become shinobi whether I like it or not. Our first child will be the future heir of the Uchiha clan, so many great things will be expected of him or her."

"You have given this–"

"_A lot_ of thought." Sakura grumbled and rubbed her temple tiredly. "Trust me. I've even spoken to Kakashi–sensei and to your mother about how the clan elders would view our children, tried to see if there was any way to make them ease up a little." The look she gave him was helpless, pleading. "I don't know how hard they pushed you, but I know how stressed Sasuke–kun often became from pushing himself so hard to please them, to please your father."

Itachi cupped her cheek softly and gave a small smile. "I am not my father, Sakura. And growing up, I never approved of the way Sasuke was treated. Many times I told my father to stop treating him like he is second best – as did my mother. However, there is no arguing with the elders. They do what they believe they should and that is that, in their eyes."

There was a short pause, one where Sakura regarded his eyes, trying to read his emotions. "So… You're okay? With trying for a baby, I mean. Even though everything is… Even though everything is such a mess?"

He sighed. "The world will never be at peace, Sakura. Not fully. Perhaps right now is not the best of times to be having children, but when will be? How do we know that the situation won't become worse? Or what if one of us is one day defeated in battle?" The look that flashed through her eyes, the pain, had Itachi bringing Sakura closer, shifting her until she was seated on his lap, effectively knocking his book off and onto the ground. "Now is as good a time as any to have children. For all we know, it may be as good as it's going to get."

Sakura nodded quickly, biting her lip.

Itachi picked up on her worry easily. "You will be a good mother, Sakura. Do not worry so much."

"What if I make a mistake?" she whispered to him, hands resting on his bare chest. "What if something happens and I freeze up?"

"Then I will be there." he gave her a small smile. "It takes two to have children, remember. You may be their mother, but I will be their father." Running his hand through her hair, Itachi pulled Sakura's face closer to his own, kissing her softly. "I will protect our children with my life."

And that nagging, building worry, the one that had slowly been suffocating her, eased up somewhat. It suddenly became easier to breathe. Itachi understood. He understood her and he wanted children, too. He would help her protect those children.

"Sakura." he murmured when the kiss broke, when she pressed her forehead to his.

"Hm?"

"Starting from tomorrow, stop using the contraception jutsu."

* * *

It had been around three months since she stopped using her contraception jutsu.

Nothing.

All that came to her were painful periods and agonising stomach and backache. That was part of the reason why she had used the contraception jutsu in the first place. Not only because of seductions missions, but also because it was so painful being a woman sometimes. Don't get her wrong, because sometimes, they just came by without a single pain. It depended on Sakura's stress levels, she believed. The more stressed she was, the more pain she'd be in.

That was why Itachi had been taking care of her even more than usual. Their first Christmas spent together, he had absolutely spoiled her. Not with gifts, but with the way he made sure everything was perfect for her. Despite all the trouble in the village and it not being fully restored, the festival on Christmas Eve still went on, wanting to lift the spirits of the villagers. Itachi had taken her to it, even though he wasn't one for such things, and spent every moment making sure she was happy.

It was heart warming to say the least.

As though that wasn't enough, on Christmas Day, what had he gotten her? Well, the both of them? Wedding rings. Whilst away on a mission, Itachi had come across a set of wedding rings that he was certain Sakura would love. And she did. Unless she was doing the washing up or soaking in the bath, or healing somebody, Sakura never took hers off.

Everything was going so well that Sakura just couldn't believe her luck. Iwa had gone quiet, she was _married_ and _trying for a baby_ and everyone she loved was alive and well. Both her parents and Itachi's respected their decision for trying for a baby, although Naruto had been a little unsure, thinking it was too soon. That didn't matter. People were bound to have some sort of disagreement with their choice. And even though he didn't one hundred percent agree, Naruto was happy for them and supported them.

"Tsunade–shishou?"

The woman startled, dropping her book onto her new desk. "Sakura. I didn't hear you knock."

She blushed, feeling a little bad. It had been impolite not to knock, but her mind had been elsewhere and she had forgotten completely. "…Sorry, I didn't."

"Never mind." Tsunade sighed, gesturing for her to come closer and pointing to the chair opposite hers. "Sake?" Sakura shook her head. The sake surprisingly remained untouched as the blonde instead sat back. "Well? What is it?"

"I was just wondering…" she frowned, glancing down at her thighs for a moment. "You see, Itachi and I, we're…"

"Spit it out, girl."

"We're trying for a baby." Sakura told her quietly. "We've been trying for a few months now, but… Nothing. Nothing is happening."

It was a shock to say the least, leaving Tsunade to watch her apprentice for a few moments until she collected her thoughts. "These things don't just happen overnight, Sakura. Well, not always. You need to keep in mind that you've been on the contraception jutsu for quite a while now and you're stressed at the moment. However, you're doing a lot better than a few months ago, so much so that I'm considering giving you your position at the hospital back." Sakura's eyes went wide. "They need you there, and I know that perhaps a small part of you needs the hospital, too."

Sakura nodded, biting on the inside of her cheek. "…I do."

The older woman gave her a small smile. "It's okay to admit that, Sakura."

"I need the hospital, Tsunade–shishou. It… comforts me, in a way. Makes me feel like I'm doing some good."

"Sakura…" There was a long pause and during that pause, she looked up with a frown, a frown that only deepened at the look on Tsunade's face, at the look in her eyes. The blonde looked torn, appeared apologetic. If Sakura hadn't known any better, she'd say that she looked heartbroken. "I'm not going to be here forever, Sakura. When I go–"

"Why are you saying this?" she whispered, her heart clenching painfully. "Where's this coming from?"

"Let me finish." Tsunade said patiently. "When I die, I want both you and Shizune to work together and run the hospital. You two… I know I can trust you both with running it, with making sure everyone receives the treatment and the care they need and deserve." Slowly, uncertainly, Sakura nodded. "By working together, you can take breaks. You share the burden between you." Again, Sakura nodded. "Can you do that for me?"

Sakura's frown deepened as she nodded quickly, her throat feeling tight. "I–I can. But… Why are you saying this, shishou?"

It was now or never. The blonde sighed and shut her eyes, not wanting to see the look in Sakura's when she broke the news.

"I'm dying, Sakura."

Silence.

It stretched on for what felt like an eternity.

All Sakura could do was stare. It felt like everything had stopped in her eyes. Everything around them, her breathing, her mind, her heart… It all stopped and all she could do was stare at the woman.

It was all becoming so much clearer to her now. The lack of appetite, being unable to keep anything down – including her precious sake. Making the odd mistake every now and then, being easily confused and agitated. Then there was the reminder of when Sakura attempted to heal her via Katsuyu, and Tsunade had removed the slug summon from her body, refusing treatment. Sakura had simply thought that the woman was stressed, that she was tired and stressed because of all the trouble between Iwa and Konoha and then the added trouble of Akatsuki. It couldn't be easy trying to keep everyone safe.

"But…"

Slowly, Tsunade opened her eyes, trying to reign in her emotions at the sight of Sakura. She looked like she was just barely clinging on.

A tear slipped down Sakura's cheek. "You can't die."

Quickly, Tsunade wiped at her own cheeks, annoyed to find that they were also wet. Damn it. She was supposed to be the one staying strong, knowing that Sakura would need her to be.

"I–I'll heal you." She stood up, quickly making her way around the desk. Not even a second after, her palms were glowing green. "I can heal you."

"Sakura." The Hokage sighed, catching her wrists. "That's not what I want."

"Not what you want?" Sakura whispered before demanding, "What about us? What about me and Shizune–senpai? You're our shishou! What about what _we_ want? We can't lose you, Tsunade–shishou. You mean too much to us!" She fell to her knees in front of Tsunade. "Please don't leave me."

This time Tsunade couldn't catch her tears, more concerned with holding Sakura as the girl rested her head against her stomach like a lost child, soaking her shirt with her tears. How long had it been since she held anyone like this? Years. It had been decades, in fact. "I'm sorry." Tsunade whispered, closing her eyes tightly. "This is what I want, Sakura. To finally be able to rest. With Jiraiya, with Nawaki and Dan… Please understand."

She did. Sakura understood her, but it didn't lessen the pain. "How long?"

"Four months." she whispered, running her hand through Sakura's hair in a comforting gesture. "I have four months left."

That was too soon. She wasn't ready to say goodbye. Would she ever be?

* * *

It was hours later when Sakura finally returned home, rubbing her aching eyes as she did so.

"Sakura?"

Too late did she realise that they weren't alone. If she had, she would have gone through the upstairs window.

In the living room with her husband was her team as well as Shisui. Whatever they had been talking about, however, no longer seemed important as they saw the state of her. Her eyes were puffy and red rimmed, face deathly pale and stained with tears.

"She's…"

Itachi knew immediately, with that one devastated expression, what Sakura had found out. He closed his eyes. "I think it would be best if you all leave."

Naruto was standing up quickly, eyes wide. "But Sakura–chan is–"

"Itachi will take care of her." Shisui muttered, nodding once to Sasuke, who suddenly grabbed Naruto and began dragging him out of the home. Kakashi slowly trailed behind, watching Sakura for a second longer before patting her shoulder and leaving. Staying for a moment, Shisui watched Sakura until his eyes swept up to Itachi's. "Look after her, Itachi."

Once they were gone, Itachi sighed. "Sakura…"

"She's dying." Sakura whispered brokenly. "Tsunade–shishou is dying." Just when he opened his mouth to say something, she cut him off. "I already know that you know. She told me. I just…"

"I'm sorry."

She dropped down onto the sofa, holding her head in her hands. "I wish people would stop telling me that they're sorry. Shishou… _You_. You said it. Months ago, on our wedding night. I thought I was hearing things, but you… You were saying sorry about this, weren't you?"

Itachi sat down beside her. "I was."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sakura whispered, looking up at him with pained eyes.

"It was an order from our Hokage, Sakura. I couldn't disobey."

"And… Shishou told me something else, before I left." There was a pause, one where Sakura reached out and took his hand, telling him that she didn't blame him and that she wasn't angry. He was respecting her wishes. "Hokage–sama." Sakura gave a small smile. "The title suits you, 'tachi."

In that moment, she sounded so vulnerable, so pained, that Itachi couldn't help but reach out to her, his stomach twisting nastily when her so very little composure snapped and she began to sob against him.


	36. Hard To Accept

**Chapter 35 – Hard To Accept**

It was hard pretending like everything was okay when it wasn't. Respecting Tsunade's wishes, Sakura put on a cheerful expression and acted like nothing was nothing, acted like Tsunade wasn't dying. But every day, every single day, the thought of her beloved shishou no longer being around crept up on Sakura, cutting off her ability to think and breathe. If that happened, she always made sure to be alone, to find some time to herself. Other than herself and Itachi, only Shizune knew of her illness.

They were the only people she could talk to about it. Tsunade was defensive about the illness and apparently, the only examinations she had had, were from herself and one or two from Shizune when the younger woman confronted her about the illness. What it was, they didn't know. There wasn't a specific name for it. It was, in Tsunade's words, her past catching up to her.

A couple of weeks had gone by since finding out and since then, Sakura went to visit Tsunade every day. She had done that before finding out, but she was making sure she stayed for longer, storing everything about the woman to memory. Sakura didn't want to forget a single thing about her. It was driving Tsunade mad, she knew that, but Sakura had always thought that her shishou looked best when angered. That was when she looked most lively, instead of blank and calm. It just wasn't her.

How long did Tsunade have left now? Just over three months. Just the thought of the blonde passing away made Sakura feel sick to her stomach. What would happen to their village?

Of course, she knew she needn't worry. Itachi would make a great Hokage. The only problem would be the elders. Sooner or later, they were going to find out about Tsunade's illness and with it, her successor. Instead of it being Hatake Kakashi like they had wanted when Tsunade was unconscious, it was instead going to be Itachi, the one they had tried so hard not to allow become Hokage.

Would Itachi be able to handle the stress of everything, though? Sakura wasn't doubting her husband in the least, for she knew what he was capable of. However, being Hokage was not easy at all and then adding to that, he was also heir to his clan. They were trying for a _baby_. One of them, perhaps even two, would have to be put on hold or cut off.

But… _Why_?

Senju Hashirama, the Shodai Hokage, had not only been Hokage, but also head of his clan and a father. There was the small fact that he had his brother helping him, Tobirama (also know as the Nidaime), but… Sakura frowned softly, a sigh escaping her.

Could Itachi handle the stress of everything?

"What are you thinking about?"

Her eyes slowly opened, revealing the bare, muscle defined chest she was resting her head on. It was definitely a beautiful sight to wake up to, seeing Itachi beneath her, even if it was only partly. "You." Sakura told him truthfully, her voice quiet. "Everything."

"Such as?"

Sakura resisted the urge to shut her eyes once more as Itachi began to run his fingers gently and slowly up and down her spine, causing her skin to break out in goosebumps. "I'm worried for you and the stress that's going to be placed on your shoulders."

His hand didn't pause for a moment. "I know."

"I'm going to help you." she stated, leaning up and over him as she placed her elbows on each side of his body. "And you know that Shisui–san will, too. Hell, if you ask him, Kakashi–sensei will help just as long as you don't make him do paperwork. And–"

"Sakura, relax." he murmured. "I have already decided who my advisers will be."

Sakura bit her lip, watching him carefully. "Oh?"

Itachi nodded once, eyes going up to the ceiling. "Given that Shisui thinks of only what is best for the village, and what is the right thing to do, he will be one of my advisers. I know that I can trust him to help me come up with the right decisions, to help me lead and protect our village." In response, Sakura nodded, telling him silently that she was listening. "I would have had Sasuke be my other adviser, but he is too impulsive and does not think things through clearly enough." He also had plans already for his brother. "I cannot risk having him as one of my advisers, going with me on delegations or possible summits." A pause, one where his wife watched him. "I have been thinking of having Kakashi–san as my other adviser. The elders all wanted him to be the Rokudaime and hopefully, having him as my adviser will appease them."

That sounded ideal and smart, Sakura agreed. "Just don't trust him with paperwork. It'll never get done."

He gave her a small smile. "I know." Then, in that same murmur, "I have also come to the decision that you will be my personal medic."

Silence.

"But…"

"You're Sasuke's personal medic, I am aware." Itachi sighed. "However, given your responsibility of helping run the hospital with Shizune–san, you will not be leaving the village nearly as much as you used to. You will still be Sasuke's medic, as I know how he is with trusting others. However, when I am to leave the village, you will be coming with me and be by my side as _my_ medic."

A smile graced her lips, a relieved one. "I was hoping you'd say that. Being Hokage means you'll be targeted a lot more while travelling outside the village. Even though you're more than capable of protecting yourself, not being there would make me go insane."

He nodded once. That was perhaps part of the reason why he had considered the option. Having a medic travelling with them was always useful, but having a medic who could defend herself and fight on the front lines, was even more useful. Itachi knew he wouldn't have to watch over her every move. The only thing to look out for would be her impulsive streak, her anger, if they were at a Kage Summit.

And Itachi had the feeling that a summit would be happening fairly soon.

"Naruto will want to fight you."

Itachi gave a soft smirk at the thought of the blond demanding that they battle. It had always been Naruto's dream to become Hokage, to have the village acknowledge and respect him. He already had their respect and acknowledgement. All Naruto had to do now was become stronger, wiser. Only then would Itachi allow for the Uzumaki to take the title as the next Hokage, only then would he trust Naruto enough to lead and protect their village.

Perhaps he should teach the younger man a few things, prepare him for being Hokage?

At that moment in time, Tsunade wasn't teaching Itachi much about becoming Hokage as it all had to stay quiet, at least until she informed the elders of her choice and her illness. He had to admit that he wasn't looking forward to it. Hours and hours were going to be spent in the oversized meeting room that had been untouched in the attack, since it was behind the Hokage monument. ANBU headquarters had also been undamaged.

"Hokage–sama is planning on telling the elders today."

Sakura watched him for a moment, watched his eyes. "Are you ready? After this… There's no backing out."

He sighed. "It is what is best for the village."

"Do you want me to be there?" she asked quietly, stroking his cheek. "For support and to scare them, I mean."

A low and throaty chuckle escaped him, bringing a smile to Sakura's lips. "I believe I do that enough myself. Although, your presence would be pleasant to have."

"Then I'll be there." she told him with that same smile. "We're equals, so don't feel like you can't lean on me if you need to. Hell knows I've leaned on you so much lately."

"It is all part of being a husband." Itachi murmured in response. "For better or for worse."

* * *

"Why did you call this meeting, Tsunade–hime?"

Tsunade took a deep breath, secretly wishing that her apprentice wasn't in the room as it was more than obvious Sakura was still adjusting to the news, before speaking. "I'm just going to be blunt with you both. I'm dying."

It startled them to say the least.

"W–What?" Koharu stammered, her ever–closed eyes widening. "Is there nothing that can be done?"

"No." the blonde shrugged simply, leaning back and casually resting her arm on the back of the sofa she was sitting on. "It's finally my time."

"Finally…" Homura repeated and despite everything he had been taught, despite everything he had learned, just like Koharu, he was having a difficult time staying composed. The news was simply… startling – and that wasn't even adding the fact that Tsunade just blurted it out like it meant absolutely nothing. "You're saying this as though you're giving in."

Nodding in agreement, Tsunade raised an eyebrow, never breaking eye contact with the man. "Some _will_ see it that way. My own student being one of them."

Many eyes went to Sakura, who was thankfully managing to keep it together. It was more to do with having Itachi by her side, radiating comfort to her, than being over it or accepting the news, though. No, Sakura accepted that her shishou was dying, but at the same time, it was hard to _fully_ accept never seeing her again.

"However," Tsunade continued, "Sakura is coming to terms with this and is accepting my choice – like I know and hope the villagers as well as yourselves will."

There was a pause as Koharu got her thoughts together, as she finally composed herself after such a shock. "If this is what you want, then…" the old woman shook her head, truly looking her age. "This leaves us in a horrible situation, though, Tsunade–hime. You are our Hokage – the village looks up to you, especially in times such as these, for order and to be leaded. We need a Hokage who will lead us through this battle with Iwa, and this village definitely needs stability right now."

"Which is why I have already chosen the next Hokage for you."

Understanding flashed on their features faster than Sakura thought possible.

"You cannot possibly be suggesting that this _Uchiha_–"

"I am." Tsunade cut Homura off firmly. "Uchiha Itachi has been a member of ANBU since way before I took on the role of Hokage – since he was just a child. My sensei, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, believed that to be Hokage, one must think in a way that shows you the bigger picture. And sometimes, as hard as it is to believe, I see my grandfather in that boy."

This time, it was rage on their faces. "Hashirama–sama would be turning in his grave–"

"He would not." she cut them off once more. "Don't you remember anything at all? While I was growing up, that man was the most accepting person I have _ever_ met – to this day, I still stand by that. The only thing my grandfather refused to accept, was any harm that threatened his beloved village – the village, if I recall correctly, an Uchiha helped create."

Koharu was practically glaring a hole right through Tsunade's face. "You dare mention Uchiha Madara in front of us? You're nothing but a naïve girl, Tsunade–hime! He may have helped create the village, but he also threatened it many times. That is why _your accepting grandfather_, killed him!"

There was a pause, one where Sakura and Itachi both watched the anger Tsunade tried so very hard to conceal, growing. It was in the way she gripped a tight hold of the back of the sofa she was sitting on. The way her left eyebrow was ticking warningly. Except for those two obvious signs, however, she appeared to be deceivingly calm.

"Over the years, Uchiha Itachi has been by my side and done everything within his power to protect our village. Where I have been unable to do so, he has always assisted me in making difficult decisions. Just a few months ago, he and Uchiha Shisui took control of ANBU, the Uchiha _and_ the Hyuuga clans, giving out orders and defending our village with their lives. However, they did something before that, something that has stuck with me to this very day and made me see them both in a new light." Another pause. "Do you remember the sacrifice my great–uncle made?"

Homura glanced to the side briefly, recalling the memories of that particular battle. "Of course we do – we were there. Tobirama–sensei gave his life for the village."

Tsunade nodded once. "By taking on the Kinkaku Force, he knew he would lose his life. Tobirama accepted this and went to that battle with his head held high, fighting with everything he had, and went down swinging. _That_ is what I remember most about my great–uncle. The honourable sacrifice he made for this village."

Koharu nodded once. "It was the day Hiruzen became Hokage. Where are you going with this?"

"Where I'm going with this is…" she shook her head, finally sitting up. "Despite the risks, despite knowing they could lose their lives, Uchiha Shisui and Itachi, along with only two other ANBU operatives, went up against _thousands_ of Iwa–nin to defend our village. They fought for an unknown amount of time without backup, without anybody but themselves watching each other's backs. Are you really going to tell me that _that_ is not Hokage material?"

A sigh reached their ears. "We will admit that it was an honourable thing to do, but that does not sway our decision. Many shinobi have given their lives for this village. Just because he has made a great decision like Tobirama–sensei's, it does not make him Hokage material, Tsunade–hime. We have had this discussion with Itachi before, when Hatake Kakashi was going to become Hokage, should you never wake up."

The younger woman chuckled with a shake of her head. "You'd really want Kakashi as your Hokage? The man is powerful, he is intelligent and is capable of making hard decisions, but every person has his downfalls. Kakashi's happens to be his inability of turning up on time to _any_ occasion – probably his own funeral, too. He is also reluctant to take on the role of Hokage, which I see as a major problem. It's like you both said," she shrugged, "Konoha needs stability. Konoha needs somebody reliable and trustworthy to lead. Having a man who doesn't want to be Hokage, who has so many personal demons of his own, is simply asking for trouble."

"And you think Uchiha Itachi is up to something such as this?"

Was it wrong for Sakura to feel aggravated that they were all speaking of her husband like he wasn't even there? And that he was merely accepting it without batting an eyelash? It was so rude!

"I truly believe that Itachi has more than what it takes to lead this village."

But hearing Tsunade defending him like that, hearing the honesty in her voice, allowed some of her anger to fizzle away into nothing. There was a fiery look in her eyes, one that was practically screaming that she really did believe in Itachi.

"Think back on everything he has done up to this point. Think back on what he's done, almost done, and was asked to do." Tsunade raised a fine, blonde eyebrow. "Can you honestly tell me that he doesn't have this village's best interests at heart? Can you really sit there and say that he has some ulterior motive to becoming Hokage? You know as well as I that Uchiha Itachi would never do anything that would harm this village."

"However," Homura pointed out, "Itachi is also heir of his clan. What happens when he becomes head? How do we know that the Uchiha clan won't force their way further into the village and take control? Will he be able to cope with the added stress?"

Sakura scowled at the man, unable to stop herself from speaking. "Senju Hashirama was head of _his_ clan. Did that ever stop him from being able to separate clan duties, and protecting the village as its leader? Did it ever cloud his judgement, or make him mix the two?"

The look she was shot from Koharu could only be described as annoyance. "You are just a child, Haruno–"

"Uchiha." Sakura spat, eyes narrowing. "It's _Uchiha_ Sakura, now. So, forgive me for not being as… _polite_, as yourself, but I refuse to stand here and listen to you both finding reasons as to why my husband shouldn't become Hokage, when we all know that he's the best candidate for the role. In all my time knowing Itachi, he's always expressed to me how important it is that we make sure the village is safe and protected, that we put our missions first and _then_ be ourselves. What happens, happens and whilst we may not like it, it's for the best. It's for the good of the village. In all my life, I've never met anyone who is as selfless as Itachi. Not once has he ever put himself first. Not when it comes to the village, not when it comes to his clan and not when it comes to friends."

Taking a deep breath, she pressed her fisted hands onto her hips, just about holding back the urge to punch the elders. "In my eyes, being Hokage means you have to be selfless. You have to be prepared to make hard decisions that could very well mean you don't have a life of your own. You need to live for the village. Everything you do, impacts it. Itachi… He's already there. He already thinks like a Hokage. So you can sit there and go through reason after reason as to why you believe this won't work, but we all know you're only fooling yourselves and delaying the inevitable. You know that Itachi will make a great Hokage!"

Something eased off of Itachi's shoulders at his wife's speech, as he listened and watched her fight for him. She believed he could do it. Sakura believed he could take on the role of Hokage and be _great_ at it. Until that moment, Itachi hadn't been so sure. He hadn't wanted to risk having the entire village on his shoulders, though was going along with it for the sake of the village. Now, he was more confident with Tsunade's decision.

He was going to be the Rokudaime Hokage, whether the elders liked it or not.

"We do not need your approval." Itachi told them rather simply, eyes never moving from Homura's as he stared the other man down with an unblinking, intimidating gaze. "It would be better for you to give it to us, but it is not needed. I have always lived my life putting the village first and I plan on continuing living that way. Only, I will be doing it as Hokage from now on." When they stared at him in stunned silence, he continued. "My advisers have already been picked and I have spoken with Tsunade–sama about them. She agrees."

"Your choices?" Koharu murmured reluctantly.

Sakura bit back her grin.

"Uchiha Shisui and Hatake Kakashi – the latter being your previous choice for Hokage." he stated. "And I can assure you that I will not make any rash, final decisions without consulting them both, and also the pair of you, first."

It took a few moments until Homura gave a nod. "I am not one hundred percent comfortable with having an Uchiha as Hokage, with having one of your advisers be an Uchiha, but I will accept it due to the fact that I _am_ aware of your sacrifices. I _am_ aware of all your hard work. I merely hope that you know, it is only going to get harder from here."

"That I don't doubt." Itachi murmured in response. "However, I have always admired Senju Hashirama's approach of being Hokage – don't shoulder everything alone and try to do everything by yourself." It was okay to ask for help.

Koharu sighed. "Hiruzen always believed in you, Uchiha Itachi."

"We just hope that he wasn't wrong to do so." Homura finished.

He nodded once. "All I ask is that we keep this from everyone for now. I wish to inform my clan in my own time, just as Tsunade–sama wishes to inform the villagers of her illness in her own time, also."

"And in return, Koharu and I ask that you do not take too long. Too much change for one village is never good."

* * *

"Congratulations," Tsunade smirked as soon as the two elders left the room, allowing both Sakura and Itachi to sit down opposite her in their previous seats, "you won those stubborn old farts over."

"We have more good news." Sakura said slowly, glancing up at Itachi.

"Oh?" the blonde's smirk widened. Today, she felt so much lighter than she had in weeks. The village was going to be left in capable hands, which meant she could now die peacefully without having to worry about them. Knowing Itachi, he would have this whole mess with Iwa sorted sooner or later, whether it be by gentle persuasion and luring the Tsuchikage into an understanding, or intimidating the old man into one. "And what would that be?"

Sakura took a deep breath, biting her lip. "I think I might be pregnant."

Silence.

Tsunade's heart stopped for a couple of seconds, making her think for just a split second that death had come early. "You think you're pregnant?"

Instead of Sakura answering, it was Itachi. "And we would like for you to be the one who examines Sakura."

Pregnant. Sakura. Her _apprentice_ could be pregnant. Today was a good day, after all. It took a lot for Tsunade to hold back her smile, appearing stern as she instead nodded once. "Of course. But don't get your hopes up just yet. It's only been a short amount of time since you were telling me that nothing was happening, Sakura. I gave you a recipe of a mixture of herbs that can be used as fertility treatment, but it is uncommon for it to work so quickly. Just keep that in mind."

"I am." Sakura nodded, her heart skipping beats and her stomach fluttering nervously. "Are you free right now to examine me?"

"Right now?" Tsunade tortured her apprentice for a moment before giving a small smile. "Of course I am. Any appointments I have can wait." she stood up, masking her grunt easily as it proved to be quite a deal more effort than she'd thought. "I'll meet you both at the hospital in ten minutes."

* * *

Sakura breathed in shakily, a nervous smile on her lips as she gazed down at her stomach. The examination was halfway done. By her side, Itachi sat silently, watching as Tsunade's eyebrows knitted together. It seemed his wife did not see the look, but he did. He could see the building unease in her stance as it shifted and in response, unease filled him, too.

"Tell me something, Sakura." Tsunade murmured, schooling her features so she did not cause any unnecessary fear. "When was your last period?"

Thoughtful for a moment, she glanced up at the ceiling, calculating. "I'd say just over a month and a half ago."

The blonde nodded, her hands moving slightly on Sakura's abdomen. "And is your menstrual cycle regular?"

Itachi watched as Sakura bit her lip and shook her head. Even he knew that they were not regular. How long had he and Sakura been together now? Altogether, it would be well over a year – closer to two, in fact. There were still a few who believed they had married much too quickly, but Itachi didn't listen to their opinions. They did not matter. He was sure on his decision to be with Sakura, just like she was sure about him. Those people did not know how their relationship worked.

"Do you experience any unusual pain?"

"…Define 'unusual'."

"You know what I mean, Sakura."

Seeing the stubborn look in her eyes (which was rare to happen whilst with her shishou), Itachi sighed. "There are times when Sakura experiences back pain and stomach cramps, to the point where she cannot go about her daily routine unless she numbs the pain."

"Itachi!"

"Tsunade–sama is not only your medic, but also our Hokage, Sakura." he told her calmly.

She shook her head, turning it away from him. "This is still personal."

"I need to know these things, Sakura." Tsunade spoke seriously, pinning her with a glare.

Her heart broke. "…I'm not pregnant, am I?"

The blonde shut her eyes and sighed. "No." she murmured softly, her anger fading away and her chest aching when Sakura took in a deep, shaky breath. That was why she had told the younger woman not to get her hopes up. "I'm going to ask you a few questions now and I want you to answer me truthfully, do you understand?"

Itachi frowned slightly. "Is there a problem?"

"There may be." Looking down at her apprentice, Tsunade asked, "How long have you been trying to conceive?"

"Around four months now." Sakura looked up at Itachi for confirmation and he nodded once. "Yeah, four months."

"And growing up, did you happen to have any excessive hair growth? Mostly to the face, chest or back?"

Sakura's heart began to pound in her chest. Already, she knew where this was going. "No."

Tsunade glanced at Itachi and he shook his head. In all his time knowing Sakura, there had been no excessive hair growth. "What about your weight? You have definitely filled out since you were thirteen, although that's not too surprising. However, I've noticed that it hasn't been until recently that you became more curvaceous."

Her eyebrows knitted together. "I do my best to stay in shape, but… yes. I've put on a little weight." Though not enough to say it was worrying. It was only the odd couple of pounds here and there and because of how much she worked out, because of her training and her missions, it didn't cause too much of a difference in her appearance. But like Tsunade had stated, she was curvier now. Her hips were fuller, her thighs a little thicker and her chest… Well, Sakura had been happy when her breasts began to grow (but that wasn't included in weight gain, she knew that). "I don't think I have what you think, Tsunade–sama."

"Which would be…?"

At Itachi's question, Tsunade sighed. "Polycystic ovaries syndrome – otherwise known as PCOS. Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common condition that affects how a woman's ovaries work. It's becoming more common than you'd think. Basically," she spoke to Itachi, noticing the rare frown on his usually blank features, "it means that there are cysts growing on the woman's ovaries. Sometimes, they do not ovulate regularly – release the egg. And other times, it means the woman has high levels of 'male hormones' called androgens in her body. It seems Sakura does not have the latter, but that means little."

She sighed again, focusing her chakra to a certain point in Sakura's abdomen, her womb. "There is an abnormality and most abnormalities can never be explained. Not even by myself. I can't pick up on many male hormones in your body. However," Sakura flinched at the however, "there is definitely an abnormality."

Once her chakra was extracted, Sakura looked up at her shishou helplessly. "I'm infertile."

"No, not infertile." Tsunade told her softly, placing a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder. "It will be more difficult for you to conceive, but it shouldn't be impossible. That is why I believed you had polycystic ovaries, Sakura. It is not impossible for women suffering with it to fall pregnant. It just takes them longer and they have to make a few changes here and there. Such as medication and their diets and whatnot."

Sakura's head dropped back onto the bed, biting her lip harshly and seeing that she needed a minute, Tsunade dropped her hand and nodded once to Itachi, leaving the room.

"Sakura."

No answer.

"Our time will come, Sakura." he murmured softly to her, taking the hand that was laying limply on her stomach. "And when it does, we will have a large family."

Tears fell down the sides of her face faster than Sakura could wipe them away. "…I really w–wanted to be a mom."

Standing up, Itachi pulled her into a sitting position and held her, pressing his lips to her forehead. "I know." She trembled in his arms and it pained him when he felt his chest growing wet with her tears. They felt like they were burning him. "Remember what Tsunade–sama said, Sakura. You're not infertile. It will only be more difficult."

Sakura nodded shakily.

* * *

**A/N - This is like the seventh time I've edited this chapter now and it's safe to say I'm sick of reading it hahaha. Fanfiction logged me out for some reason! So, if you find any mistakes, please tell me because I got really lazy this time.**

**Okay so, before you all start yelling at me about giving Sakura a break, please remember her previous battles! Not only did Sasori stab her in the stomach (quite close to her womb) but also, she had entire freaking arm going right through her stomach and out of her back. Surely they'd have some sort of negative effect? Also, remember what Tsunade said! She's not infertile. There's simply a complication that'll make it more difficult for Sakura to conceive.**

**Oooh. I've nearly finished **_Until It Was Too Late_** and**_ Setting Sun_**. When I have, I'm going to start posting another story, but I'm stuck on which pairing it should be. GaaSaku, SasuSaku or ItaSaku? They're all multi-chaptered and the SasuSaku one has nothing to do with this story (the prequel still only has two chapters, after all). Opinions?**


	37. From This Day Forward

**Chapter 36 – From This Day Forward**

This was the important news?

Sighing, Shikamaru stared up at the darkening sky. It was rare of them to be outside the village nowadays, especially himself as he was never too far from Kurenai now that she was getting on in her pregnancy, but… Again, he sighed. Uchiha Shisui was certainly making his job a lot easier.

He just couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

In a way, it felt like Shisui was trying to replace Asuma – that was what the illogical side of him, the deep anger within himself, was always screaming. Shisui was making moves on Kurenai (who was pregnant!) now that Asuma was out of the way. However, the Uchiha had apparently been told something by Kurenai, because just a few days ago, he approached Shikamaru, holding his hands up in a sign of truce.

To say that it had been an awkward conversation would be a slight understatement, but Shisui had silenced those petty, childish thoughts in Shikamaru's mind. He'd made the younger man see sense. No, Shisui was not and would never be able to replace Asuma. He was taking care of Kurenai because he cared for her. Yes, Shisui admitted that he had feelings for the woman, but also admitted that they'd spoken about those feelings and there weren't any misunderstandings. Kurenai was still grieving and there was no telling how long it would take her to be able to open her heart again.

If he was upset about that fact, Shisui hid it well. And that was why Shikamaru was so laid back about the man becoming more and more involved in not only Kurenai's life, but also the unborn child's, too. Not only was he understanding and accepting, but he had Kurenai's best interests at heart and… Well, if Kurenai was under Uchiha Shisui's protection, then the same went for the baby. Asuma's baby. Uchiha Shisui was a powerful man who was highly respected. If anybody could protect them, Shisui could.

So, right at that moment in time, Shikamaru was outside of the village walls with his team. Like he had thought moments before, he usually never strayed too far from Kurenai, but she was currently with Shisui, taking another one of their strolls around the village. They helped relax her, helped her get at least a little exercise.

The sky was a mesmerising variety of colours as Shikamaru reclined onto the damp grass, uncaring about that minor detail. There were shades of orange, red and purple/blue mixed in there, giving it one of the nicest colours he'd seen in a long while. Yes, he enjoyed watching the blue sky and all the clouds, but this had a more relaxing feeling to it. It allowed a great weight to lift from him along with the sigh that left him.

Temari once told him that she loved how the setting sun meant another day was over, another chapter was closed. Tomorrow was a new start, allowing them to do things over or differently. It gave them a chance to right their wrongs and put the past into the past.

Tch. He gave a lazy smirk. Trust that troublesome woman to make her way into his thoughts somehow without even trying.

"You called us out here because of Sakura?" Choji muttered, scratching his cheek.

"…Yeah." Ino murmured.

"Ino…" the big man sighed, though hid his annoyance well. He always did unless somebody called him fat. "I'm sure Sakura's fine. Can I go now? Ma's cooking her home made–"

"I have no one else to talk to." she whispered, hands angrily clenching into fists against her knees at having to admit such a thing. After a moment Ino shifted her arms until they were wrapped around her legs, bringing her knees up to her chest. "You guys are… You're family to me. And right now, I need my family. Sakura's… She's not being herself and I don't know why. She's not letting me in."

Sighing, Shikamaru closed his dark eyes for a few moments. The only reason he wasn't telling his teammate to get over it was because he had also picked up on the fact that something was wrong. The last time he'd seen Sakura had been only a few hours ago and she had been withdrawn, staying almost tucked into Itachi's side like she couldn't face looking at anyone.

Something was different about her. Off, even.

"Even Sasuke knows." Ino sighed. "I tried talking to him about it, but he told me to stay out of Sakura and Itachi's relationship, that I'd already meddled and caused problems!"

"You _did_." Shikamaru pointed out, his eyes staying shut. "Also, Sakura's only just gotten her position back at the hospital because of what you said. Who knows how Itachi reacted to finding out what you blurted out."

Ino remained silent, already knowing these things.

"Look." Shikamaru sighed as he finally opened his eyes and sat up, leaning back on his hands. "Sakura will tell you what's wrong in her own time. You need to earn her trust again after what you did. She–"

"You're wrong." she whispered.

"How's he wrong?" Choji frowned. "Sounds like good advice to me!"

Ino sighed and stared forward. "I know Sakura better than I know myself, just like she knows me better than she knows herself. It's always been that way." Her eyebrows knitted together. "She's hurting. Badly. And I…" It hurt Shikamaru and Choji when Ino's voice went slightly higher, indicating that she was close to bursting into tears. "And I don't know what to do to help her. I can't get through to her!" Just as Shikamaru opened his mouth, she cut him off. "You don't understand. This hasn't only just started! It started not long after she got married to Itachi. This has been going on for at least a month now, if not longer."

Frowning, Shikamaru murmured, "And you think he's hurting her?"

A pause. "I don't know what to think. All I know is that my best friend's suffering and it started only months after marrying him. Every time I see her now, she's avoided me, or stuck close to Itachi. She's not being herself!"

A different voice, one none of them had been expecting, spoke up, making them startle. "Itachi isn't hurting Sakura–chan."

"Naruto!" Ino hissed, standing quickly and whirling around to look behind them. "What the hell are you doing out here?"

He awkwardly pointed at the woman by his side. "Me and Hinata wanted to go for a walk, to get away from the village for a while."

Hinata nodded softly, refusing to fidget. Being with Naruto was helping her confidence a lot nowadays. "We heard you talking about Sakura–san and Naruto–kun was… concerned, by some of the things we heard."

Sighing, Ino fisted her hands on her hips. "Well no offence, but it doesn't–"

"Before you say anything, it _does_ concern me. Sakura–chan's my teammate and one of my closest friends!" Naruto snapped in return before the blonde could even finish her sentence. "But your thoughts… They're wrong. Itachi isn't hurting her and would never hurt her! You haven't seen them together, so you don't know what he's like. Sakura–chan's been upset about something for months now and _came home_ upset."

"How do you know that?" Shikamaru drawled even though he didn't feel like questioning the other man. It was clear that, whilst Naruto was concerned, it was nothing too serious. He would've tried harder to find out, otherwise.

"Because the entire team and Shisui was over at their place when she got home. Itachi asked us to leave so that he could find out what happened!" he spoke more calmly this time and instead of yelling, he was talking. "Sakura–chan hasn't said anything to anybody about it – not that I know of. If she hasn't even told Sasuke – and I know she hasn't – then it's not something she wants everybody to know."

It had always been that way since Naruto returned from training with Jiraiya and he knew he couldn't change that. During his three years of absence, Sakura and Sasuke had formed a bond and grown closer to one another. He didn't know the details and didn't want to know them, but Naruto accepted that. It wasn't like they kept him out of the loop, because they told him all kinds of things (some things that he didn't even want to know – although that was more Sakura than Sasuke). It was simply that the more painful stuff, the more personal stuff that was definitely private, was shared between only the two of them before anybody else.

"He has a point, Ino." Shikamaru sighed. "You of all people know how surprisingly close Sakura and Sasuke are. If she hasn't even told him, then it's _really_ personal."

By his side, Hinata watched Naruto's expression before reaching out and taking his hand. It was a bold move on her part, as she was still rather nervous around him. However, after dying, Hinata had learned that she needed act while she still could. If she wanted Naruto, then she needed to try harder and become stronger for him. She needed to make her feelings known instead of hiding and stuttering, instead of turning tomato red and being unable to speak whenever he was around.

It was when he glanced down at their hands and then up into her eyes that Hinata smiled softly, finding the courage to talk. "Maybe Sakura–san needs some time to think to herself?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah… And she has Itachi there, right?"

She nodded once, her smile still present. "Right!"

"Come on," the blond grinned, tugging on Hinata's hand and yanking her against his side, chuckling at the startled squeak, "we're still supposed to be on our date!"

"Well, bye to you, too!" Ino yelled after them, growling when Naruto waved over his shoulder distractedly. Groaning with annoyance, she dropped to the ground beside Shikamaru, frowning. "Do you think they're right? I should just give Sakura time?"

"After Sasuke, she goes to you." Shikamaru shrugged. "So yeah. She'll tell you when she's ready."

Nodding, Ino glanced away from the pair of them, hiding her deepening frown. She accepted their words, but at the same time, her gut was twisting and warning her that this time, it wouldn't be the same.

* * *

It had been a month since discovering she may not be able to have children.

Sakura had been…

The truth was, was that she hadn't been coping with it. It had actually gotten to a point where Itachi was no longer sent on missions, although that may have been more because of the fact he was about to become Hokage, and they couldn't have their Hokage dying before he even became Hokage. But it was obvious that both he and Tsunade were worried about her. It was the look in their usually empty and cold eyes.

Don't get her wrong, because Sakura was capable of functioning, she was able to go out and do her job, saving people, but…

Sitting behind her desk with her head in her upturned fist, Sakura closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

She wasn't going to lie, because it could be so painful at times. The first week had been unbearable and even though she was ashamed to admit it, Sakura had rarely left Itachi's side, clinging to him and seeking that comfort and peace he always radiated around her. She desperately needed that safety he offered to her without complaint. People had sent her unsure glances, curious stares, when they spotted Sakura walking much more closely to Itachi than usual, when they saw her paler than usual features, the dark circles forming under her eyes. Shizune had thought it was stress and gave her the second week after being given the news, off.

It was probably done as a thoughtful gesture, as Shizune had even said that Sakura deserved a well earned break after all the hard work she'd done. However, Sakura was not grateful for the break. It left her with absolutely nothing to do, and with nothing to do, she could not keep her mind from steering in that direction.

Seeing families playing and laughing around the village pained her. Seeing pregnant women pained her. Seeing the wonders of starting a family, of having a family to call your own, pained her. Sakura wanted that. She wanted it all.

Itachi reminded her whenever he saw that look in her eyes that it wasn't impossible, that it would simply be more difficult for them, but it was hard to remain optimistic at times such as these. All Sakura could focus on was the loud and sharp reminders.

So instead of working in the hospital on the second week and instead of staying home all day, thinking about what she possibly could never have, Sakura took a mission and left the village for eight days with Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke. Her boys. They took her mind away from everything for a short while, made her smile for the first time in days.

The sound of the window opening in her office was the only warning she got of having a visitor. It didn't surprise her. Sakura knew his chakra extremely well by now.

"Can't you use the door?" she sighed, slowly opening her eyes. "You're becoming too much like Kakashi–sensei."

In response, Sasuke merely entered the office, slipping in through the window and standing in the middle of the small room. It didn't look much like an office, but he supposed it sufficed and she was able to get her work done. It didn't need to be anything fancy.

"People are talking."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "People are always talking."

"About you." he muttered, folding his arms over his chest. "They think Itachi is controlling you."

"They think–" she cut herself off and took another deep breath. "You don't have to worry, Sasuke–kun. Itachi isn't controlling me."

"Then are you going to tell me what's going on?" the Uchiha pushed and even though his voice was quiet, his expression was cold. That didn't shock her, though. Sasuke always had that expression on his face. "Are you going to explain to me why my brother is being painted as a bad guy?"

Shaking her head, Sakura stretched her arms out in front of her, listening to the cracks that told her she had been sitting still for too long. It was her lunch break, but she hadn't felt hungry in the slightest so skipped the meal. "There's nothing to tell. Itachi isn't controlling me and this isn't a case of domestic violence, or whatever is going through their minds. I'm just…" she sighed. "I'm just–"

"Not yourself." Sasuke finished for her. A pause after she nodded. "Why?"

Once again, she shook her head. "I'm not in the mood to talk about it."

"Sakura."

"Sasuke–"

"You can…" he paused, averting his eyes as an awkward feeling crept up on him. "You can still talk to me," he grumbled, "even though you're married to Itachi now."

Her eyes closed and a soft smile pulled at her lips. "And I'm really grateful for that, and hope you know that the same applies to you. But… This just isn't something I'm ready to talk about yet, Sasuke–kun. It's no secret that there's _something_ wrong, but…" Sakura's eyebrows knitted together as she stared down at her desk, her throat feeling tight. "I'm just not ready yet. It's not… It's not my time."

Not her time? Sasuke couldn't control the frown that settled on his features as he took a step closer to the desk. However, he knew that he couldn't be rough with Sakura like he was with Naruto. If he wanted the blond to look at him, Sasuke would merely yank on his hair, or punch him. That always got his attention. With Sakura, despite the fact he knew she could handle somebody being rough with her, it felt wrong to be that way with her, to treat her in such a way. Instead, Sasuke reached out and placed a single finger under her chin, firmly lifting her head until she was looking up at him.

"Itachi hasn't hurt you? Or upset you?"

It was heart warming to see him treating her with so much delicacy, so much care, especially since he wasn't one to treat anybody other than his mother in such a way. Also, it made her reluctantly smile as the thought of Sasuke confronting Itachi about the matter played in her mind. In her mind, she saw Itachi brushing off the accusation by tapping Sasuke on the forehead and walking away. Conversation done. It would be amusing, but it would also be saddening for the younger Uchiha brother to be brushed off in such a way, so the smile soon disappeared.

"No, Itachi hasn't hurt me." she murmured to him honestly, her eyes practically screaming the truth in her words. "I've been more drawn to him lately, I'll admit to that. And yes, it probably looks bad. The truth is though…"

He raised an eyebrow, withdrawing his hand and shoving both hands into his pockets. "The truth is…?"

"I've been needing his support and comfort a lot, lately." Sakura whispered, quickly clearing her throat. "It's not easy…"

Seeing that she was closing up, withdrawing, Sasuke sighed and nodded once, gesturing with his head that she was to follow him. "There's a clan meeting. Itachi would have escorted you there himself, especially since it'll be your first meeting with the entire clan," as his wife, no less, "but he's been busy with missions lately and just made it back in time to shower and make himself presentable."

Sakura kept her mouth shut about the fact that they weren't missions Itachi was on. At the moment, he wasn't allowed to leave the village until _after_ he became Hokage – and even then, he would be stuck to his desk most of the time. "It's fine. Do I look okay?"

He nodded once. "You don't have to dress formally. What you're wearing now is fine."

Just as he turned to her window, Sakura caught his arm and gave him an annoyed frown. "I have a door that works fine, you know."

There was a pause, one where Sasuke's lips pulled into a small smirk, before he nodded once more and moved over to the door, opening it and casually walking out, leaving Sakura to trail after him.

* * *

Sakura sat by Itachi's side as his wife, her legs folded beneath her and her hands resting calmly in their folded position on her lap. It was similar to the way Uchiha Mikoto was sitting, and she had nodded once in approval to her, making it known to Sakura that she was doing well.

It was her first ever clan meeting and already, she had felt every set of eyes land on her and narrow suspiciously. That was most likely due to the fact everybody except for herself had dark hair, so she definitely stood out like a sore thumb. It was enough to make Sakura feel incredibly self–conscious.

On one of her sides, sat Itachi. On the other, was Sasuke. On Itachi's other side was Shisui and sat right at the front around a semi–circle shaped table and facing them, were the elders of the clan. Right at the centre of that table was the patriarch and by his side, the matriarch. Each of them up on that alter held a powerful aura that had Sakura's heart beating faster, had her palms sweating ever so slightly. If she had ever thought that the Uchiha clan was intense before, now they were…

There were no words for how suffocating it all felt, how intense everything was.

"We have called this meeting today to discuss several topics." one elder spoke up.

Sakura recognised one of the men vaguely as one of the elders who had been present during the dinner she had hosted, the dinner where she and Itachi announced their engagement. Daiki. And not too many seats away from him sat Fumio, the other elder who had been present during that dinner. They were both sat proudly, heads held high, although it was neither of them who were speaking. It was a different man, one Sakura didn't know by name. In fact, the only names she knew up on that alter were Fugaku, Mikoto, Fumio and Daiki. The others were all a mystery.

It seemed like pretty much the entire clan had turned up, Sakura noticed, although didn't turn around to look behind her. Instead she kept her eyes forward, focusing intently on the words being said, on the occasional nod of encouragement Mikoto discreetly gave her, telling her she was doing okay.

"To start things off," the spokesman of the elders said, his voice echoing along the stone walls "we would like to congratulate Itachi on marrying his woman."

A tick took over her eyebrow for a couple of seconds. _His woman_? Was she suddenly an object? By her side, Itachi glanced down at her, silently warning her with his eyes to stay silent. Unless spoken to, to speak during clan meetings without permission was classed as disrespectful. Many had been punished over the years for such an act and Itachi refused to have his wife be one of those who was punished.

"However." Daiki muttered.

"We discovered something earlier today," another one of the elders spoke up, immediately gaining Itachi's, Sakura's and Sasuke's attention. The former was blank, but his curiosity and suspicion was slightly obvious. Sakura frowned softly and Sasuke narrowed his eyes a fraction, "something about your wife, Itachi."

They both tensed.

Sakura held her breath, already knowing exactly what they knew. It was that look in their cold, hard eyes that told her.

"How did you get a hold of Sakura's medical records?" Itachi asked calmly. The way his body tensed and his fists clenched against his thighs, however, stated that he was anything but calm. "They are highly classified."

Frowning, Sasuke looked between the two before risking a glance at his parents, who both seemed equally annoyed, yet hid it well. His father folded his arms over his chest, hiding his clenching fists and his eyes closed, whilst his mother's eyebrows knitted together, eyes flashing with her anger. No doubt they had been informed on what they were currently talking about before the meeting.

"That is our business." another man spoke up, his voice gravelly and slow.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "It is also my business, given that this is my wife we are discussing. You should not have been capable of accessing those files and I know that Hokage–sama would not grant you permission to them."

But his words went ignored.

"Itachi, we cannot allow for you to become clan head if your chosen partner is not capable of conceiving, unless you plan on taking a mistress."

In that exact moment, her heart felt like it was shattering to pieces and the man's harsh words felt as though they were echoing cruelly around the room. Even the other highly respected members of the Uchiha clan looked disgusted that such a thing was being said! Shisui was startled for a moment, not truly believing what he was hearing, before he was fiercely stomping back his vicious glare.

A broodmare, in other words. Sakura bit the inside of her cheek harshly. The news of it being more difficult for her to conceive than other women was still fresh in her mind and still caused her a great deal of pain. Adding the thought of Itachi sleeping with another woman, having children with another woman just because she couldn't give them to him, hurt her more than any attack she'd ever suffered before.

"I have no intention of taking a mistress." he spoke seriously, his voice holding an edge to it. "As for Sakura's capability of conceiving, it has not been confirmed that she is infertile. It will simply be more difficult for us to have children."

Us.

He said _us_.

Sakura's chest flooded with warmth as Itachi's words repeated themselves in her mind. Of course he had already told her that she wouldn't be left alone, that he would be by her side and supporting her, but… He had never said _us_. Itachi was acting like this wasn't only her problem, but his too.

"Itachi–"

"Enough." Mikoto spoke up, cutting off the elders of the clan and ignoring how Fugaku's eyes snapped open, staring at her in disbelief. He may have been able to sit back and allow them to more or less attack their son and his wife with their words, but she would not stand for it. Not over something like this. It was not Sakura's fault. "Itachi has chosen Sakura–san to be his wife and I know my son. He will do whatever it takes to be with her and make her happy."

Fugaku's eyes narrowed a fraction, but he was silent. He knew where Mikoto was going with this.

The dark haired woman sat up straighter, her aura becoming darker as she glared at the elders seated each side of herself and her husband. The semi–circle shaped table allowed her to do this without straining her neck, or having to turn her head too much. "I will not allow you to bully my son. He wishes to be with Sakura–san – and I will support his decision." She turned her head forward to look at the front row of Uchiha, giving the younger woman a soft smile. "Do not let this upset you too greatly, Sakura–san. One way or another, knowing my son the way I do, Itachi will somehow give you children."

A blush swept over her cheeks and the pain in her chest flared for a moment.

"If you are insinuating that they adopt," one of the elders spoke up, his voice cold and harsh, "then we are against it. The child will not be an Uchiha and we refuse to have a non–Uchiha as future clan heir."

"I am not insinuating anything of the sort." Mikoto answered calmly, the smile slipping away as she spoke with the elders once more. "Up until now, I have sat back and allowed you all to interfere with my family, with how my own sons should be raised. But no more. If being with Sakura–san is what Itachi truly wants, then you will not be allowed to bully him into changing his mind."

Not that they would be able to, Sakura thought as she glanced up at Itachi. They were already married and once he had his mind set on something, it was a done deal. Sasuke had told her that.

Sasuke.

Her eyes trailed up to the younger Uchiha brother sat on her other side, the one who seemed to be in shock ever since the mentioning of it possibly being impossible for her to conceive. That did not surprise her. In a way, she and Sasuke were connected. They felt each other's pain. And now her distress and sadness and pain that had been building the past month was finally explained to him.

Feeling her gaze, Sasuke glanced down at her, his expression unreadable, yet the way his fists clenched told her enough. He was growing angry with the elders, with the way they were acting as though this was a big nuisance. However, he knew to stay silent, especially as Itachi shot him a warning glance over the top of Sakura's head out of the corner of his eye.

"We have always known that Itachi would refuse to marry into the clan." Fugaku suddenly spoke up. He seemed impatient. "Do not forget how pleased you were with my son's choice of bride."

"Fugaku–sama, you–" Fumio spoke up, only to be cut off.

"It is not for sure." His voice hardened, eyes glaring at the elders. "They have told you multiple times now that there is a chance of Sakura being capable of conceiving. Even if it is only a small percentage, there is still a chance."

Itachi was left stunned as his father defended them, as he defended Sakura. From his side, he heard Sakura's breath leave her, saw how her eyes held a new admiration for Uchiha Fugaku. She appreciated what he was doing greatly.

"And you are all aware of the fact that if you continue pushing my son, trying to make him back into a corner," his voice turned deadly, head lowering a fraction, "he _will_ push back. And this time, I will not stop him."

Silence.

Many stared at Itachi with wide eyes. Sakura and Sasuke included.

"Are you threatening us, Fugaku?" an elder demanded angrily.

"I am merely stating facts. If my son does not strike back, then he _will_ disown the clan." Mikoto's eyes widened a fraction. "I am not saying he will disown his family, but his clan. Itachi has always done what he thinks is the right thing to do, has always put others before himself. This clan especially. If he wishes to step down from becoming patriarch of the clan and pass it to Sasuke because you will not allow this, I will not stop him. He may be clan heir, but this woman is his wife. She is the one he has chosen as his life partner. I know that, had our roles been reversed, if it had been myself and Mikoto stood in Itachi and Sakura's position, I would not allow you to push me into a corner, into something I do not want to do."

Powerful emotions. Sakura could vaguely recall Itachi telling her one time that the Uchiha clan all experienced powerful emotions.

"If I may," Shisui spoke up, standing as he received a nod from Fugaku, "I just want to say a thing or two." His stance was sure, confident and the way he looked at the elders told them not to interrupt him or even attempt at cutting him off. "Many times, Itachi has sat back and allowed you to push him around, even though he is more than capable of silencing you all. You may not know it, but he always had a choice. You have never been able to control Itachi. Not once."

Many of the elders glared at Shisui, though their eyes soon snapped to Itachi's.

He stared back calmly, coldly.

Shisui did not give them the time to utter a single word. "You lost control of Itachi the moment he turned six years old. How do I know? Because I trained him. I was there the day he perfected his jutsu, the day he graduated from the academy, made chunin, joined ANBU! Despite his mother being completely against an _eleven year old child_ joining ANBU, you pushed him into that, too. This, however," Shisui smirked arrogantly, "you will not be able to sway his decision or push him into anything. Sakura means a lot to him. Like with how he perfected his jutsu, how he mastered a lot of things, I watched Itachi fall in love with Sakura. I watched Sakura fall in love with Itachi. You won't be able to get in the way of that. You'd have to kill him first, which I will not allow to happen. You have forced many things onto Itachi and I know for a fact that I am not the only one who is against this sudden assault on _Uchiha_ Sakura."

From his seat, Sasuke also stood up. Unlike Shisui, however, he wasn't capable of hiding his emotions. His sharingan was activated and spinning wildly, fists clenching and unclenching. There was a murderous glare being directed at the elders and the killing intent that was filling the room only seemed to amplify his emotions. "I agree with Shisui." he spat. "I _am_ against this ambush on my teammate, on my brother's wife. And I'm going to make damn sure that I find out how you got a hold of her medical files! You seem to have forgotten just whose apprentice Sakura is. You've forgotten who her sensei is. You've forgotten who her teammates are. Telling us that you 'discovered something' is more or less admitting that you have been snooping on Sakura."

She had never seen him so protective of her before, so all Sakura could do was stare up at Sasuke with a mixture of shock, awe and gratefulness. Part of her was afraid, however, because it didn't seem as though he could control his sudden burst of anger. In fact Sakura knew that he couldn't. How? Because of the way Itachi stood up and shifted ever so slightly, as though preparing himself to restrain his brother. She stood up, too, not liking all of the anger and hatred and killing intent that was slowly suffocating her.

"I've gone along with a lot of things. I've accepted the fact I'll never have your full approval. Accepted that I'll never be as great as Itachi and that you all resent me for that fact. I've bitten my tongue and allowed you to get away with many things that nobody else would have. You sit there in your seats, thinking you're so much better than us, yet over the years you have become nothing more than a bunch self–righteous has–beens. In your eyes, you probably think what you're saying is okay, because you're only 'thinking of what is best for our clan' but I call bullshit. You may have approved of Itachi's choice of partner, but I saw the way your eyes narrowed when you looked at Sakura. I can see the contempt now!"

It surprised her greatly when a few Uchiha muttered in agreement and it seemed it surprised the elders, too. They were taking her side instead of the elders. What… "Sasuke, you are just a child, sit down and–"

"Make me." he replied arrogantly, his red and black eyes narrowing as the design in them changed, as it morphed into the Mangekyō. "I surpassed all of you long ago."

Even his father was put on edge, eyes widening a fraction as he saw his son's eyes.

"Calm down, Sasuke." Itachi spoke smoothly, his voice empty of all emotion. He wasn't even looking at his brother. "Some things can simply not be helped, though you must learn to accept those things."

The younger Uchiha looked absolutely outraged. "You're just going to let them–"

Another set of eyes suddenly swirled into the Mangekyō design as Itachi's eyes snapped to Sasuke's, narrowed and deadly and the sight of his sharingan made Sasuke's seem like child's play. The way the other Uchiha tensed to Sasuke's killing intent was nothing compared to how they suddenly tensed to Itachi's. And that was because they knew nobody would be capable of stopping Itachi except for Shisui, though he was already on Itachi's side. Would he stop his friend if he began murdering those within their clan? It was hard to tell. All they knew was that the situation had turned deadly. So, very, very deadly.

When he noticed that nobody would dare to interrupt him, that more or less everyone was holding their breaths, Itachi spoke. "No, I will not allow them to talk down to my wife. And I do not care about their opinions." Itachi's eyes drifted to the elders'. "To spy on my wife is one thing, but to bring up such a thing in front of almost our entire clan? Something that you know full well is strictly private?" His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do you have a death wish?"

"Itachi–"

"I am still talking." he stated, cutting off the elder. Then, Itachi stood up straighter, glancing down at Sakura for a moment, before seeming to come to a decision.

His next words left everyone in a state of disbelief and shock.

"As of this moment, I am no longer the heir to the Uchiha clan. I am giving the title to Sasuke, who is more than capable of handling such a role."

* * *

**A/N - Ooooh shit. Drama, drama, drama!**

**So in less than six weeks, five now I think, my little nephew is going to be born! I'm so excited to meet him and spoil him rotten! Ugh, it's a shame my brother lives in a different town, but I've already told him I'll be babysitting the baby all the time.**

**Okay, good mood spoiled. The 'celebrity' I grew up absolutely adoring died on Monday and people are saying he committed suicide. While girls nowadays have One Direction or Justin Bieber, I had Lil' Chris and I'm actually gutted that he's dead. Got to meet him on my sixteenth birthday! He seemed so kind and just a genuinely nice person. RIP Chris Hardman x**

**Another thing that spoiled my good mood is that I had my last Japanese lesson today :-(**

**But, it's a known fact that I always write when I'm in a bad mood. Perhaps that's why I always end up going on killing sprees. Hm...**


	38. A New Hokage Rises

**Chapter 37 – A New Hokage Rises**

He said he refused to be part of such a narrow minded, power hungry clan. He said to Sasuke that he hoped he would be capable of changing their ways, because Itachi was done with them. He was done with being shoved around, done with being ordered to do things he wanted no part of, and done with all the plotting and the scheming and the hatred.

Sasuke had only been capable of nodding numbly as he watched Itachi grab Sakura's hand and escort her out of there. And whilst they walked side by side out of the room, Shisui had stood beside Sasuke, giving him a small, supportive smile.

"Don't worry." he told him quietly, all attention focused on Itachi rather than him and Sasuke. "If you ever need help, just tell me and I'll do everything I can. Understand?"

Again, Sasuke nodded numbly.

He was now heir to the clan. The future patriarch.

Hesitantly, although not showing it, Sasuke's eyes swept over to the alter, straight to his father. Was the man angry with him? He'd stated only minutes ago that he would understand if Itachi handed down the title, but was that truly what the man wanted? For Sasuke to become the head of the clan?

"Fugaku–sama! Itachi must return immediately. This clan needs–"

And it was like Fugaku could read his son's mind. His eyes never left Sasuke's, boring into them with that gaze that had always seemed intense to the younger Uchiha brother. With his next words, it felt as though time had slowed down, felt like everything had suddenly stilled.

"No. That won't be necessary." Fugaku replied to the elder, eyes still refusing to leave his youngest son's. "It is as Itachi said: Sasuke is more than capable of leading this clan as our future patriarch."

Acceptance. After… What felt like his entire life, Sasuke finally felt like his father accepted him.

He smirked, nodding once.

No matter what, he'd never let his father down.

* * *

"Itachi–"

"It is okay, Sakura." he smiled down at her softly, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"But you just disowned your clan!"

Itachi watched her for a few moments, watched her expressive features as she showed how concerned for him she was. His eyes warmed. "Don't see it that way."

She shook her head with annoyance. "How am I supposed to see it?"

Another pause. "I finally freed myself from their suffocating ways." Itachi murmured quietly. "And now, I can focus entirely on our village and give it the attention it needs. By doing this, the elders will be more on my side than they ever will be."

He'd disowned his clan. _Disowned them_. The elders would probably throw a huge celebration over that fact! They'd be so glad to find out that the clan wouldn't be able to influence Itachi in any way, because he was now no longer heir, and he would never be patriarch.

"Are you–"

"Itachi."

Straightening up, Itachi allowed his hand to drop from Sakura's face, calmly staring over his wife's head as he replied, "Mother."

The dark haired woman had a saddened aura about her, despite the fact her features were blank. She looked exhausted, but at the same time, she appeared as radiant as ever. "They finally did it." she stated quietly, watching her son's back. "They finally pushed you too far."

"They did."

A hand pressed against his shoulder, turning Itachi around silently until he was looking down at the blank face of his mother. There was no use in resisting her, not only because it was rude and impolite, but also because she was his mother. She deserved his attention, especially after defending Sakura during that clan meeting. This woman… was his mother. Despite everything, she was calming and…

"I'm sorry." he whispered.

Sakura's heart broke.

"Don't be, Itachi." Mikoto told him in the same quiet voice. "I am your mother before matriarch and as your mother, I want you to be nothing but happy and loved. If not becoming patriarch makes you happy? So be it. If being with Sakura–san is truly what you want? Then you _will_ be with her."

He nodded once.

"Itachi…" She sighed, the soft breeze that blew by them making her dark hair sway in the wind, just as it did his. "Be happy. Make Sakura–san happy. Just… Live the life you have always wanted to live." Glancing down at the woman who was standing by Itachi's side, Mikoto gave her a smile. "Take care of each other and remember that even though you have disowned our clan, you have not disowned your family. Your father, Sasuke, Shisui and I are still here and always will be. That goes for the both of you."

This time, it was both Itachi and Sakura who nodded. "Mikoto–san, is Sasuke–kun…?"

The woman gave another small smile. "He is currently with Fugaku, discussing future arrangements. You have put a lot on his shoulders, Itachi."

"Sasuke can handle it." Itachi told them both without hesitation. "The way he stood up to the elders and refused to be intimidated, refused to be brushed aside once more, says it all."

Mikoto raised an eyebrow at her son, giving him an unimpressed look. "And just when exactly did his eyes go on to the next level?"

When Itachi remained silent, Sakura smirked.

Oh he was so in trouble.

"Yeah, Itachi." Sakura pushed, her own unimpressed look being pinned on him. "Tell your mother _exactly_ how it happened."

"I–"

The ground shaking cut him off, making Sakura's eyes go wide as she quickly looked around them, only to see explosions going off.

Another attack?

They were still recovering from the last one! And Tsunade was… She was still ill! She was _dying_. This would be too much for her to handle!

"Sakura, go and assist the hospital." Itachi ordered. "Mother, please make sure Hokage–sama's guards are protecting her."

Only a handful knew of her illness.

They both nodded, all three disappearing quickly.

* * *

_Protect the hospital._

Sakura gritted her teeth, catching the kunai with an explosive tag attached to it and throwing it back at the Iwa–nin, along with the others that were launched towards the hospital. The explosions that followed had smoke covering the area, made it difficult to see, but that also meant that the Iwa–nin would be having difficulties.

_Protect the elderly._

It was with a grunt of pain that she dropped to the ground, the rough dirt and stones scraping harshly against the bare skin of her thigh as she skid across it, just about dodging the shuriken, but also gaining the enemy's attention.

_Protect the families._

Despite this being what she had chosen to do, Sakura despised all of the fighting. She despised killing people, or watching them be killed. What made it worse was the unknown. Did those people have families waiting at home for them? Did they have children who would pray to God every night, hoping with everything they had, that their parents would make a safe return?

_Protect the children!_

How could they ruthlessly attack children the way they currently were? One of the recently built homes collapsed, almost crushing an innocent toddler. It would have, had Sakura not darted through the fast–closing gap, mentally _screaming_ her thanks to Itachi for pushing her so hard in training. Without it, she doubted either of them would have made it. And the gratitude the mother showed, crying and repeating her thanks over and over again, embracing her son tightly to her chest with so much maternal love… It made it worth it.

_Protect Konoha!_

"Bastards!" Sakura yelled in rage, her fist slamming into the enemy's face.

She didn't pause to watch as he went through home after home, eventually collapsing and skidding into the dirt, upper body submerged into the ground and spine snapping as a result of the abrupt halt in motion. Instead she was lunging forward once more, blocking all attacks aimed at the innocent civilians, the people who were not involved in the shinobi life. They did not deserve this. They didn't deserve any of this!

Making a single seal, three clones of herself popped into existence, taking on the fatal attacks while Sakura came in from above, quickly dispatching of the two Iwa–nin by slamming their skulls together with a sickening crunching sound.

Roaring flames sounded, causing her to whirl around quickly, eyes narrowing dangerously until she recognised Uchiha clansmen. They were… helping her? Why? Shouldn't they hate her because of what Itachi had just decided on? It didn't matter right now. They were helping and that was all that mattered.

"Sakura–sama, heal the wounded." One of the four Uchiha men ordered, a katana being pulled from its sheath and looking so very terrifying with the way he held himself, the way he wielded the katana. It looked more like an extension of his body. "We will protect the hospital."

She nodded once, telling them how grateful she was, before darting into the hospital, doors not even closed before Sakura was summoning her chakra and getting straight to work.

* * *

Narrowing his eyes, Itachi stared down at the scene before him from his place on top of the Hokage Monument. It was to get a clearer picture, to understand fully what was going on. Whilst it may have seemed pointless to others (what else was there to understand, besides the fact that this was an attack?) there was a reason for this.

A second later and Itachi was disappearing into crows, those crows soaring through the skies until they came down at a particular battle with a vengeance.

Just before Itachi reappeared, the crows slashed across the faces of his enemies, stunning them all long enough for the innocent civilians to make a run for it.

Why did they always have to pick battles with the people who could not defend themselves? There was no honour in doing such a thing.

And as Konoha's Rokudaime Hokage (despite that information still being kept a secret), it was his duty to protect the villagers. His villagers.

For a moment there was silence, the Iwa–nin wiping the blood from their faces. When they looked up, however, their faces paled at the sight of the man standing before them.

Itachi saw all hope and fight in them, blow out like a candle.

This would not take long.

* * *

"_Show them that you are worthy to be the heir of our clan, Sasuke._"

That had been his father's order before all Uchiha clansmen set out to protect the village.

Unsheathing his katana, Sasuke was ruthless in the way he slammed it into his enemy, quickly yanking it out of the man's body and using him as a vault, flipping through the air before once more bringing his katana down on somebody who had let their guard down for just a split second. Just a split second, was much too long when in a battle against Uchiha Sasuke.

Blood splattered through the air as the katana brutally made its way through the enemy's head.

Another attack on the village.

Another attack due to the ridiculous accusations of him attacking Iwa.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke spun around, his back immediately making contact with another's, the broadness of the shoulders and the smell of ramen being all he needed to know who it was.

"Oi, Sasuke," Naruto greeted, a wicked grin on his features, "sure you can handle this many on your own?"

He scoffed in response, though the smirk that pulled at his lips was just as obvious as Naruto's grin. "Just stay out of my way, dobe."

His grin widened.

* * *

"Uchiha Mikoto."

The dark haired woman nodded once in greeting. "Itachi sent me, Hokage–sama." she told her tonelessly, features set into an unreadable mask. "Whilst it is not my responsibility, you are my Hokage. I will protect you with my life."

Instead of replying, Tsunade stood up and left the cabin that was being used as her temporary office, Mikoto close behind her.

On the outside, the blonde appeared calm. She looked just as blank as the woman behind her. However, on the inside, she was aching viciously, her body fighting to reveal its weak state and her emotions were a wreck.

She'd miscalculated.

She'd greatly miscalculated.

And now she was too weak to help protect her village.

"No."

Tilting her head to the side, Mikoto repeated, "No?"

"You will not protect me with your life, Mikoto." She turned her head to the side, regarding her for a moment before giving a small smile. "You've done a good job of blending in over the years, but I've been around for a lot longer, so I know your potential and exactly what you're capable of. If anything, it is I who will give my life to protect you."

"Hokage–sama, you–"

"Do not interrupt me." Tsunade cut her off and faced forward once more, trying to sort through strategies and what should be done. It was difficult. Too much was happening all at once and her thoughts were scrambled. Hell, she was just about able to keep standing, what with all the explosions that continuously shook the ground. "Your son will be needing you, even though he will never admit it."

This time, emotion showed on Mikoto's face. Suspicion. Anger. "How do you know of Itachi's decision and Sasuke's new role? Our clan meetings are supposed to be private – you should have no spies–"

"Decision? New role?" she repeated quietly, a frown marring her features. "I assure you, I have no spies within your clan."

The younger woman sighed, angered that she had allowed herself to be annoyed so easily. "Forgive me for my suspicion, Hokage–sama. It has been a trying day for our clan." After a moment of uncertainty, she took a step closer to the Hokage, guards going up and her sharingan activating. "It was during the clan meeting that Itachi disowned our clan and passed down his title to Sasuke." Mikoto murmured quietly, keeping her voice low so that only Tsunade would hear. "A lot of things have happened, Hokage–sama, but I believe both of my sons can handle–"

"Itachi disowned the clan?" Tsunade whirled around quickly despite the pain it caused, staring at the Uchiha with wide eyes. "Did he give you his reasons for such a rash choice?"

Silence.

Honey brown eyes narrowed. "Is it because of what I asked of him?"

This time, red and black eyes narrowed. "What did you ask of my son, Hokage–sama?"

Her voice was quiet, deadly. She had every right not to trust the higher ups of their village, especially after the last highly classified order they'd given to Itachi. "I don't see any harm in telling you." the blonde shrugged. "Your son, Uchiha Mikoto, is the Rokudaime Hokage."

Proud eyes widened in shock.

And that was when the Iwa–nin finally reached them, not wasting a single second as they started their assault.

* * *

His mother was an incredible woman, Sasuke decided as he watched the destruction Uchiha Mikoto left in her wake.

She was like a tornado, destroying everything in her path.

After disposing of a great portion of the Iwa–nin with Naruto by his side, the blond had nodded once and told Sasuke he would be going to join another section of the village that really needed some back up. After Naruto left, Sasuke had been making his way through the village, taking out whatever Iwa–nin who unfortunately crossed his path without so much as blinking.

And that was when he came across his mother.

He could see why his father fell in love with her, why he demanded that she be his wife. Apparently Mikoto had made him work for her, telling him to 'woo' her. Eight year old Sasuke chose not to ask any further questions on that subject, though was secretly pleased to find out that she forced Fugaku to open up. If he wanted her, he had to show her in a display of surprising affection, not order her or demand her to marry him just because he was clan heir at the time. And after getting to know her, Fugaku came to love more than just her strength.

"_Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"_

Even from his place quite a distance away, Sasuke could feel the heat of his mother's attack and it surprised him that it was on par with his own fireball jutsu. And by the looks of things, she was holding back. Why the hell had his mother retired from being an active kunoichi? To raise her children? They were fully grown now! His mother was a genius, she shouldn't have been held back by him or Itachi!

However, it seemed that, despite keeping her body in perfect condition, his mother was out of shape. Well, perhaps not out of shape, but she was definitely not as strong as she used to be, that was for sure. Over the years, she'd slacked off, focusing more on her family than her jutsu. That in no way made her weak, though and Sasuke knew that he didn't have to step in to lend her a hand. He enjoyed watching her battle too much.

_This was his mother!_

And she was such a beautiful sight to behold.

She jumped into the air, spinning around quickly, dark hair whipping around her face as she kicked her legs out, slamming them into her enemies heads and a moment later, her sharingan eyes snapped up to somebody attempting to sneak up on her, paralysing that woman with a genjutsu. The Iwa–nin dropped uselessly to ground and a second later, a kunai was embedded deep into her heart.

"_Futon: Shinkuha!"_

Two elements? Sasuke had thought his mother could only use one!

He watched with obvious admiration as Mikoto took a deep breath before spinning around, letting out a long exhale of air, surprising Sasuke greatly at the damage the wind caused when it met with the bodies of her enemies. It was as though it sliced through them, which effectively kept the Iwa–nin not only away from herself, but also Tsunade.

The two were conversing, it seemed. Mikoto was demanding something, but Tsunade shook her head, earning her a look of shock in return. What was happening? Why wasn't Tsunade fighting, too? Why did she look so haggard?

Gritting her teeth, Mikoto darted straight into the centre of the Iwa–nin, making Sasuke's stomach curl with unease, but that unease was settled when she unleashed yet another _Futon: Shinkuha_ attack.

She was panting for breath after that attack, he noticed. However, Mikoto was far from ready to give up. Even when the Iwa–nin kept coming at her, she gave it everything she had and every attack she unleashed, every enemy that dropped to the floor, Sasuke felt his admiration and respect impossibly grow for her.

It made him smirk when she held her hand like it was a gun, firing many _Mizudeppō no Jutsu_. Of course his mother could use three elements. Why he'd doubted her, he'd never know. So far, she'd shown him three elements that she was capable of using. How many could she actually use?

Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously, smirk slipping away, as some Iwa–nin managed to slip by his mother. They were headed straight for Tsunade, who quickly fell into a defensive stance.

His eyes went wide as she barely held back a scream of pain and clutched her thigh, collapsing onto her other knee.

What was happening?

They hadn't touched her!

But they were about to. They were closing in fast and in response, Sasuke gripped his katana tightly, crouching in preparation.

But then something happened that had his entire body freezing, a desperate cry clawing out of his throat.

"_Mother!"_

For the first time in a long time, Sasuke felt like a helpless child. He could do nothing more than watch as his mother darted in front of Tsunade, shielding her body with her own as she squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth, fighting back her agonising scream as she took on the powerful weapons that crashed into her. It didn't even seem like Mikoto could feel the movement of slamming backwards into their Hokage, the blonde too stunned to do anything as the Uchiha matriarch collapsed on top of her, pinning her. The pain of her fiercely cramping muscles (reminding her so very much of an after effect that came with a particular jutsu) was forgotten.

After a moment, Sasuke realised why.

Mikoto wasn't getting back up.

_She wasn't getting back up._

And in just a heartbeat something was exploding out of him, was completely obliterating the area surrounding them as a roar of anger and pain sounded from deep within his chest, the agony of realisation making his voice crack and his throat burn.

The ground crumbled beneath Sasuke's feet as a purple chakra–like being surrounded him, its arms sweeping out and savagely tearing the Iwa–nin trying to get to his mother to pieces. He didn't feel the blood dripping from his eye, didn't feel the blaring headache that threatened to render him immobile. All Sasuke could see was the faded eyes of his once beautiful mother. All he could see was Tsunade flipping the woman onto her back and fighting desperately to bring the light back into those eyes, using whatever reserves of chakra she had.

It wasn't working.

The chakra surrounding him advanced, making those around him try desperately to avoid his wrath, to simply stay standing against the sheer force of his power that threatened to knock them to the ground. He couldn't see them. Couldn't focus on them.

His hand reached out and as it did, it seemed the chakra being followed him and it took Sasuke a few moments to realise what it was. Susanoo. He had activated susanoo.

His eyes narrowed, upper lip curling with a vicious snarl.

A second later and susanoo's hands were lashing out, gripping hold of the Iwa–nin and mercilessly crushing them.

"_Sasuke! Stop!_"

Across the now newly destroyed section of their village, Shisui's eyes were wide with horror at the scene he stumbled upon. It shouldn't be possible! How could Sasuke use susanoo so soon after more or less only just awakening the Mangekyō? The younger Uchiha couldn't hear Shisui yelling at him, warning him to stop unless he wanted to permanently lose his sight. There was a reason why it had taken Itachi as long as it had to develop the perfect susanoo. It was because doing it all at once, like Sasuke was apparently trying to now, was too damaging.

Crows suddenly came down at them all, lashing out at the Iwa–nin and clawing at their eyes, pecking at their skin and making them all shriek with pure terror when they wouldn't let up, allowing other Uchiha clan members the time to sneak in and finish them off.

Shisui narrowed his eyes a fraction.

Itachi.

Why was he acting so aggressively? Shisui could sense him close by, but couldn't actually see him. That didn't mean he couldn't sense the anger, though. It was suffocating. Itachi's chakra, his aura, had always been intimidating – even as a child – but this felt different. It felt like Sasuke's, in a way. They were…

They were grieving.

But why? _Why were they grieving? Who…_

Shisui's fingers raised quickly and in a second, he flashed over to where Itachi was, but almost wished he'd stayed back and out of it all.

Mikoto.

"Mikoto–san!" he yelled, unable to stop himself from dropping to his knees beside her, from staring into her faded eyes. They would haunt him forever, he knew that already. This woman had been like a second mother to him after his own had passed.

"I'm–"

Tsunade's voice cut off and as it did, time seemed to slow down once more.

Shisui caught the Hokage just in time as she suddenly fell forward, clutching at her chest and squeezing her eyes shut. She was trembling, coughing violently in his arms and when he felt blood splatter onto his uniform, Shisui looked around quickly.

"Medics!"

"There… There's no point…" she murmured weakly, hands falling from her chest and mouth and dropping onto his chest. After a moment, the Uchiha realised that she was pushing him backwards. Where had Tsunade's monstrous strength gone? "Itachi…"

He looked down at her and even though he was no longer looking out at the battlefield, Itachi's attack was still in full force, his crows not letting up for a single second. It was his duty to protect his mother's body, to protect the secrets hidden within it. He couldn't leave her until Fugaku arrived.

"…It's time."

Forcing back his frown, Shisui glanced back at Tsunade, finding nothing on Itachi's features, but was startled when her skin began to wrinkle, when her eyes became heavy and her breathing grew raspier. Hesitantly, Shisui cupped the blonde's face, forcing those dull honey–brown eyes to meet his. Instead of pushing him away again like he had been expecting, she lightly tapped his arm in response, a small smile on her lips.

"Shizune… Sakura…"

"Shisui, go to Shizune–san and Sakura and bring them here."

Knowing that it wasn't the time to be arguing, Shisui gently let go of the Hokage after making sure she'd be able to sit up by herself, laying her down on the ground when it was obvious she couldn't.

He was gone in a second.

* * *

The hospital was practically in uproar when Shisui arrived and while it was obvious the two women were needed desperately to keep everything in order, to help the injured, Shisui needed to say only one word, one name, to make them forget about everything else.

"Tsunade–sama…"

Sakura's legs weakened but thankfully, Shizune supported the younger woman, tears filling her eyes no matter how hard she tried to stay composed. "It's time, isn't it?"

He was getting the feeling that they knew this day would be coming.

"It's too soon!" Sakura cried helplessly. "It's–"

"Worry about that later, Sakura–san." Shisui told her quietly, firmly, holding out his hands to the women. "There's not long left."

Squeezing her eyes shut and still holding tightly onto Shizune for fear of collapsing, Sakura accepted his hand and a moment later, Shizune did the same.

The sight that greeted them only seconds later had any composure the two women had been fighting for, disappearing instantly.

"Mikoto–san!" Sakura cried, rushing towards the woman Itachi was standing in front of protectively. The green glow of chakra was bright, was strong, causing her hair to whip around her face.

"It is no use, Sakura." Itachi told her tonelessly, his back to her. "She is gone."

"No–"

"Go and be with Tsunade–sama." he ordered, voice still empty and giving nothing away. "Now will be your last chance to say goodbye."

Reluctantly, so very reluctantly, Sakura extracted her chakra from the woman's body, aching inside with the realisation that she was gone and in only a few minutes time, she would also be losing her shishou. The Iwa–nin failed to capture her attention as she walked the short distance to Tsunade, feeling numb on the inside as she knelt down beside her.

Shizune was sobbing over the woman's aged body, her tears splatting against the grey shirt she always wore. And with the tears of such a composed woman, Sakura felt her own forming despite the numb feeling. It was painfully sinking in that Tsunade was going to leave them, that she was mere seconds, maybe minutes, away from leaving them.

"Sakura…" the blonde wheezed, patting her hand against the younger kunoichi's knee. "Stand by… your husband. Help him lead…"

She nodded quickly.

"Make sure you keep that… that brat Naruto in line for me…" Despite her pain, she gave a dry chuckle. "That idiot will do great things. I've always… I've always seen Nawaki and Dan in him." She gritted her teeth, tears forming. "I've always seen his potential."

Clenching her fists and biting her lower lip, Sakura once again nodded quickly. "Yes, Tsunade–sama!"

"Shizune."

Said woman grasped the blonde's hand tightly, trying and failing to calm down.

"Dan would've been… so proud of his little niece."

"Only because you helped me grow into who I am." she whispered in return.

"True." Tsunade smirked weakly. "Oi…"

"What is it?" The two students asked at the same time, hovering over her as Tsunade's voice dropped to a whisper.

"Make sure…" She swallowed hard, her beautiful eyes losing some of their light. "Make sure you pour a cup of sake for me."

Shizune let out a pained sounding chuckle. "Just this once, Tsunade–sama."

Her smirk widened momentarily.

Sakura and Shizune couldn't stop the wail of agony that left them as Tsunade breathed her last breath, features relaxed as she shut her eyes peacefully.

"_Tsunade–sama!"_


	39. It's Permanent

**Chapter 38 – It's Permanent**

Shizune had excused her from returning to the hospital, insisting that the younger woman should rest and if not rest, then she should assist in taking out as many Iwa–nin as possible.

It was with heavy hearts that they watched ANBU taking Tsunade's body away. To where, Sakura wasn't sure, but since Shizune wasn't worried or concerned, she wasn't either.

She had no idea what to do with herself.

The woman she'd admired and looked up to for so long, was now gone. If Sakura was unsure of something, or needed help with something medically challenging, there was no more Tsunade to give her a few clues so that she could figure the rest out by herself. There would be no more busty, blonde woman standing by her side, offering silent support as Sakura went into a difficult surgery with obvious nerves.

Feeling incredibly numb and heavy, Sakura drifted through the destroyed streets of her home. Once more, everything was gone. Once more, they'd lost everything that they'd worked so hard for. All of their hard work, every last bit of it, had been for nothing.

It was unknowingly that Sakura made her way closer to a familiar looking jonin. The green spandex suit he wore was a dead give away, but the expression on his face, the solemn mood he was radiating, was completely different to his usual loudness and gusto.

"They had horrible timing." the jonin muttered, picking up a child's teddy bear that was just about clinging together. "…We have lost everything. Again."

And even though it would have broken Sakura seeing a strong shinobi such as this man reduced to tears, all she could do was stare.

"Sakura."

She glanced over her shoulder, looking up at the masked face of her former sensei. There was pain in his lone eye, no matter how strongly he was fighting against it. Like Maito Gai, all composure and all self control seemed to have deflated within him. It seemed even the strongest and most emotionally guarded were being tortured by the fact their home was gone again.

For the second time in only a short while, Konoha had been trampled on like it meant nothing.

"Things are coming to a stop now." he told her quietly, placing his hand on her shoulder with a sigh. "Go and be with Itachi–san. You both need comfort right now."

That was right.

How could she have been so selfish? Not only had Sakura lost her shishou, but Itachi had just lost his mother. His _mother_!

Without a word, she set off at a dead sprint, rushing through the streets of the village and searching almost desperately for her husband's chakra. It seemed hopeless, like he didn't want to be found, until somebody tapped her on the shoulder lightly, gaining her attention.

Why wasn't she surprised to find Shisui there?

"Go to the Hokage Monument." Shisui murmured. "He's up there right now."

She was gone in a second.

* * *

Like his wife had so clearly been feeling when she left the area, Itachi felt numb. And as soon as they no longer needed his assistance, as soon as the Iwa–nin were defeated, he made his way up to the Hokage Monument almost as though he was on autopilot.

About an hour later and he felt somebody approaching him. Itachi didn't need to look to see who it was, for her chakra was so clear and easy to pick up now.

There was silence for a while.

"Itachi…"

She watched his back, a soft frown on her features as she did so. The gentle wind breezing by them caused his hair to sway, bangs shielding his eyes from her completely (despite the fact his back was to her). And instead of answering, Itachi stared out at the village, the village he was now in charge of. All of those people… Every single one of them… They were all under his protection. It was now his duty to not only keep them in line, to make sure their village returned to its former glory, but to also protect them. Protect the shinobi, protect those who couldn't protect themselves. It was all his responsibility.

It was such a heavy burden.

"Sakura."

Even though she recognised the voice as Tenzo's, Sakura didn't look behind herself to acknowledge him. She kept her eyes on Itachi's back, her frown still in place.

"The hospital requires your assistant."

Her frown deepened. "Shizune–senpai said–"

"Shizune–san is currently unable to perform surgery." he murmured quietly, usually toneless voice silently asking her to understand. "She is…"

Heartbroken.

Utterly devastated.

Sakura knew the feeling.

Finally glancing over her shoulder, she nodded once at Tenzo, only slightly surprised to see him in full ANBU uniform. "I'll be right there."

"Thank you, Sakura."

With the quietly muttered words, he left.

She closed her eyes and slowly exhaled. Even though so far in their relationship, Itachi had been the one carrying them both, being there for her, it was now her turn to do the same for him. He would never admit to his pain, at least, not yet he wouldn't. But Sakura, despite what people thought, was capable of being patient.

Right now, Itachi would need time to himself to process everything that had happened, to perhaps even calm that small, vicious part of himself that nobody besides herself (and maybe Shisui) knew about. It was imperative that he did that. After all, Itachi was Hokage now. Not that it ever was in the first place, but his life was no longer his own. He now lived for the village, though in a more obvious, more demanding way. He was no longer an ANBU operative whose name struck fear within even the most terrifying of shinobi.

He was Uchiha Itachi, the Rokudaime Hokage.

"We agreed before to try and sort this without violence." Sakura murmured, her eyes still closed. "But this time, Iwa really has gone too far, Itachi."

Silence.

However, even though he didn't reply, even though it looked as though Itachi wasn't even listening, he was. He was listening to each and every single one of Sakura's words intently.

"I know that you'll make the right choice and will be a great leader while doing so." Stepping forward and opening her eyes, Sakura placed her hand on his back, stretching up onto her tiptoes to press a kiss to his neck. "Whatever your decision, I'll follow it without hesitation." Once more her eyes slid shut and she leaned her forehead against his shoulder, embracing him from behind and whispering so very quietly, "Iwa must be stopped. They need to pay for everything they've done."

* * *

Since Sakura's words, Itachi had forced himself to start acting like a Hokage instead of like a grieving child. While true that he was grieving, it should wait until he was alone, until there was nothing left to be done. Only then could he mourn.

Once Sakura had left him, he assessed the village from on top of the Hokage Monument, eyes narrowing as he did so. It was clear where the Iwa–nin had entered from when he looked from up here. The north entrance was utterly destroyed, gates blown off completely and dead bodies were scattered around there, with medics rushing around checking for any signs of life. If he recalled correctly, then that was their weakest entrance shinobi–wise due to the entrance rarely ever being used, due to the gates being old yet very unyielding.

That would have to change.

Also, the Iwa–nin had gone pretty much straight to the hospital, though because it was a common strategy to take out the medics, Itachi didn't focus too long on it. His decision was made only seconds after glancing at the building.

Medics would be trained just like shinobi.

His eyes drifted from the hospital and over to the cabin Tsunade had previously been staying in, lingering there for a moment. Not enough protection. Where had her guards been? That was the first thing to be demanded. However, her guards had already been fighting, holding a large and troublesome group back. It was understandable, yet unforgivable, that some had slipped through them. Had his mother not been there… No, Tsunade still would have died.

Security would be tripled.

While Itachi respected the previous Hokage, Senju Tsunade, he didn't always agree with her tactics and strategies. Somewhere down the line, their opinions had differed. Perhaps it had been during the destruction of the village, perhaps before that. It didn't matter. What mattered now was that the village was in his command, and he would see to it that they never suffered a loss such as this, again.

It had been too quiet. It had been way too quiet for them not to suspect anything. Why hadn't they suspected anything? Because of everything else that had been happening. Sure, Itachi and a few other ANBU had been sent on several missions to watch over Iwa, but nothing was ever spotted. They seriously had looked like they were retreating, realising that they couldn't win against such a powerful village. They should have known better than to relax.

"Itachi."

He glanced over his shoulder at his friend, though his eyes went back to the broken state of the village.

Even though the village seriously needed the money, Itachi knew what was going to have to be done.

"I am taking you off mission rota." His voice was lower than usual and it was obvious to the older Uchiha that Itachi was holding his emotions back fiercely. "While taking you off of the mission rota may seem like the wrong choice, I need you by my side as my adviser, Shisui." He murmured, keeping his back to the other man. "I would also like for you to take on a couple of teams of genin and train them like you did me. From now on, there will be no more slacking like there has been for the past few years."

Shisui nodded although the movement wasn't seen. "War's on the horizon. It would be in the village's best interest to start pushing our genin, training them so that they surpass their potential."

His plan exactly.

That way, when war did break out, when the strongest shinobi left to fight for their village, Konoha would still be protected by the genin. Itachi would not send any genin out onto the battlefield unless they proved they could handle it. The last thing he wanted was hundreds of children dying unnecessarily. No, unless they passed Shisui's tests (and that would be unlikely to happen) then they would remain in the village.

"Also, the medics." Itachi continued, finally turning around and facing his friend.

Shisui raised an eyebrow, understanding clearly. "You want to take Sakura–san off mission rota, too."

"As well as Shizune–san." He nodded once. "They were taught by Tsunade–sama and before her death, she told me that Sakura is on the path to not only surpassing her, but greatly surpassing her. She will surpass Tsunade–sama and in ways, already has. For now, however, while training her myself, Sakura will also be training the other medics so they will be able to defend themselves. As will Shizune–san."

That was smart, Shisui agreed silently. "And the clans?"

"The clans will fight for the village." Itachi stated tonelessly. "My father, for one, will not stand back any longer. He wished to keep the Uchiha out of this war, to keep Sasuke's name clean. That will no longer be the case. Knowing my father the way I do, he will lead every single Uchiha into the war and he will not die until my mother is avenged."

"You want me to keep an eye on him."

Itachi nodded once. "Do not allow him to act recklessly, or go off on his own. The same goes for Sasuke. Do whatever you must to stop them."

Those two would be the most unstable right at that moment in time. Understandably so.

"Speaking of Sasuke…" Shisui sighed, eyes drifting over the village, straight to the cabin the head family of the Uchiha clan were staying in. "Sakura may need to take another look at his eyes."

"I know." Itachi replied quietly. "His susanoo is now at the same stage as mine and my own eyes deteriorated greatly over the past years to get to this stage. The damage to his eyes will be unbelievable. You also pushed your susanoo into advancing and in return, your eyes were the most damaged back when Sakura first healed ours."

"I know." he repeated Itachi's words. "Sasuke's will be…" Shaking his head, he sighed. "We should wait for Sakura–san to examine him before we decide anything, however. I will go and read the tablet once more to try and see if there is any way around it."

Nodding once, Itachi watched his friend walk away and not a moment later, his eyes drifted off to watch the sun setting.

Tomorrow was going to be better. No, it wouldn't be perfect and no, he wasn't trying to be optimistic. It was going to be better because as Rokudaime Hokage, he would make it better. He would make sure the villagers, the civilians especially, would be informed of everything that was going on instead of being pushed aside like they were mere children. From there, Itachi would work hard to make sure they were safe. After all, the civilians supplied for and worked hard for the shinobi of the village and in return, they were supposed to be protected.

Just as he was about to turn away from the view and go find the elders, an ANBU squad flickered in the corner of his eye before appearing before him.

"Hokage–sama, we have an emergency!"

What could have possibly happened now?

He looked at the ANBU operative who was speaking with him, silently telling him to continue.

"Yakushi Kabuto has escaped. It seems during the distraction, somebody slipped in and got him out of there."

It was an emergency indeed.

* * *

"Fugaku–san, I–"

He shook his head in silent warning at the medic trying to stop him, hand resting on his youngest son's shoulder as he guided him into the hospital, into a certain kunoichi's office. It seemed that things were beginning to calm down and she managed to find time for a short break, munching away at a few ration bars as well as sipping a cup of black coffee. Unfortunately, he would have to cut her break short.

The look of sadness and many apologies in Sakura's eyes angered him, but Fugaku knew not to blame her. According to Shisui, she had even tried to help Mikoto even though it had been too late. That would not be forgotten.

His eyes closed.

_Mikoto_…

Opening them once more, he forced himself to remain blank as he watched Sakura stand and wipe her hands down her white hospital coat, ridding them of crumbs. Thankfully that wasn't the only way she cleaned them, as she next walked over to the sink in her office, quickly yet thoroughly washing them.

"Examine my son."

Said son's eyebrows knitted together.

"As heir to our clan, his health must be at one hundred percent. Right now, however–"

"His eyes."

Fugaku nodded once.

Sighing, Sakura waited until Fugaku's hand dropped from Sasuke's shoulder before she moved closer, watching how his eyes reacted to the small torch she picked up off her desk and shined into his eyes.

"Sasuke–kun…" Sakura cupped his face gently, tilting it downwards. He'd definitely grown from their genin days, though he wasn't as tall as Itachi, fortunately. "How badly does it hurt?"

Enough for his bloodshot eyes to squint at the light she held up.

"My eyes…" His voice was rough, composure slipping dangerously. "They feel like they're on fire."

"I can't do much in here." she told them both honestly, looping her arm through Sasuke's. It was just a guess, but considering the fact that Fugaku had been guiding his son into her office, Sakura was guessing that he couldn't see much. "Sasuke–kun, I'm going to take you to one of the examination rooms. Will you be joining us, Fugaku–san?"

He nodded once. It was his responsibility to make sure nothing happened to the future patriarch, to make sure Sasuke got the medical assistance he needed and was made first priority. Taking him to the hospital had been difficult, however. Sasuke had downright refused to have anyone but Sakura examine him and that included Shizune. So for the past hour or so, he and Sasuke had been discussing who he should go to. In the end, it seemed his son had won. Fugaku simply did not have the energy to argue with him. Not after a day like today.

"Then please, follow me."

So he did, watching how Sakura carefully guided his son down the packed corridors of the hospital, the arm that wasn't looped through his, out in front of her until she pressed her hand to his chest to silently tell Sasuke to stop. He did so without complaint, trusting Sakura not to allow him to make a fool of himself. In all his life, Fugaku had rarely ever seen his youngest son so trusting. With Itachi, yes. His mother, yes. Himself? Only partly.

It was aggravating, yet understanding, that this woman had more of his son's trust than he himself had. Why was it understanding? Because of the way he raised Sasuke. That wasn't even mentioning the fact that Sakura had most likely thrown herself into countless jutsu to protect him, before then going on to healing every last wound he had. She lived for her team, for the injured, and it was no secret.

Fugaku could see why Mikoto agreed with her marrying their son so fiercely, without a shred of hesitancy or doubt. It was because of Sakura's heart. There was no denying that their oldest son was… difficult to understand, to say the least. For most of Itachi's life, Fugaku – even Mikoto – hadn't known how to communicate with him and in some ways, Fugaku still didn't. However, Sakura had a heart big enough for the both of them, she experienced such heavy, such raw emotions, that they forced their way into not only his youngest son's life, but also his eldest's. That was…

It was a miracle.

That was what Mikoto had told him.

Other than Shisui and Sasuke, somebody else was capable of understanding their son.

With hidden interest, Fugaku watched as Sakura opened the door to a private examination room, one that was reserved for the head families of the major clans, and guiding Sasuke into the room. Even as he shut the door behind himself, he watched the pair. He watched as Sakura gently backed Sasuke up to the examination table, keeping her hand on his back as he gripped the table and slid onto it, just in case he moved too far back. He didn't and then nodded his thanks to her.

Had this been anybody else, even if it had been Itachi, Sasuke would have been aggravated at being treated like he was nothing but a child. But with this woman, with his brother's wife, it seemed different. He seemed used to the treatment and, dare Fugaku say, comfortable with it, _comforted by it_.

"Can you focus on my eyes, Sasuke–kun?"

His eyes squinted, trying so very hard to focus on hers, before he shook his head and let out a long, loud exhale. "No. Everything is one huge blur. All I can see of your eyes are two blobs of green and that's only while focusing hard."

It made Fugaku's stomach twist when Sakura bit her lip worriedly, turning to one of the cabinets and rifling through it. Only a second later and she was pulling out a new–looking book. If he was not mistaken, it was a copy of the one she had put together while researching their clan's eyes.

"Hopefully, this is just like last time." she told Sasuke.

He shook his head. "Don't be so naïve, Sakura."

She closed her eyes, swallowing hard. "It's called being optimistic."

"It's called being childish."

"Sasuke," her voice was sharp, "stop it. My patience is ridiculously thin right now and I'm more than willing to beat some sense into you."

He fell silent.

Fugaku stepped forward at the silence, standing by his son's side and folding his arms over his chest. "Will you be able to reverse what has happened?"

Her eyes were glued to Sasuke's for a few moments, still narrowed and thoughtful, before they connected with Fugaku's. It was only then that he noticed her exhaustion, her pain and grief. Of course. Tsunade had been her shishou and like a second mother to her, he'd heard around the village. Not only that, but his own wife had taken Sakura under her wing when she heard that Itachi was involved with the younger woman. Mikoto had wanted Sakura to feel welcomed into their clan, to make sure that Itachi didn't lose her because of any misunderstandings (need he go into it being difficult to understand his eldest son again?) or because of the elders.

As her father–in–law, as head of the clan she was now a part of, it would be important that he told her to rest. But Fugaku knew before that thought had even fully formed, that it would do no good. It was partly because it was obvious this was what Sakura lived for, but also, because he realised at that moment in time that she wasn't a part of his clan. She was, but Itachi had changed that by disowning their clan. Neither he nor Sakura belonged to the Uchiha clan anymore.

Summoning her chakra and allowing Sasuke a moment to register the green glow, she cupped his face once more and closed her eyes in concentration, focusing entirely on his.

After a moment, Sakura bit her lip again and extracted her chakra, giving Sasuke such a heartbreaking look that it made Fugaku's stomach plummet.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke–kun." she whispered, tears filling her eyes. "There's nothing I can do other than take the pain away. The damage is permanent and your sight is only going to continue deteriorating."

He was incapable of forming words.

* * *

When it was three in the morning and her husband still hadn't returned, Sakura climbed out of bed and got dressed, slipping out of the window and heading straight to the Hokage Monument, only to be confused when he wasn't there.

It had been unusually quiet as Sakura finally left the hospital only two hours ago. Not just in her home, but also in the village. People were grieving, others were healing and many more were… She took a deep breath, willing the twisting in her stomach to go away just for a few minutes. It had been plaguing her all night.

Shizune had to leave only hours after Sakura arrived. Her husband, Genma, had had to come to the hospital and literally drag her out of it, with Shizune crying and sobbing in his arms, begging him to let her help the injured. It was what Tsunade wanted, she'd screamed at him. The couple hadn't been seen since, but the display of the dark haired woman's pain had reduced many in the waiting room and outside the hospital to tears.

The news of Tsunade's death spread faster than Sakura thought possible, along with the news of Itachi being the next Hokage. She didn't spare a single second to listen to what was being said, though. In all honestly, Sakura was positive that nobody was even saying anything. They were too absorbed in the agony they were feeling.

Unlike earlier, Itachi was not masking his chakra and she could follow it easily, leading her straight to Tsunade's temporary office. It didn't bother her that he was using it, although a small part of her was saying that she should be. It was a little like how Konohamaru must have felt when he saw Tsunade was taking over Sarutobi Hiruzen's office, making it her own. But again, Sakura didn't focus on that small pain in her chest. It was just an office. Tsunade hadn't even liked it – hadn't like neither of her offices, in fact.

When she entered, she found that nothing had been changed in the slightest. Everything looked how it did just yesterday morning when she went to see Tsunade and it _killed her_ on the inside. Aside from a few new scrolls placed on the desk, everything was the exact same. She could almost see her shishou sitting in that chair.

Itachi was stood up, looking lost in his thoughts as he stared down at the chair behind the desk. She knew what was wrong with him, though. By sitting in that seat, everything would become so much more real.

"You should be resting."

She gave him a small smile when Itachi's dark eyes drifted away from the chair and to hers. "I couldn't." Sakura told him honestly, closing the door behind herself and making her way over to him. "Not while you're not with me."

He sighed, hand raising and cupping her cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted." she replied in a whisper. "You?"

"I don't know."

Sakura pressed her forehead against his throat, pulling him against her. "Your father brought Sasuke–kun to the hospital earlier because of his eyes." When silence met her, she breathed in deeply, her chest aching. "We have a problem."

Itachi felt his stomach twist uneasily at her words. He didn't even need to ask to know what the problem was. "Permanently?"

Slowly, reluctantly, Sakura nodded. "He can still see, but everything is blurred and nothing I do is fixing it. This isn't like the last time. The Mangekyō… If we don't do something now, then Sasuke–kun is going to go blind."

He closed his eyes in a rare show of defeat. It was as both he and Shisui had feared. Sasuke pushed his sharingan too hard, too far, in too short amount of time and now the damage was irreparable.

"I don't know what we're going to do, or what Sasuke–kun will do, but…" Sakura sighed and leaned back, looking up at him seriously. "I know you, Itachi, and I know that you'll protect him with your life. I just don't want you to have to face that burden alone, or the burden of being Hokage alone. That's why I'm here! I'm here to ease your burdens, like you ease mine. I'm your wife."

"You're my wife." he agreed quietly, a small smile on his lips as he pulled away and took her hand in his. "I believe we both need some rest."

It wasn't until they'd returned to their home that Sakura spoke up again, that she pulled him to a stop in the middle of getting undressed. Itachi watched her blankly, emotions still being fiercely guarded. "Itachi…" She bit her lip for a moment. "Tell me how you're feeling."

There was a long pause as he watched her silently and by the look in his eyes, the deep concentration, it was obvious he was trying to find the words to use. And when that look became slightly frustrated, when he breathed in deeply and exhaled through his nose, eyebrows pinching together, Sakura could tell that he was becoming annoyed with himself. He shouldn't. Due to the way he was brought up, to push away all emotions, it really shouldn't upset him that he couldn't describe how he was feeling. It was callous of her to ask, she realised after a moment.

Pulling on one of Itachi's spare sweatshirts, Sakura closed the distance between them, tilting his face downwards so that his eyes met hers. The reason why she enjoyed wearing Itachi's shirts to bed was because of how large they were on her. While extremely comfortable, they covered everything. Not to mention Itachi seemed to enjoy seeing her wearing his shirts.

It utterly stunned her that, when their eyes met, his were glassy. And when a single tear slipped down his cheek, telling her without words that he could understand what he was feeling, and that it hurt greatly, Sakura did the first thing she thought of when he fell to his knees before her. Itachi gritted his teeth, his eyes squeezing shut, as soft arms wrapped around him, pulling his head into her chest.

Her heart felt as though it shattered when he sobbed, gripping a tight hold of her like he was a lost child.


	40. This Is A Test

**Chapter 39 – This Is A Test**

It had been a long, sleepless night.

Instead of getting sleep like they knew they should have, after the both of them had calmed down, after the tears had stopped, they stayed up the rest of the night talking. At first, they kept it professional, shoving away their emotions to try and ease the pain just for a little while, by talking about what was happening or going to happen now that Itachi was Hokage.

There would be the measurements for his face to be on the Hokage Monument early in the morning and then afterwards, Itachi would be putting his plans in motion of new teams and certain jonin to be taken off mission rota, unless they were seriously needed for a mission. All jonin who were taken off the mission rota would either be assigned a genin team, or placed on security. As well as this, he informed her that the situation with Kabuto was unmoving. After thoroughly searching Konoha (and a mile in every direction outside of the village) himself and not finding a trace, Itachi had reluctantly called the search to a stop. There was nothing more to be done about him and the village was in need of a leader.

So, after calling off the search, he returned to the village and checked over the civilians, making sure that all who were injured were sent to the hospital. All others were sent to their homes and were informed that they would receive updates the next day. After dealing with them, Itachi then went on to contacting Hatake Kakashi, making sure the man knew his latest role. He ignored the look the older man sent his way, the sympathy and the empathy. After all, Kakashi was a man who had lost many people. He was no stranger to the pain it caused.

From there it all just seemed to go in fast forward. The elders made sure word got out about his new role, ANBU were on high alert (as were jonin) and stationed at all entrances as well as along the walls of Konoha. Chunin were protecting the main buildings (such as the hospital and the temporary living accommodations) and genin teams were scattered around the village in case of any more surprise attacks. Itachi doubted there would be any. Large groups of Iwa–nin had escaped, yes, but even more had died. As Shikamaru had stated: they would retreat for a while and try to come up with a new strategy.

In return, reluctantly, Sakura had told him of her day in the hospital. She only grew even more reluctant as they reached a certain part of her day, when Fugaku asked (more like ordered) her to be the one who ran the autopsy on his wife. Itachi had stiffened at the news, surprised, but then Sakura went on to explain why there would be an autopsy. It was to see what had killed her so suddenly, what weapon or jutsu had been used. From there, Sakura would pass on whatever information she found to the intelligence department (people such as Nara Shikaku), so they could figure it out as well as find out how to counter such a jutsu or weapon.

Quietly, Itachi had told her what his father's reasons must be. In a way, despite rarely speaking with one another, Fugaku knew he could trust Sakura with Mikoto's body. He knew she wouldn't try to find out any of his clan's secrets (she was officially an Uchiha now, too). He'd demanded that he be there to make sure nothing unnecessary happened, but Sakura had patiently told Fugaku in return that he most definitely didn't want to witness his wife's autopsy. She promised him that she would take care of Mikoto.

As well as this, Sakura mentioned once more that she'd dulled the pain in Sasuke's eyes and his head, but there was no fixing the state they were in.

It was a strange yet pleasant feeling laying on the bed and having Itachi resting his head on her chest, completely relaxed. Perhaps not completely relaxed, but as relaxed as somebody in his position and with his role could be. And what made Sakura happy about it, was that _she_ was the one who took his stress away. Not with sex and not with anything such as that, but just by being herself and being there for him. Holding him.

Itachi was cold and distant. He was intimidating and sometimes downright terrifying. It was hard to stand tall and proud and be yourself when standing by his side, for fear of coming across as a fool or as incompetent. For the beginning of their relationship, Sakura had tried so hard to be someone better, to create a new version of herself for Itachi. Now? Now she no longer felt any of those things around him. Just her presence was enough for him. It felt so… surreal, having so much power over a man like Uchiha Itachi. He had disowned his clan for her. All his life, they'd pushed him and they'd pushed him, and Itachi had silently allowed them to. Only once had he ever pushed back, ever disobeyed (she had yet to be told the full details about that incident, Sakura believed). Other than that, he'd silently accepted whatever they asked of him. Until now. For her, he had completely disowned them (save for his family and Shisui).

"Do you regret it?" Sakura asked quietly, unable to _not_ voice her doubt.

There were no questions asked about what she was asking about. "No." he murmured in return, eyes remaining shut. "The only regret I have, is not making it in time…"

For his mother.

"Sasuke–kun refuses to talk about her." she told him. "I know it hasn't even been a day, but just the mere mentioning of your mother's name had him tensing and shutting everyone out. Even me."

It was understandable. Whereas Fugaku had always pushed Itachi, Mikoto had always been there for Sasuke. In a way, perhaps she had babied him. Whenever their father had pushed him too hard, she had been there. Whenever he shattered Sasuke's hopes, she had put them back together. "Give him time." Itachi sighed as his arms tightened around her. "In some ways, he is very much like a child. Right now I don't doubt that he's feeling lost."

"And you? Are you feeling lost?"

He gave a small smile, shifting slightly so that he could kiss her throat. "I have you."

Tears threatened to fill her eyes and for a few moments, Sakura's throat was painfully tight, fighting fiercely against the sob. The hand stroking Itachi's shoulder disappeared so that she could wipe the corners of her eyes, catching the tears before they fell.

"What about you?"

At his quiet question, she couldn't help but whisper in return, "I have you."

"Sakura…" Itachi lifted himself onto his elbows, giving her a serious look. "Not as Hokage, but as your husband, I promise you Iwa will not get away with this."

* * *

He wasn't promising revenge but at the same time, he wasn't promising that there wouldn't _not _be any more bloodshed.

Rubbing her aching eyes, Sakura looked up at the brightly shining sun, unsure as to how it could be such a beautiful day weather–wise, when it was the exact opposite for their village. Even if they weren't injured, people were in agony and every single person Sakura walked by, she felt her heart breaking more and more.

Most people were staying in the hospital (only if they were injured) while others, if their homes had been destroyed, were struggling to find accommodation. There were buildings that were opening their doors for others but still, there was not enough room. A large fraction of the villagers were currently staying in the evacuation tunnels and shelters situated above and inside the Hokage Monument. However, shinobi had to remain vigilant and within the village at all times, so it was mostly the civilians who had to stay up there.

For the past several hours, Sakura had been inside those shelters and tunnels along with a large group of other medics, checking up on the civilians staying within them. They checked not only for injuries, but also illnesses and possible infections (the tunnels and shelters were so old now, so who knows what could be contracted there). And before then, just this morning, she had been with Yuhi Kurenai, examining both the woman and the baby as well as assuring the former that everything was fine, that the baby hadn't suffered any injuries or damage at all. In fact, the dark haired woman had saved Asuma's unborn child by forcing all chakra to her womb, encasing it when one of the explosions had knocked her into a wall and to the ground. However, if it hadn't been for Ino immediately assisting her, doing everything in her power and using all of her chakra, it was possible that both would have died.

She was currently staying with Shisui and at his insistence, was staying in his room, while he slept in the living room on a couple of mats and a sleeping bag. Seeing that look in his eyes when Sakura had told them that the baby was fine was… It was surprising.

He loved her.

Of course she'd heard about how he often accompanied Kurenai on walks around the village, how they were becoming great friends, but this? It was so surprising, in her opinion. Neither he nor Itachi had ever mentioned anything about Shisui's feelings for Kurenai. There hadn't been any reason to, but it was so nice to see. And it made what Itachi had once told her, so more… real. Shisui was a selfless man who would give anything to protect those he cared for, whether it be the village, his family, or the woman he was now sharing his home with (since her own had been destroyed).

And as Shisui showed her the way out like a proper host (despite it being an examination, a check up), she had murmured to him that it was a great thing what he was doing and it was also admirable. In response he had smiled, though said nothing.

"Sakura–san."

She sighed.

It was like she couldn't catch a break and even though Sakura wanted to do everything for Konoha right at that moment in time, she also wanted sleep. And to grieve. It felt wrong to be going about her day like she was.

"Yes?" When she turned to see who was behind her, she was only slightly surprised to see an ANBU operative dressed in full uniform (which included the cloak).

"The elders have requested your presence. Please go to them immediately."

And then, just like that, the ANBU operative was gone.

Damn, they gave her the creeps. Except for her husband, of course. Although, when he was in full uniform and wearing one of those eerie masks…

Suppressing a shudder, Sakura sighed once more and began walking back the way she just came. She wished they'd requested her earlier, because now she had to go up all those stairs once more in this heat with very little energy.

As Shikamaru would say:

It was troublesome.

* * *

There was the sound of a clock ticking and even though there were three of them in the room, it was otherwise silent and had been since her arrival. It was like they were testing how much patience Sakura had, how long she could hold out before demanding what they wanted. They probably wanted to see how much of an influence Tsunade had actually been on her, and whether or not it was only her monstrous strength and incredible healing techniques she had learned.

She would not let her shishou down.

Instead of listening to the building annoyance within herself, even though Sakura wanted nothing more than to scream at them, she waited them out.

Koharu was the one to break the silence and dare Sakura say (or think), the corner of her lip pulled up so very slightly, like she was proud of the younger woman's efforts.

"We need to test you, Sakura." Koharu told her calmly. "Each wife of the previous Hokage has all undergone this test. Had Tsunade–hime married, her husband would have had to do this also. Since she had not, and had instead kept her assistant close to her, Shizune instead was ordered to do this."

Sakura nodded. "What's the test?"

"You must prove that you are capable of protecting your husband, our Hokage, should he be unable to protect himself."

Again, Sakura nodded, though was more focused.

"Sometime today, you will be ambushed. Itachi knows about the test already and would have been the one to tell you, but is too busy with our village, as it is obviously in a dire state. From this moment, you are not to stray too far from your husband's side. Is that understood? And when you are ambushed, he will do nothing. It is down to you to make sure not one of those fake attackers gets too close to him."

Damn it. She was so low on energy! However, it was nothing a soldier pill wouldn't fix and being one hundred and ten percent certain that there would be some at home, Sakura did not allow the thought to worry her for too long.

It was Homura who spoke next, his voice low and gravelly. "We were also informed earlier today of the elders within the Uchiha clan gaining access to your medical files. Since the village is top priority as of this moment, we cannot promise you anything. However, just know that we are taking this seriously as not only is it an invasion of the Hokage's wife, but it also means that we have had a slip in security."

Surprise had her eyes widening.

Koharu raised a thin, grey eyebrow. "Sakura, it is no secret that we dislike the Uchiha clan, though it is more their elders than the youngsters. Hearing that they managed to acquire your medical files means that they could have possibly acquired others', including our own. That is not acceptable."

And while they weren't promising her that they would find out everything, they were promising to try.

"The future patriarch, Uchiha Sasuke, has also informed the both of us that he will do whatever he can to give us as much information about what has happened, and how the elders of his clan managed to get a hold of such private information." Homura explained. "And when we have enough evidence, he will assist us in deciding a suitable punishment for their crime."

Still looking shocked, all Sakura could do was nod her head. Sasuke had… Even though he was currently grieving for the loss of his mother, he was… He was defending her. Like he always had. And he was keeping his promise: that he would find out how they managed to get a hold of her medical files.

"Also…"

Noticing the grim expressions on their features, Sakura focused entirely on them once more, already knowing what was about to happen or be said.

"It has been decided that tomorrow, at noon, we will host the funerals of everyone who died in the invasion. This includes Tsunade–hime."

Biting on the inside of her cheek to remain blank, to stay professional and to _not cry_, Sakura nodded.

"Shizune has already been informed of this." Koharu stated. "Tomorrow will also be the official announcement of Uchiha Itachi becoming the Rokudaime Hokage."

No matter how hard she tried, Sakura could not stop the single tear that slipped down her cheek. Thankfully, neither of the elders said a word of it and instead continued with explaining to Sakura everything that would be happening tomorrow, even going as far as repeating themselves when they knew she wasn't taking much in, when they could see that it was taking everything in Sakura to simply stay quiet and hold back her sobs.

* * *

"How do you think she will do?"

Though it was rude of him not to, Itachi did not look up at the two men stood before the desk he was sat at. Part of him refused to acknowledge the desk as his, but another part of him was demanding that he get over it already. So what if he was Hokage? He was the best suited for the role at that moment in time. However… Inwardly sighing, he refrained from shutting his eyes with exhaustion.

No, Itachi accepted being Hokage. He accepted the responsibility that came along with such a role. He accepted the fact that the entire village now rested on his shoulders and it was his job to restore the village to its former glory, to protect everyone within it.

He just wished he didn't have to.

Uchiha Itachi was a man who preferred protecting his village from the shadows.

"Itachi?"

Finally looking up at the two men, he regarded them silently for a few moments before eventually answering their question. "Sakura has come a long way since we first met. She will have no problems with this test."

"I was asked to be one of those who tests her."

The other man glanced between them. "I was also asked."

That was hardly fair, Itachi thought irrationally. "The both of you?"

They both nodded.

"Shisui, Kakashi–san," the younger Uchiha sighed, "I do not doubt my wife. However, she has her limits and today she will be running on close to empty, given the fact she has been at the hospital all day so far and also all day yesterday after the invasion." There was a pause where Itachi placed the scroll he was reading onto the desk and, regardless of the fact he was still seated and they were both standing, there was no denying that it felt as though Itachi was towering over them with the look he gave them. "I have reluctantly accepted that Sakura must be tested. I have accepted that it would be members of ANBU who tested her. The elders have given me very little choice on who Sakura will be fighting against.

"Kakashi–san, you are her former–sensei. Therefore, you know her well and you know her limits. And whilst I am not doubting your observational skills, Shisui, nor doubting Sakura, you are much too powerful to go up against her when she will be facing countless others, also." His eyes narrowed. "This is not a fair test."

Once more, they both nodded, already knowing what Itachi was telling them.

"It's almost like–" Kakashi began, but was cut off by Itachi.

"The elders want Sakura to fail."

Just as the words left Itachi's lips, surprising the two men when they sounded more like a low growl, Shisui raised his hands up to Itachi. "Think about it, Itachi: the elders are still wary of having an Uchiha as Hokage."

Which was why they wanted her to fail, he silently added, so that they could assign ANBU operatives to 'protect him', but also keep a closer eye on Itachi and what he was doing.

"That is no excuse to do something like this to Sakura." Kakashi shook his head, single eye narrowed. "I may not have been a great sensei to her, but despite everything, she has always put one hundred percent into everything she does. I've watched her grow from an insecure, superficial and unreliable child, to a powerful, independent and damn–near impossible to ignore woman. If they set her up to fail, the elders may as well be knocking Sakura back down to genin, because I can assure you now, it will feel that way to her. Her confidence will go back to the way it was during her pre–teens. Non–existent."

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Kakashi leaned more fully onto his left leg, glancing out of the window and watching as two children shuffled down the streets, each carrying two huge bags filled with what seemed like spare clothes. "Yes, when professing her love or verbally sparring, Sakura forced herself to be confident. But when it came to being a kunoichi, there was no confidence at all. She relied fully on either myself, Naruto or Sasuke to save her. What the elders are doing now will undo perhaps all of the work Tsunade–sama had put into making Sakura who she is today."

In response Itachi shook his head. "I will not allow that to happen."

"Why do they want to test her? I trained you myself, Itachi. You always have something up your sleeve to get you out of trouble – even if you are exhausted."

He agreed fully. This was a 'precaution', in the elders' words. They wanted to see what Sakura was capable of and whether or not she was her own person, or just a copy of Tsunade. That was partly why they wanted to test her. To see what her limits were and how far she could be pushed (leading to extra security for their Hokage should she be unable to protect him). But like he had thought earlier: this test was not fair in the least. To send her up against an unknown amount of ANBU operatives was one thing (Itachi believed that she would have very little problem with them considering how he trained her), and to go up against her former sensei was another. But just how many shinobi, such as Shisui, had the elders added to the mixture?

Again, he was not doubting her. It was the fact that he himself often came out the loser when sparring against Shisui. He was… A problematic shinobi to say the least. One of the strongest within the village! To have Sakura battling not only ANBU and Kakashi, but Shisui also? It was ridiculous. Downright insanity.

"Should I find myself immobile, or poisoned perhaps, they want to know that Sakura will be capable of protecting me." he murmured. "It is a precaution, though I believe they ulterior motives. As you said, Shisui: they are not comfortable with an Uchiha as Hokage, so by having Sakura fail this test, they will assign me an ANBU guard, one who will be by my side almost all hours of the day, watching my moves carefully." They knew that wasn't all he was going to say, for Itachi paused, watching the older Uchiha for a moment. "Shisui, I do not want you joining this 'test'."

Shisui seemed to be in thought for a few moments, dark eyes staring at the wall behind Itachi as he did so. "You aren't supposed to know about this." he stated after a few minutes. "The elders want to push Sakura, to put her at a huge disadvantage considering the fact she continues to work on my eyes, meaning they are more powerful now than they have been in years. From what I gathered, they're going to come out to her in stages. Weakest first, strongest last. Kakashi–san, this is just a guess, but you will probably be last."

The Copy–Nin nodded, seeming to click onto Shisui's thoughts. "They want to see her at different stages and see what she does. Fully rested, they know she will win. Chakra about half–full, Sakura will be wounded. Exhausted, she will have to make a choice."

"After all, there is no telling when our village will be attacked and what our physical state will be." Itachi added.

"Exactly." Frowning for a moment, Kakashi thought back. "I can vaguely remember Minato–sensei's wife, Kushina–san, taking this test. Like now, I was also involved, though was in the first few levels due to not being as experienced as I am now." Beneath his mask was a small, sad smile. "Though she wasn't in control of the Kyuubi, Kushina–san still had a lot of strength within herself and the same seemingly endless supply of chakra as Naruto does. Taking her seal into account, Sakura also has a vast amount of chakra stored away that she can draw upon when she needs to. I'm sure, while training her, you have kept this in mind?"

Itachi nodded once. "However, you also need to remember that overusing the _Byakugō no In_, mainly _Sōzō Saisei_, is partly what made Tsunade–sama ill in the first place."

This had Kakashi's eye narrowing a fraction, though the silver haired jonin didn't say a word about it. He hadn't known much of Tsunade's illness, merely heard after her death that she had died because of one. There was no name to it, it was simply a 'mystery illness'. Knowing that it was caused by her seal, by her jutsu? And knowing that his former student knew how to use those very same things and had on multiple occasions? It made his gut twist uneasily.

"But you _have_ taught Sakura–san other jutsu." It wasn't a question, but Itachi replied to Shisui with a single nod. "It will be important that she uses them during this test. They want to see her at her absolute best and her absolute worse."

"Sakura's smart." Kakashi added after a few moments. "For intelligence, not including Nara Shikamaru who put no effort into them, Sakura came first in all exams. Surpassing even your brother, Itachi–san. And even though I didn't spend nearly as much time with her as I should have, I _did_ teach Sakura one or two things about strategy." He gave the two men a smirk they couldn't see, though could tell it was there due to the look in his eye. "It's a shame she has that awful impulsive streak that seems to take over her."

It was, Itachi agreed silently. They'd been attempting to work on that, but being impulsive was just something about Sakura that couldn't be changed. It could be annoying at times, could almost drive Itachi insane (due to the risks and the dangers that came from her impulsiveness), but at the same time it was something he was slowly beginning to like about her. Everything Sakura did, came from the heart and how she was _feeling_. Only after she had reacted would her mind be given a chance to speak.

"So far, everything Sakura has done has surprised me." It sounded like Itachi was speaking to himself. "Her reactions, her thoughts and her needs. She surprised me by being as strong as she is, by healing thousands at once…" He smirked. "I know that Sakura will surprise me during this test. Her stubborn nature will not allow her to fail."

He believed his wife would pass.

* * *

"Itachi… This is kind of predictable."

He gave his wife a soft smirk. "It is, but we cannot allow there to be any more damage to the village. Your fighting style is…"

The warning look she gave him, her ticking brow, had Itachi's voice trailing off and his smirk widening ever so slightly. Sure, he was stronger than Sakura, more powerful, but in some ways, Itachi definitely feared his wife. It would be stupid not to. Not only was she strong and able to bring down entire mountains with a single punch, but she was also a medic. Who knows what sort of techniques Tsunade had taught her?

At that moment in time, they were in a field and eating their lunch together. It was one of the training grounds, Sakura noticed after a while, although this one was outside of the village and was rarely used. It was only used when a _big_ jutsu was being practised and they wanted there to be very little damage to the village.

She could remember Naruto and Sasuke sparring out here one time, when Kakashi had told them to take their anger out on each other although away from the village. What they had been so pissed off about, Sakura couldn't remember. All she knew was that she'd been summoned around halfway into the sparring match by Kakashi, and told to stay there because she would be needed in the end.

And, of course, she was. The two had been utterly ruthless with one another, going at each other with real killing intent. It had terrified her! How Kakashi had managed to sit there, watching calmly and almost like he was relaxed, was beyond her. Sakura had been on the very edge of her seat, tears stinging the corner of her eyes whenever she heard Naruto's screams of rage, or Sasuke's growls of anger. Now that she thought about it, that was around the time Naruto finally returned to Konoha.

Sasuke had been angry that he left.

Not for him, but for _her_. He was angry for Sakura.

Sasuke being Sasuke, however, he hadn't admitted it out loud. He just kept remembering how broken Sakura had been, how lonely. He remembered what had happened up on that Hokage Monument and part of himself had blamed Naruto for it. He blamed Naruto for how close they had gotten, for Sakura becoming one of his greatest weaknesses.

What Naruto was angry about, she had no idea.

The spar had ended with the two collapsing backwards onto the ground, side by side. There had been a grin on Naruto's face, his eyes closed with mirth as he said something to Sasuke and in return, the Uchiha had reluctantly huffed with amusement and smirked.

Once they were healed, Sakura punched them both in the stomach _just because_.

It was a nice day, she decided after a bite of her meal. Just as sunny as earlier and just as warm, but when outside of the village, it was easy to forget the sorry state it was in. That made the day much more beautiful. High above them, she could hear birds flying around, crying out their calls and surrounding them was not only grass, but also the odd flower bush here and there.

"I can't sense anyone yet, can you?"

Realising she wanted to talk to him about something serious, from his relaxed position of leaning on his elbow and half on his side, Itachi stretched out his senses, focusing on the surrounding area, before shaking his head. "Nobody but ourselves are out here."

She nodded and for a few seconds, the words were frozen in her throat.

"Sakura." Itachi sighed, reaching up and pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Her hair was up, but like usual, she'd left her bangs down so that they were framing the sides of her face. "Just say it."

"I think we should… We should wait."

"What for?"

Tears threatened to fill her eyes, but Sakura forced them back and her hand rested on her stomach. "Trying for a baby." she told him honestly, her features sad. "Now… It's not the right time. Even if we do manage to conceive, I don't… I don't think I'm ready anymore. Everything's so messy a–and so… _wrong_. Before, things weren't half as bad as they are now."

He understood her perfectly. He just wished he could take her pain away, wished he could give her what she wanted. A baby. _Their_ baby. Closing his eyes, he pulled her face down to his and kissed her forehead softly. "I will make Konoha safe again, Sakura." he promised quietly. "And once it is safe, I will give you children."

She smiled weakly and pressed her forehead to his, her hand playing with the ends of his ponytail when it fell over his shoulder due to Itachi's leaning position. It was so long now, Sakura noticed, easily reaching his waist. During their time together, she had trimmed it every now and then for him, but never cut much of it off. Not only because Itachi seemed to like having long hair, but also because she liked it long. She just couldn't imagine him with short hair. Would he look more like his father? Like Sasuke? Who knows.

"Have you heard from Suna?"

Itachi held her free hand in his, enjoying the quiet intimate moment away from the madness that had become their village. It felt like he was finally taking a breath of fresh air. "The Kazekage is sending as many of his shinobi as he can spare to help us with protection. He will also be sending as much of his spare supplies, also."

It had been difficult asking for help and Itachi had had to remind Sabaku no Gaara of the time not only himself, but also Kakashi, Shisui, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto had stayed in Suna for a while, helping them. He stated plainly that it was time the Kazekage repaid the favour. There was no doubt in the Uchiha's mind that Gaara was unhappy with the reminder, though it seemed to have helped him with coming to the right decision: helping his ally. He simply told Itachi not to expect too much, as Suna was also preparing themselves in case of an invasion. Why? Because Suna was Konoha's ally. If Iwa was attempting to start a war with one of them, then they were starting a war with them both. It was as simple as that. Gaara was preparing his village to go to war, to help Konoha.

"I'm glad. We could do with the help."

Yes, they could.

Only a few minutes later, much too soon in Sakura's opinion, Itachi sighed and pulled away.

It was time.

And only a second later, a large group was standing opposite them in the field. Like usual, like all other times she'd come across an ANBU operative, they gave her the creeps.

The test had officially begun.

Whipping a kunai out of her pouch, she was quick to stand and spin around, deflecting the small amount of shuriken that had been launched at Itachi and falling into a defensive stance before him. All she had to do was see the ANBU operatives as her enemy. It wouldn't be too difficult since they were all in full uniform (though some were not wearing their cloaks). That meant she could not identify any of them.

There was no warning as they all shot forward and in hopes of keeping them away from her husband, Sakura ran to meet them head on, putting all of her training with Tsunade to use by dodging every offensive movement.

Kicking the hand attempting to grab her shoulder, she quickly put some space between them. It seemed, if she landed what was supposed to be a finishing move, the ANBU operative who had suffered through that move would disappear and wouldn't return. Was she supposed to take that as her defeating them? Obviously, Sakura knew she couldn't actually kill any of them. After all, they were definitely still Konoha–nin.

It had started with at least fifteen ANBU operatives and now, she was down to three. These ones weren't too special, most likely only just been made ANBU. Was this test going up in stages? Would it get progressively harder? Sakura didn't dare take her eyes from them to look at Itachi, though kept him in her peripheral view at all times.

This was too easy.

Which meant the harder part would be coming soon. It had to mean that!

Her head snapped up, eyes widening, as one of the ANBU operatives attempted to leap over her and get to Itachi. She soon stopped that attempt by grabbing the ANBU's leg and swinging him around, slamming him into the remaining two with merciless strength.

As soon as they were gone, more were coming from the trees leading to Konoha.

It was definitely going in stages and as Sakura put more effort into dodging, for these ANBU operatives were certainly faster, she realised it was going to get harder and harder as the stages went on.

Closing her eyes, Sakura allowed her instincts guide her, flipping over the large platoon of shinobi with surprising ease and unleashing great amounts of kunai and shuriken via the summoning scroll she dug out of her pouch. It had been given to her by Sasuke because of her chakra control, because she could handle the amount of weaponry stored away. It also acted as a backup. If Sakura needed to make a quick escape, or if there were too many enemies for her to handle, then it would be a distraction until she came up with a strategy.

There was no strategy for this battle, at least not one that would come to her any time soon. All this was, was an all–out battle. Last man standing, wins.

The kunai that she attempted to dodge grazed her cheek, causing a thin drop of blood to trickle down her cheek. Quickly spinning out of the way to avoid further damage, Sakura continued to run across the clearing and straight to the group of shinobi waiting for her, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

Damn it.

Damn it!

Her anger was obvious to them all. From the way her teeth gritted tightly, to the way she yelled "_Shannaro!"_ right down to the way she slammed her heel into the ground, causing it to shake dangerously, though not split. Only very fine chakra control could do that and even Tsunade had had difficulty controlling quakes from major ruptures.

During the distraction she lunged forward and, recounting her battle against Sasori's puppets, put everything she had into defeating the ANBU operatives who wouldn't stop coming. They weren't using any jutsu against her. Simply taijutsu. Why? Was there a reason behind that?

Sakura could feel Itachi's eyes on her, though refused to focus too long on him. She had to prove she was capable of protecting her husband, her Hokage. She had to prove that not only he, but also Tsunade, hadn't wasted their time on her.

There was barely any time to take a breath when the next level began. And then the next. It all became blurred as the levels went on and for a moment, Sakura was certain they were trying to tire her out. Fat chance! She had her seal. She didn't need to use _Sōzō Saisei_ every time she released it. Therefore, Tsunade's clear warning in her mind would not be ignored. She would not use _Sōzō Saisei_ unless she had no other choice. Sakura would merely be using her reserves of chakra if she had to and so far, she didn't need them.

However…

She had to admit.

Seeing silver–grey hair darting towards her faster than Sakura could even see properly, disappearing and reappearing in flickers, was nerve–racking. She knew that hair. Vaguely, she knew that body, too. How? Because of all those damned times she'd healed it. Damn it! How could the elders have asked her former sensei, Hatake Kakashi, to be one of those who tested her?

Then again, it would be one hell of a challenge and she may just have to use her reserves.

Gritting her teeth, Sakura dashed forward to meet Kakashi head on, seeming to surprise those around her as she did so. There was no mistaking the look of recognition in her eyes, but there had also been realisation and understanding.

"You're looking underneath the underneath." the Copy–Nin commented.

She was quick to dodge the fist aiming for her cheek and in return, Kakashi was just as quick as he hopped lightly over the leg trying to sweep both of his out from under him.

"Second thing you taught us." Sakura panted.

Even though he was wearing his ANBU mask, she could have sworn he was smiling. There was some kind of emotion coming from him and it was warm.

"They're testing how far you'll go to protect him." he murmured, grabbing her leg and launching her through the air. A second later, just as Sakura caught herself and skidded to a stop, Kakashi was in front of her. "You have a big heart. They want to know that, should anybody you care for attack the village or Itachi–san, you'll defend him without a second thought."

That was exactly what Sakura had been thinking.

"You're doing well so far." Kakashi complimented. "They're impressed. However…"

Catching his fist, Sakura yanked him closer to her, attempting to headbutt him.

"However," he continued quickly, "I want you to show them what you're really capable of, Sakura. Don't let them underestimate you!"

Just as her forehead was about to collide with his mask, her fist slammed into his stomach, forcing all breath to leave Kakashi and not a moment later, his clone was popping out of existence and the real Kakashi was all but exploding out of the ground from beneath her. Just like she knew he would. So, Sakura was quick to leap away from him, launching a couple of kunai with explosive tags attached to them, at him.

He dodged with unsurprising ease, completely unfazed by the following explosions.

When his hands flew through seals much quicker than she could keep up with, all she needed was a single seal to find out what he was doing. It also helped when he breathed in deeply and leaned back and in an instant, Sakura's own hands were racing through seals of her own, her eyes widening as they did.

"__Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"__

Sakura flickered in front of Itachi before finally yelling her own jutsu.

"_Suiton: Suijinheki_!"

Almost immediately, it was like Sakura was breathing out a wall of water, one that countered against Kakashi's fire easily. This was a jutsu that Itachi had taught her recently, as it required more chakra than the smaller ones. Due to her chakra control, Sakura was capable of creating a strong, unyielding defensive wall of water, one that left absolutely no openings.

That damned eye of his, however, meant that Kakashi could copy the technique (although knowing him, he probably already had it) and not only that, but he could also see more easily. Or, at least, predict her movements.

How could she work with that?

The sharingan was a drain on his chakra, that much she was certain of. Also, if used too much, he would collapse and be pretty much useless. All Sakura had to do was draw out this battle until he was weakened enough and then, she would land a finishing blow. Sounded pretty easy but no doubt it would be so much harder to do.

But that was what her chakra reserves were for. Kakashi's chakra reserves had always amazed her growing up, however, now, not so much. That eye was both a blessing and a curse. And now, Sakura's chakra reserves greatly surpassed his.

Without even taking a breath from finishing her jutsu, Sakura leapt into the air, seeming to be flying as her hands swept through more seals.

"_Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"_

Kakashi's pause was comical, in a way. The way his hands lashed out to his sides, steadying himself and the way he stared up at the gigantic water dragon that soon appeared, amused her greatly. No doubt his eyes would be wide beneath that mask.

However, much to her dismay, Kakashi's speed did not fail him and he managed to roll out of there right at the last second, her water dragon crashing into the ground and thoroughly soaking it as well as causing a small crater.

Damn it, she cursed under her breath. Apparently, she still had more work to do on that particular jutsu. It hadn't been her best attempt so far.

The second Sakura landed onto the ground in a low crouch, she was shooting the side and throwing punch after punch, for Kakashi had been making his way over to Itachi rather quickly. There was only the three of them on the 'battlefield' now, as all others had been defeated. She was hoping that this round with Kakashi would be the last stage, because she was growing tired. The soldier pill that had been taken would be wearing off soon.

Swiping a discarded kunai from the ground, Sakura blocked Kakashi's, the kunai mere centimetres from touching her uninjured cheek.

The way he was stood guarded every inch of his body, so what was she supposed to do? Growling, Sakura tried to push upwards, to make him give ground and allow herself to stand up straight. Nothing. He refused to budge an inch.

"Don't tell me that's all you've learned." Kakashi's voice sounded fairly strained and it gave her a small burst of hope.

"Of course it isn't." she spat.

"Then prove it."

With that, he quickly jumped away from her, leaving Sakura to stumble for a second before he was on her again. She just barely missed the foot aimed at her head and the fist aimed for her chest.

This was the first time Kakashi had come at her seriously. In all previous spars, he'd gone easy on her, always underestimating her. Now, he wasn't. Hatake Kakashi, the infamous Copy–Nin, her former–sensei, was finally taking her seriously.

Dropping her hands onto the ground, Sakura lashed her leg out, though it was blocked when Kakashi raised his arms in front of his chest in an 'X' formation. Not letting up for even a second, she quickly had the other whipping out, spinning on her hands ever so slightly to accommodate the movement. There was a grunt that came from him when her foot caught his side and as it did, she heard the breath being knocked out of him.

He hadn't seriously thought she'd fight him without her chakra enhanced strength, had he? To do so would be stupid!

While Kakashi tried to catch his breath, Sakura quickly flipped back onto her feet and went back to throwing punch after punch, throwing a kick in every now and then and forcing Kakashi to give her more ground as he continued to back away. And it occurred to him what she was doing when his back hit a tree and her fist began to glow blue. Just like her water dragon, however, he easily dodged the glowing fist and the tree gave way under the pressure, snapping in half at the collision.

And then suddenly, Kakashi was behind her and grabbing her arm, holding her still in a seemingly harmless, yet actually pretty restraining, hold.

"Don't recklessly waste chakra." he warned her quietly, voice too low for anybody else to pick up on and due to his ANBU mask, nobody would even know that he was actually saying anything. "Remember: you may be a kunoichi, but first and foremost, you're a medic. Don't rely completely on that seal to heal yourself and anyone else. Preserve your chakra and use it wisely."

This was a…

A lesson?

Resisting the urge to frown, Sakura broke away from the hold when it loosened fractionally.

It was obvious she wouldn't win against Kakashi, but the fact she was keeping up with him so far made her feel so… So proud of herself. Sakura could remember always looking up to Kakashi, always admiring his speed and his strength, how his aura alone could petrify people and sometimes even win battles. He was deadly and could be downright terrifying when he wanted to be and for as long as she could remember, Sakura had always admired that about him.

Honestly?

She would be happy calling it quits here and now.

But she wouldn't.

Why?

Because Uchiha Sakura was stubborn.

With that thought, Sakura shot forward once more, smirking to herself when she heard Kakashi huffing with amusement. He should have known that she wouldn't give up any time soon. Being on the same team as Uzumaki Naruto had taught her to never give up.

This was actually kind of fun, she realised as Kakashi used the replacement jutsu when her fist struck his chest, appearing from the trees in a blur of silver–grey. Sakura was knocked to the ground, but she was quick to shoot back onto her feet and block yet another of Kakashi's kunai with her own. Previously, he'd always gone easy on her, so to be going up against Kakashi when he was taking her seriously was just… Unbelievable. It was amazing.

It showed her how far she had come since her genin days.

But it was over all too soon when Kakashi found an opening, slipping through it easily and flickering here and there in the clearing, making Sakura's eyes go wide when he appeared behind Itachi only seconds later, kunai held to his throat.

Itachi remained stoic, features just as blank as they always were.

"I…" Sakura frowned when Kakashi lowered the kunai, the test obviously over. "I failed."

"No."

She turned at the voice, watching as the elders appeared from behind the trees. They were as slow as always, seeming to take their time with reaching them. During those moments, Sakura felt her stomach twisting horribly, felt her heart sinking. She had failed. Her stupid emotions and her stupid impulsiveness had driven her off task, had taken her mind away from the test. She had been so happy and excited about being taken seriously by her former–sensei that Sakura had forgotten about the test, going at it like it was simply a spar between sensei and student.

Koharu and Homura stood before her, their hands missing in the sleeves of their robes. "You passed, Sakura."

"H–How?" she demanded, eyes going wide. "Itachi would have died if this was real!"

"We never expected you to win against this opponent." Homura told her patiently, though made it obvious that they could not state Kakashi's name in case somebody overheard. He was in ANBU uniform, after all and technically, they were outside the village. "We simply wanted to know your level, and whether or not our Hokage would need guards."

Sakura glanced up at Itachi as he approached them, standing by her side. "And… Does he?"

"Only when travelling." Koharu told them. "This was an unlikely scenario we tested you for, as Itachi is too great a shinobi to allow himself to be weakened. As a member of ANBU, he has been trained to test for poisons in food and drink and with you as his wife, you can easily counter any poisons he unknowingly eats or drinks. Other than that, Itachi has been known to battle while still greatly injured. It is unlikely he will be rendered useless."

So…

Sakura blinked in surprise.

"I passed?"

Itachi looked down at her, offering her a small, proud smile. "You passed."

She couldn't help but grin brightly at him.

She had not let her shishou down.

She had passed!

* * *

**A/N - Okay, bit of warning: I'm not entirely sure when the next chapter will be out, because I'm kind of still writing it. I usually make sure I'm at least five chapters ahead of the one I'm posting, but what with college being so demanding and for other personal reasons, I haven't spent as much time as I wanted on my stories.**

**Is anybody else excited for Naruto Part 3? Yeah, I get that it's not going to be about Naruto, but I'm still so happy it's coming out soon!**


	41. We Will Remember Them

**Chapter 40 – We Will Remember Them**

Over two thousand.

Sakura collapsed backwards into Itachi's seat, hand shaking as she covered her mouth with it. By her side, Itachi remained blank but on the inside, he was a mess of emotions, emotions that centred mostly around anger. A single tear slipped down Sakura's cheek and stood at the side of the desk, Shisui and Kakashi stood in shock, the latter's eye immediately going straight to his former student. She would be taking it badly. He knew that without even thinking it.

Over two thousand people…

Other than the first attack on the village, when Pein had completely destroyed it, never before had Sakura ever suffered through such a great loss – and even then, all those people had been brought back. So in other words, this was the first time…

"Is this…" Sakura's voice was shaky, uneven. "Is this what war is like?"

Silently, Kakashi nodded his head. His generation was still trying to recover from the last war and not only physically. They were still trying to recover _mentally_.

"Over two thousand people…" she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Itachi's eyes immediately went to Sakura's. "Do not blame yourself."

"I'm a medic–nin, Itachi! I should've been there. I should've… I should've…"

"This is too much for her to handle, Itachi." Shisui told him seriously, stepping forward. "You know better than any of us–"

The younger Uchiha cut him off with a shake of his head and then nodded once to the medic who had just reported to them, silently telling him that he could leave. It had been a couple of days since the latest attack and they had only just finished finding the bodies of those who had fallen. And altogether, over two thousand people had died that day. Not just shinobi, but civilians. The elderly. Innocent children. Nobody had been spared.

His chest gave a horrible squeeze knowing that his mother was on the list of the dead.

What was he supposed to do?

Kneeling down, Itachi turned the chair Sakura was sitting on and gently pulled her hands away from her face, giving her a serious, yet somewhat understanding look. He could understand if it was too much for her to handle. Hell, Itachi didn't want Sakura to have to hear such things. He wanted her to be blissfully unaware, but allowing that would put her in danger somehow. It was too risky not to have their best medic knowing these things.

"Sakura." His voice was quiet, though at the same time, it was loud enough for him to be clear, for him to get his seriousness across. "Focus. You cannot allow your emotions to get in the way."

She swallowed hard, giving him a hopeless look. "But… Over two thousand people, Itachi…"

"And we will honour their deaths. I promise you that I will never allow them to be forgotten. Right now, however, we must focus on the living, on the state our village is in. We may have lost over two thousand people, but we still have so many more that are counting on us."

It was horrible watching her expression, watching how hard Sakura tried to stay strong only for it to slip away as her features seemed to crumble. She was trying so hard to stay composed, to be professional, but it just wouldn't happen. "W–What are we going to do? Not only against Iwa, but what about… What about Sasuke–kun? He'll be at a huge disadvantage if Iwa attacks us again. Either he's going… He's going to be attacked, or… Or he could mistake somebody for the enemy. Itachi…" Sakura took a deep breath, once more trying to calm down. It worked other than the trembling of her bottom lip. "You know how he gets in battle!"

Yes, he did. They all did considering the look that filled Kakashi's eye as well as Shisui's downward glance. It had been noted many times by himself, but the blood lust for battle called to Sasuke much more strongly than it did the rest of them. He enjoyed battling. He enjoyed defeating his most difficult opponents because it meant he was stronger. It meant he was better than them, whether it be through strategy or jutsu.

At her words, Shisui resisted the urge to frown. Due to Sakura now being an Uchiha, and Kakashi once or twice being allowed the chance to read the stone tablet, would it be okay to bring it up? Closing his eyes he focused on the surrounding chakra and when he sensed nobody other than themselves, he opened them once more.

"Itachi, there is a way to save Sasuke's eyes."

He nodded once, lowering his eyes to the ground. "I know."

"So what are you waiting for?" Sakura demanded as she cupped his face, lifting it until he was looking her in the eye. "Itachi, if there's a way to save Sasuke–kun's sight, no matter what the price, we need to do it."

Kakashi frowned. "You don't know what is needed to save Sasuke's eyes, Sakura."

"That's not important!" she stressed. "Sasuke–kun _needs_ his sight. Without it, he's only going to be a target. I'm not doubting him in the least, in fact, he'll be so much more dangerous without it because without his sight, Sasuke–kun could end up hurting his comrades, our allies." She looked back to Itachi, expression serious. "Itachi, think of what is best not only for Sasuke–kun, but also the village. Think of our allies. We need to keep our allies on our side, meaning we can't allow for any of their shinobi to die in 'friendly fire'."

Gently prying her hands from his face, Itachi stood up once more, glancing between them all.

This time, Shisui could not mask his frown. "If you take too long in this decision–"

"It is not only my decision, Shisui." he answered calmly, patiently. "This is up to Sasuke, also. We will both benefit greatly if we were to go through with this, however, that also leaves the problem of _your_ eyes."

Sakura looked up at Kakashi, frowning, before looking between the two Uchiha with that same frown, one that only deepened when it seemed they continued their conversation without words. "Wait… Benefit you both? How?"

Her husband turned to face her, sighing as he did so. "There is a way to guarantee that not only Sasuke's sight will be saved, but also my own. To do this, we must have our eyes transplanted into each other, so that I will have Sasuke's Mangekyō and he will have mine." Sakura's eyes widened. "It will work because we're brothers and we both have the Mangekyō."

Although, they did not have to be siblings. It was for any Uchiha who had strong blood ties to the recipient, though the only evidence there was of such a thing happening, was many years ago when Madara had taken his brother's eyes. While it was said on the tablet that they could merely have strong blood ties, the transplantation had only been used on brothers.

"But then wouldn't your eyes be in the same state as Sasuke's are?" Kakashi questioned. "And what about your abilities? Would he then be able to use _Tsukuyomi_?"

That was a rather terrifying thought. Shisui shook his head. "No, if Itachi transplants his eyes into Sasuke, and Sasuke's into him, then they would no longer have just an ordinary Mangekyō. They would awaken the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. It would permanently restore both of their eyesights, meaning they would never go blind from overuse and also, their ocular powers will combine, in a way. I'm not certain, but I believe the latter will be signified by a mixture of the sharingan design." At Sakura's frown, he gave a small smile. "Imagine what my own Mangekyō would look like if it was intertwined with Itachi's, Sakura–san."

Eye widening, she stood up. "And then you and Kakashi–sensei could–"

Kakashi shook his head, cutting her off. "You're forgetting I only have one sharingan, Sakura."

"Not only that," Itachi added, "but he is not an Uchiha. He has no strong blood ties, or any ties at all, to Shisui."

Her hopeful expression fell. "Which means… Unless more Uchiha suddenly start activating their Mangekyō sharingan, you'll eventually go blind, Shisui. You too, Kakashi–sensei."

They both gave her small smiles.

"I accepted this fate long ago, Sakura–san." Shisui told her softly, quietly. "The moment I read the stone tablet, back when I was just a child, I knew that one day there was a chance that I would permanently lose my sight. That thought was only confirmed when I lost someone who was close to me, awakening my Mangekyō."

"Not long after I was given this eye, when a close friend died, I realised that, too after waking up and realising I had somehow activated the Mangekyō. It shouldn't have even been possible for me, as I'm not an Uchiha."

Yes, they had both thought the very same thing. Itachi's eyes slowly slid from Kakashi's single one and to Shisui's. Not for the first time, they both wondered how such a thing could be possible. They'd gone over and over the stone tablet, reading every kanji, every inscribing and storing it to memory. Nothing. It said nothing about non–Uchiha awakening the Mangekyō. In fact, it said absolutely nothing about non–Uchiha possessing the sharingan – like it was strictly forbidden. That wouldn't be too much of a surprise, considering how secretive the clan could be.

He inwardly sighed. If only there were more Uchiha who had unlocked the Mangekyō, ones who had strong blood ties to Shisui. Thinking of his friend eventually going blind was unpleasant. He simply did not want that to happen. Not as Hokage, not because Shisui was incredibly valuable to the village and a great asset, but because Shisui was his friend. Going blind… Their clan had always believed that you may as well be dead if you are blind, because your sharingan will obviously be of no use.

As for Hatake Kakashi, he would only go blind in one eye. Considering how much he used his Mangekyō along with the jutsu that came along with it, he would not have a great deal of use left out of that eye. He was a non–Uchiha, therefore he was not one hundred percent compatible with the sharingan. It drained his chakra much faster than it drained any of theirs, to the point where he collapsed. It was probably due to the fact he could not deactivate it when it was not needed.

"Itachi." Shisui gave him a serious look, his brows furrowing. "Speak with Sasuke about it."

When he gazed down at his wife, he saw Sakura nodded along with Shisui, agreeing with him wholeheartedly. And it was decided at that moment, without even thinking it through fully, that it would be Sakura who transplanted their eyes into each other. Not only because she was the only medic–nin Sasuke would allow close to him, but also because Itachi trusted her completely. She would not do anything that would risk them losing their sight permanently. If anything, Sakura would do everything in her power to keep that from happening.

"I will speak with Sasuke later." he informed them. "For now, however, I wish to discuss what I am planning to do." That was where the other medic–nin had interrupted them by knocking on the cabin door and entering, telling them all of how many shinobi they had lost. When the others nodded, listening carefully, he spoke. "I wish to meet with the other Kage."

"A Kage Summit?" Shisui asked, his eyes widening a fraction. "Is that wise, Itachi? After all that has happened between Konoha and Iwa, do you really believe meeting with the Tsuchikage will be a good idea?"

"The other Kage will be there." Sakura murmured with a frown. "Including the Kazekage, who is our ally. If anything happens, I know Gaara will back you up, Itachi."

Always supporting him, he thought with an inward smile. While others had their concerns and uncertainties, Sakura supported him.

Kakashi shoved his hands into his pocket, his single dark eye narrowing a fraction. "I think it's time you met with the Tsuchikage and made him see sense, Itachi–san. Perhaps this was something that should have been done a while back, before all of the attacks and invasions." He sighed. "Having the other Kage there will give you witnesses. As far as I'm aware of, other than the occasional use of Akatsuki, Iwa have no allies. At least, none of the greater nations. At most they have a few small villages and nations."

He nodded once. It seemed he was not the only one who had done his research. Then again, Kakashi had never been entirely fond of Iwa, not after the last war. The Copy–Nin kept his dislike well hidden, of course, as it wouldn't really be professional to show it, but it was in the sudden darkening of his aura, in the narrowing of his eye. If there had been more than just the four of them in the room, Itachi doubted Hatake Kakashi would be showing half as much emotion as he currently was.

"We need to make the Tsuchikage see that Sasuke–kun is innocent and that what he's doing is only causing more pain and creating more hatred." She shook her head, a pained expression on her features. "Today alone I've heard so many villagers cursing Iwa, blaming the village as a whole for what's happened to Konoha. Itachi, we _know_ that not all Iwa–nin are bad people."

Yes, they did. "I will be contacting the other Kage later today, after the memorial. It will be decided then what day and time we will be meeting, as well as how many bodyguards will be accompanying us."

The thought of Itachi needing bodyguards was absolutely ridiculous in Sakura's mind, but she knew that it was necessary, that it was only a precaution. "And… Yours and Sasuke–kun's eyes?"

"We will have to speak with Sasuke first." Itachi reminded her. "And it may also be best to wait until after the summit, though it depends on when it is."

They each nodded once.

"Shisui, have you been to see Iruka–san yet?"

"Yes." he answered. "I will be meeting with a group of genin shortly and plan on starting their training tomorrow, so they have the rest of today of grieve in peace."

That sounded fair. They were only children, after all. "Kakashi–san?"

There was obvious reluctance on what little of his features were shown, as well as the way his body seemed to sag with his sigh. "I will also be taking on a group around the same size as Shisui's."

Sakura frowned. "Group? Not team?"

"No." Her husband replied. "If they are sent out on missions then yes, they will be in ordinary three–man teams. However, for training, they will be in groups of twelve. Many of our jonin are now taking on groups of twelve genin. You're temporary team captain, Tenzo–san, will also be doing this. The Academy has been slacking for the past several years and I plan on making that stop. Genin, or shinobi in training, will now be pushed just as hard as the previous generations were."

Understandable, Sakura thought. During her time at the academy, she hadn't once been pushed in her severely lacking skills. Sure, she was intelligent and they had encouraged her with that, but not once had they pushed her to better herself physically. There was kunoichi training and how to act like a woman, there was also basic ninjutsu training, however, that was pretty much where it stopped. For females, at least.

"Itachi…" When he looked down at her, raising an eyebrow, she frowned. "I want kunoichi to be trained the same way every other shinobi is trained. Just because we're women, it doesn't make us weak. I understand we need the 'how to be a woman' training and whatever else comes along with that, for they're great skills to have when we're infiltrating, but… Not once was I ever pushed in the academy like all the boys were. They treated all girls like they're weak – even Ino and Hinata! Do you think you could change that, also?"

"I will try."

She nodded her thanks, a small smile on her lips. To her, when she was younger, she'd always seen it as unfair when all the boys got more taijutsu training than the girls and had only grown more annoyed when the femininity training began. It was like they'd been pushed aside, like they were ignored, because they were female. People didn't see their potential because they were women. Hyuuga Hinata, at the time, had been the heir to one of the major clans and even she had been more or less ignored and treated like she was weak. They just didn't see females as true shinobi, she had realised one day when she was younger. They believed men were greater. Then again, Sakura had won many battles because of being underestimated by the other sex. They didn't expect her to have such monstrous strength, such powerful healing abilities. They didn't expect her to have such great intelligence and strategy.

"In return, Sakura, I ask that you and Shizune–san train other medic–nin."

Silence.

Her eyes widened.

"M–Me?"

"You were Tsunade–sama's greatest success." Kakashi smirked beneath his mask. "And you have also mastered a great deal of her jutsu and techniques. We're not saying pass everything she taught you down to them." He added when he saw her look of uncertainty, her pain. "All you and Shizune–san need to do is prepare the medic–nin, teach them how to fight out on the front lines."

She shook her head, closing her eyes. "It's not possible."

They frowned, exchanging glances. "Why not?"

"Rule of medics number one: no medic–nin shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of their team members have come to an end. Rule number two: no medic–nin shall ever stand on the front lines. Rule number three: no medic–nin shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon." She sighed and opened their eyes, tapping the seal on her forehead. "Rule number four: only those medic–nin who have mastered the _Byakugō no Jutsu_ of the ninja art _Sōzō Saisei_ are permitted to discard the above–mentioned laws!" The look she gave them was tired, pained. "Those were the first things Tsunade–shishou taught me. And the _Byakugō no In_ is a forbidden jutsu, it's shishou's jutsu. I have no right to be teaching it to others and only those with chakra control like ours can store the amount of chakra needed for the seal."

"So basically…"

When Kakashi trailed off, she sighed again. "Basically, since her death, I am the only medic–nin who can fight on the front lines."

"But I've seen many medic–nin in battle, they–"

"Only fight when it's necessary, when their team is losing." Sakura stated. "I've fought many times with team seven, Kakashi–sensei. Back before I even activated my seal, Sasuke–kun and I were sent on many missions where I had to back him up in battle. However, it's only if there is no other choice. If I truly believe we won't win, then I help out. If not, if my help isn't needed, then I stay back and wait until the battle is over, healing my teammates whenever they need me to."

"Medic–nin must also be protected," Shisui murmured thoughtfully, "because without them, who will heal the team? That is why it is common strategy to take out the medic–nin first, so that the enemy team has no way of being healed."

Sighing, Sakura watched her husband for a moment, trying to understand anything and everything on his features, but they were stoic, as usual. Of course, she should have already known that because in all the time she'd known Itachi, not once had he ever worn his emotions for everyone to see, nor had he ever made it obvious what he was thinking about. "Itachi?"

He was silent for a few seconds longer, seeming to be thinking about something, before he asked, "So you are saying that there is no use in teaching the medic–nin how to fight on the front lines, because they will be unable to do so without breaking the rules?"

She nodded. "They were set by Tsunade–sama herself many years ago." There was a pause. "I can… I can try and teach them how to heal faster, how to heal more efficiently, but… Shizune–san has more experience in that area than I do. I'm still working on my own skills and–"

"Stop doubting yourself." It wasn't the first time Itachi had said those words to her and, knowing his wife the way he did, he knew it would not be the last. "Both you and Shizune–san will train the medics in whatever area they need to work on."

"And… What about Naruto and Sasuke–kun? What about them?"

What about them, indeed. After hearing about her death, it was safe to say that Naruto was upset. No, he was devastated over the loss of Tsunade, that pain only increasing when he heard about Mikoto's death also. _It was too much_, he'd yelled at Kakashi, who had been the one to inform him. _Too many lives were being lost because of a stupid old man and it wasn't fair_, had been another. From there, Kakashi had left the blond to be with Hinata, who had tried her best to calm him down, but the blond had been inconsolable. Not only with his anger, but his sadness and his sorrow. He simply couldn't believe that two of the greatest kunoichi in their village had been killed in battle.

Shisui glanced at Itachi, silently wondering why the younger Uchiha hadn't already informed Sakura about what he was planning on doing with the blond. "Naruto–kun will be leaving the village for a short while, Sakura–san." he told her when Itachi seemed, dare he say (or think), hesitant. "And if Sasuke agrees to this eye transplant, then he will be leaving, also."

Green eyes immediately snapped to Itachi's, narrowing. "Why?" Just as Shisui opened his mouth, she held her hand up to him, eyes narrowing further on Itachi. "_You_ tell me."

This was why he hadn't wanted to tell Sakura. Her anger was… Well, not exactly terrifying to him, but it was something to feel anxious about. After all, his wife was a very impulsive woman. "He will be leaving because I believe it is time that he finished his training and learns how to control the Kyuubi."

"The Kyuubi–" She cut herself off, feeling a little bit sick. The last time she came face–to–face with the Kyuubi was still burned right to the front of her mind and it had taken quite a while and a lot of healing sessions for her arm to be completely healed. The thought of Naruto purposely drawing out the Kyuubi's chakra terrified her. What if something went wrong? What if he couldn't control it? What if the chakra hurt him, like it always did? Since Pein's attack, he hadn't tried to continue his training once, due to not feeling completely comfortable with it after the pain that had been caused. Naruto still felt guilty. "I'm going with him."

"Sakura–"

"Naruto is always so badly injured after that _thing_ has given him some chakra!" she snapped, cutting Itachi off when he had tried to argue. "If he's going to be controlling it and using its chakra, then I'm going with him so that I can heal him afterwards."

The look Itachi gave her was blank. "You do not have a say in this, Sakura."

Disbelief was so very clear on her features. Disbelief and anger. "How the hell can you say that? Naruto's my friend! He's an idiot, but he's like a brother to me! I'm going–"

"The hospital needs you more than Naruto–kun does."

Silence.

When he had her attention, Itachi continued, his eyes narrowing just a fraction. "As your Hokage, Sakura, I order you to continue working in the hospital and teaching the other medics what you know. This will benefit the village greatly."

It took a lot to try and stop the trembling of her bottom lip. "B–But Naruto, he–"

"Will not be alone." His voice was less firm now and held a softer tone to it. "Like Shisui has already told you, Sasuke will be with him, as his watcher, in case he loses control. Not only Sasuke, but I will assign as many of our best shinobi as I can to take care of him. Naruto–kun is a great asset to our village, Sakura. If he can control the Kyuubi, he will be an even greater asset. Already, the village believes in him. Tsunade–sama believed in him also, enough so that she was already planning on sending him off somewhere to complete his training."

That was… This time, the trembling of her bottom lip couldn't be stopped. "Don't, Itachi. Don't make stuff up like that just to win this discussion."

"Do you really believe I would do that?"

It took her a couple of moments, but eventually, she shook her head.

"You may not like it, Sakura, but this is necessary. It is what's best for the village."

She nodded.

"Shisui, Kakashi–san. Please allow for me to have a moment alone with my wife."

Kakashi spared Sakura a final glance before leaving, feeling so very sorry for his former student. It was obvious the stress of everything was getting to her. He just hoped Itachi noticed it also, and gave her a break every now and then.

As well as Kakashi, Shisui also spared them both a final glance, holding back his sigh. His friend needed to learn that using his authority to settle an argument wasn't entirely fair. Yes, Sakura should always obey her Hokage and no, being married to the Hokage should not give her any benefits or allowances. However, she should respect the orders given to her and not question them. Outside of their home, he was her Hokage, not her husband. Behind closed doors they could do and be whatever and whoever they wanted to be. On the outside, they needed to put their emotions and feelings aside and do what was best for the village.

When they were finally gone, when he and Sakura were alone, Itachi closed the distance between them, leaning Sakura backwards against his desk so that she wouldn't walk away from him. "Please understand that this is necessary."

"I do! I just…"

"You just…?"

A single tear slipped down her cheek though before it had the chance to reach her chin, Itachi caught it and wiped it away, his thumb lingering on her cheek and drawing soothing patterns. "I don't want to lose… anyone else. It's probably irrational a–and asking for too much, but… I've lost three people now that I cared for dearly, Itachi. I can't stand the thought of Sasuke–kun and Naruto going away somewhere, where _I'm_ not around to heal them, while there's so many people out there wanting to hurt them."

"I will admit that since Jiraiya–sama's death, we have not been as updated with Akatsuki as I would like." Itachi told her truthfully, knowing that it would only cause her more pain if he lied to her. "And they are far too dangerous to track with shinobi weaker than Jiraiya–sama."

"But… But Pein… Nagato's dead! Akatsuki should be disbanded and…"

Itachi shaking his head silenced her. "Remember what Konan said, Sakura: she was leaving Akatsuki. That suggests that there is a possibility of somebody hiding behind Nagato, having him play the role of leader."

Her eyes widened, tears rapidly drying at the thought of such a thing being true. "And… Would that make the real leader more powerful?" Because just the thought turned her stomach to a lump of ice.

"Not necessarily. Already, people with eyes such as my own, or eyes such as the Hyuuga clan's, have a huge advantage over most opponents. Nagato's rinnegan, in a way, was like an advanced form of the sharingan, perhaps even the byakugan. There is very little to go on when it comes to the rinnegan and everything said always repeats the same thing: that the rinnegan is possibly, so far, the most powerful dōjutsu that has been recorded in history."

And that was exactly why he had destroyed Nagato's eyes, therefore, they were obviously no longer able to be used. Power such as the rinnegan was not made for humans, who were greedy and often corrupted by power. It was a precaution, just in case of the small possibility that the real leader in Akatsuki wanted those eyes, wanted the rinnegan. If he or she was more powerful than Nagato, then that person having those eyes would be extremely disastrous.

Tilting her face towards his, Itachi pressed his forehead against hers, watching her eyes. "Forgive me for acting so rudely earlier."

"It's okay, I–"

"No." he cut her off, expression serious. "Do not make excuses. Even though I am Hokage now, it does not give me the right to treat you as though you are below me. You are my wife, Sakura."

"But you _are_ Hokage, Itachi." Sakura told him just as seriously. "You can't give me any leniency because I'm your wife – it won't settle well with the villagers. You can't give me any special treatment." She sighed and raised her hand, stroking his cheek. "I understand that I need to follow your orders as Hokage, but… I have to admit, I'm still not used to calling you 'Hokage–sama'."

That made two of them.

Her eyebrows furrowed and though he couldn't see the movement, he felt it due to their positions. "And I get that you're stressed right now, so I understand if you have much shorter patience than usual."

Still, Itachi did not allow her to make excuses for him. Even though he outwardly nodded just to save an argument from starting, inwardly, he was shaking his head and silently promising to her that he would never lose his patience with her. So far, in this new role as Hokage, Sakura was keeping him grounded. She was helping him through the pain and loss of his mother. She was doing everything in her power to try and find ways to save his younger brother's sight, as well as heal all others who were injured.

His wife was an amazing woman. Everything she had done in the past couple of days outweighed almost all of her bad habits, in his eyes. Actually, no. Everything she had done since Pein's attack on the village had allowed him to ignore most of her bad habits. The one habit he could not ignore was Sakura's inability to neatly place her shoes beside the door. Instead she merely kicked them off and left them laying around. He should have been aware of that, however, since Haruno Mebuki had warned him of her habit and also teased her daughter about it.

"Have you spoken with your parents recently?"

Surprised by the change of conversation, though not saying anything about it, Sakura nodded. "Just this morning, actually. My dad is, uh…" She frowned, biting on her lower lip. "He and my mom are thinking about moving away from the village. The stress of all these attacks are really getting to her and my dad thinks it will be good for her health if they left."

That had to be hurting her, he realised and when he did, one of his arms wrapped around her waist, his hand slowly rubbing her back comfortingly. "Was she injured?"

"Minor scrapes and bruises." she told him. "But… It's left her shaken up, you know? She's jumping at the smallest of bangs and what with all the construction that's going to be going on…" Sakura shook her head, sighing. "I'm starting to believe moving away will be good for my parents, too."

"Send them to me later on today." Itachi murmured. "I will discuss options with them and make sure they are relocated somewhere safe, somewhere that is within reach of Konoha, should they need any help." He gave her a small smile. "I will also give them both approval of their leaving, so that no hunter–nin will try to track down your father."

There were no words to describe how so very grateful she was. As a former shinobi, her father knew quite a lot of information about the village and had quite a few secrets that could be used against the village. "Thank you, Itachi."

He kissed her softly, chastely.

* * *

Right on the front row, dressed completely in black, Sakura stood in between Itachi and Sasuke, leaning against the former and holding the latter's hand tightly in her own. Tears were slipping down her cheeks faster than she could stop them and after a couple of minutes, Sakura had stopped trying to wipe them away, for more simply took their place.

Like the elders had told her just yesterday: there was a memorial for all who gave their lives to protect the village. Unfortunately, not everybody's picture was up on the stand, which some people couldn't understand (even though it was because there simply wasn't enough room), but that did not mean they were not being mourned. The entire village was dressed in whatever black items of clothing they had and the entire Uchiha clan, as well as Naruto, Shizune and any others who had meant a lot to the Godaime Hokage, were up on top of the recently built Hokage Tower.

It was not yet fully built and was merely a building that had yet to have the inside finished, but the meaning was not lost. First, before all others, those who had been close to Senju Tsunade were taken up onto the new Hokage Tower and next, was the Uchiha clan, since their matriarch had also died. Then, the fallen shinobi and civilians' families or teams were brought onto the tower's roof. However, since there were over two thousand people who had died in the invasion, it was impossible to have everybody on the tower, so many others were standing around it, looking up though not really seeing much. It didn't matter. Either way, they were paying their respects to those who had fallen.

Only ten minutes into the memorial and Sakura had to lean against Itachi for support, for she honestly could feel her heart breaking all over again as she gazed at the pictures on the stand. And only a few minutes later, when she'd glanced up at Sasuke and saw that his near–sightless eyes were glassy, saw that his jaw was tightly clenched, Sakura hadn't thought twice about reaching out for his hand, rubbing her thumb along his knuckles. He hadn't glanced at her, his eyes instead remaining fixed on the picture of his mother. Even though he could not see the picture, he knew it was her because of the feeling in the pit of his stomach. He just knew it.

On Sasuke's other side stood Fugaku, who was fiercely guarding his emotions. He hadn't wanted to go to the memorial at all and had wanted to stay at home and mourn for his wife in peace and privacy. Itachi had told him to come, however. Not because it would be disrespectful of him not to, but for _him_. For Sasuke. He told Fugaku rather bluntly that not only Sasuke needed his father, but so did he. After all, it was around Fugaku that Itachi was his most composed. He needed that pressure his father forced on him to remain 'perfect'.

Shisui was on Itachi's other side, Kurenai by his side and holding his hand, patting his arm comfortingly. His expression was solemn, eyes stuck on Mikoto's picture.

And when it was time for Itachi to make a speech for those who had fallen, due to him being the Hokage, Sakura reluctantly released him, though was surprised when Sasuke pulled her closer to him, allowing for Sakura to lean against him while her husband was gone. She didn't question him and instead took advantage of his surprising comfort, trembling minutely.

Standing in front of the pictures, Itachi lowered his head respectfully to them and placed down the first white flower before walking over to the stand, looking over those who had gathered.

"We all lost somebody we considered precious to us during the latest attack on our home. Some of us lost our parents, some of us lost our friends and siblings, while others lost lovers, children and other family members." He stood tall, his dark eyes solemn as he looked out at those in front of him. There was so much pain to be seen, so much that it made him so very angry at Iwa for what they had done. "And we _all_ lost our Hokage, Senju Tsunade."

He tried not to look at Sakura, for her pain was the one that made him ache the most. Seeing her trembling his his brother's arms, seeing her pressing her face into his shoulder, secretly agonised Itachi. And the single tear that slipped down Sasuke's cheek…

"However, I ask that you all remember the best of those we lost. Remember all of the things they taught you, or helped you with. Remember the way their eyes lit up with happiness, or the way they smiled." Itachi glanced over at the picture of his mother, breathing deeply as he sighed. "And also know that not a single death was in vain. As your Rokudaime Hokage, I promise you all that I will do everything in my power to end this war with Iwa and I will do my best to prevent tragedies such as this from happening again."

Finally, almost reluctantly, Itachi turned back to face his wife, watching how Sakura tilted her head in his direction, wanting to hear his speech. It hadn't been rehearsed or planned and even though Itachi was certain he should have planned one, or at least had an idea of what he was going to say, Sakura told him to say whatever was in his heart. No, Itachi was not all that great with his emotions, therefore making it more difficult for him to outwardly empathise with others, but she had murmured to him that if it came from the heart, if he truly meant it, then others would know, at the very least, that he was doing his best to understand.

"When Tsunade–sama informed me of her wishes, I was not entirely sure on how to react or feel. I understood her wishes, yes, but it took me a while to finally agree to them and accept them." There was a pause, one where Itachi tried to word his thoughts. Nobody made a sound, merely waiting for the Hokage to find his words. "It is unsettling, in a way, knowing that an entire village's safety rests on my shoulders, which is partly why I disagreed with Tsunade–sama's decision of me being her successor. However, I assure you all now, that I will do everything possible to protect you all."

Another pause. "Just this morning, when I was speaking with my wife, she came up with the idea of planting a memorial tree for all those we have lost. And whilst our village is growing once more, the tree will also grow with it. The tree will never be cut down, no matter how tall it grows and it will signify all we have lost. It will be a tree of remembrance and every year, on the day of the attack, we will hold a remembrance day for our loved ones, where we can all gather and say a private prayer for them."

There were a few smiles from those who had gathered and secretly, Itachi suddenly felt warmth in his chest at the thought of the villagers _liking_ the fact he was Hokage. Of course, he had accepted the fact that there would be a few who were unhappy with him being Hokage, but so far, not a single person had complained – not that he was aware of, anyway. And now, it seemed like they were definitely more on his side.

When it was time to place down their flowers on the stand, they went slowly by a row at a time and Sakura held onto Sasuke's hand tightly as she followed after him as he followed Fugaku, watching his father's blurred figure to know where to stand and when he went to place down his flower, he waited until Sakura was placing down her own, watching her movements just in case he missed the stand.

After that, they stood silently side by side and Sakura watched as the table grew crowded with flowers. She watched as Naruto followed after Shizune and Ino, watched as the three placed down their flowers together and said a silent prayer to the woman in the picture. And when they were taking their place once more, when he was passing them, Naruto stayed with Sasuke and Sakura, having arrived a few minutes late and being unable to stand next to them. To make room for when Itachi returned to them, Kurenai and Shisui shuffled to the side ever so slightly.

Naruto held Sakura's other hand just as tightly, silently telling her that he was there for her, too and in response, she tugged him closer to her side, _needing_ the comfort both of her boys radiated to her, for her. They'd always been there for Sakura for as long as she could remember. Despite leaving for three years, Naruto had been there for her before they were even became genin, even though she had treated him badly and like he was an annoyance.

The thought of them both leaving made her feel sick.

So Sakura held onto them tighter.

Her boys would be leaving her.

* * *

**A/N - I'm not at college today and have absolutely nothing better to do, so I decided to update. I was at the doctors earlier, having what they called a 'minor operation', although I wouldn't really call it that. After all, it only ended with a couple of stitches and it hadn't hurt in the slightest! Now I'm home alone with an entire day to just relax. I'll probably try and get more writing done, but will most likely do my assignments or watch Netflix.**

**I won't be updating on Wednesday since I updated today instead! Also, there won't be an update for Setting Sun this week, as I haven't finished the final chapter yet (kind of stuck, to be honest).**

**When I first started writing B,B&amp;H I never planned for it to reach forty chapters! Any idea what you all want the ending to be like? I'm not saying it's ending soon, because I honestly have no idea when it will be, but I can promise you that I won't drag it out too long. Maybe another ten, fifteen chapters? Who knows? When I write, I just go with what I'm typing, which explains the forty chapters so far hahaha!**


	42. Preparations

**Chapter 41 – Preparations**

"It has been decided."

Sakura glanced up at her husband as he shut the bedroom door behind himself, removing his flak jacket as he did. Unlike previous Hokage (not including Tsunade), Itachi disliked wearing the official robes every waking moment, so instead chose to wear his jonin uniform around the village, though with a few alterations that signified him as Hokage. Should he leave the village, however, Itachi would have to wear the robes over his jonin uniform, along with the hat. Or was it just the hat? Sakura wasn't too sure.

"The Summit?" When Itachi nodded and sat down on the bed beside her, Sakura moved behind him wordlessly, giving him a smile when he watched her curiously. A second later and curiosity left him as she lifted his shirt up and over his head before gently massaging his bare shoulders. There was so much tension in them, so much stress. "When and where will it be?"

"A week from now in the Land of Iron." He sighed and it his wife's insistence, he leaned forward to lay down on the bed, allowing her to straddle his lower back as she continued with the massage. "It was also decided that we will each take two bodyguards with us and no more." A pause and during the pause, Itachi glanced over his shoulder the best he could, meeting Sakura's eye. "You will be accompanying me as my personal medic, since you can fight on the front lines and don't need me to protect you. Shisui will be my other bodyguard."

Not for the first time and hopefully not for the last, Sakura's stomach flipped with happiness at his words. He believed in her. He believed in her strength. No, they were nowhere near finished with her training, but Itachi knew she could handle herself. Unlike when she was still genin, still just twelve years old, Sakura no longer needed anybody to protect her, because she was capable of defending herself.

She smiled and applied a minute amount of healing chakra to Itachi's tensed muscles, making it much easier and less painful to massage them. And it was like Itachi simply melted beneath her in response, his eyes sliding shut and head softly dropping onto the bed. "I'm guessing Kakashi–sensei is being left here to keep an eye on the village?"

Itachi nodded once, though kept his eyes closed. "It is too risky to be leaving the village unprotected and for the duration of this summit, all shinobi must stay within their villages. This obviously does not include rogue–nin or any other threats."

Which meant… "Suna–nin won't be able to come to Konoha until after the summit."

"Correct."

Despite the worry, Itachi breathed out a sigh of relief. By now, Sakura had reached around the middle of his back and already, he felt much more relaxed than he had in weeks. Her touch… It had always soothed him, always brought him a mixture of feelings that ranged from pleasure, to comfort. The hands on his back, rubbing and kneading and caressing, where the hands of a healer. They were the hands of a kunoichi who could both kill a man with her bare hands, and heal a man.

"As for your parents." He forced himself to remain composed, to keep talking so that he could inform Sakura of the fact that he had kept his promise to her. "After speaking with them only an hour ago, we decided that it would be best if they left the village. I have offered them as much support as I can, since your father is a veteran from the Third Shinobi World War and no longer able to work to the best of his ability. I have personally found them a place to live, somewhere that is out of the way, yet in reach of Konoha should they need help. It will be peaceful for them there, as not many know about it."

Her heart melted and her happiness doubled. "And the risk of rogue–nin?"

"The risk of them being found is the same probability of them being attacked here. However, do not forget that your father was once a talented shinobi – he has merely retired from active duty. Along with this, on our way to the summit, Shisui will be setting up a few genjutsu traps that will only react if somebody other than your parents step into it."

That sounded so difficult. To set up a genjutsu that would only react to specific chakra had to be hard to create, or to use. There was no doubt in her mind that Shisui would have to talk her parents through how it works, before asking if he could get a 'taster' of their chakra. By doing that, he would be able to make sure his genjutsu did not ensnare her parents, because Sakura knew for a fact that they wouldn't be able to release the genjutsu. Her mother was a civilian who couldn't even summon her chakra, while her father was not a genjutsu type. He relied mostly on taijutsu, though knew a few ninjutsu, also.

Lifting herself off of Itachi for a moment, she pulled on his sides, silently telling him to turn over and once he did, she smiled and leaned down, pressing her lips to his.

"Thank you."

Itachi cupped her cheek, stroking it for a moment before he brought her lips down to his once more, kissing her more deeply than the previous kiss.

The day had been painful for them both, but it seemed his wife had managed to calm herself, to reign in her emotions as best as she possibly could. Lately, however, in his eyes she had appeared to be so much more fragile than usual. Itachi understood that there was so much stress on them all lately and he understood that she was still grieving, but it seemed deeper than that. For example, even though she was on top of him and more or less in control of their kiss, Sakura felt so delicate and fragile in his arms – more so than usual.

He couldn't understand what the difference was, nor could he explain it. All Itachi was aware of, was that something was different about her. Whether it was a good or bad difference, was undecided.

Sakura sighed as she broke the kiss, her cheek pressing to his as Itachi rolled his hips into hers.

"I… I haven't restarted the contraception jutsu yet." she confessed the second she felt his arousal pressing against her. "We haven't been having sex, so I kept putting it off… If I restart it now, it won't work for tonight."

It was only yesterday that they decided to put off having a child – or trying for one, at least. He had to admit, though, that he didn't like the idea. Sure, he agreed with it and he understood her reasons without a problem. Itachi simply wanted to be able to give her a child. "Don't restart it." he breathed, pulling her body closer to his. "Sakura–"

Even though she tried to pull away, Itachi kept her against him. "It's too dangerous, Itachi. What if–"

"I will protect you both."

"You're Hokage, you need to focus on–"

"Sakura." he sighed and sat up, effectively pushing Sakura into a seated position, also. However, like only moments ago, Itachi kept Sakura close to him by sitting her on his lap. "I do not want any more regrets. Putting off having a child because of the state our world is in, is…" For the first time in a long time, Itachi could not find the words to use and instead changed his sentence. "There is no way of knowing that we will be together in the future because at any moment, one of us could die. I want to know that, should I not return from a battle one day, you will still have a part of me with you."

Her bottom lip began to tremble and tears filled her eyes. "But that's why I can't, Itachi." Her voice was higher than usual, a clear indication to her pain and incoming breakdown. "You're… You're Hokage now. The chances of you dying in battle are so much higher because of you being Hokage. You won't be allowed to battle unless it's serious, unless you're the only one capable of defeating the enemy and I… I can't be a parent _alone_." She whimpered. "Losing you would be bad enough, but I would then have to look that child in the eye every day and see you in him or her. I'd have to sit down and explain to them why you aren't around, or why–"

When she cut herself off, too pained to continue, Itachi caught her hands and stopped them from covering her face, forcing her to look at him and only when she was looking at him, did he continue. "And what about the chances of you dying in battle, Sakura? What if I want a part of you to stay with me? Our lives are too unpredictable to hold things off and an example of that is Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai."

Holding onto his forearms, Sakura tried her best to control her emotions, to calm down, but it was difficult. Just earlier that day, she had been a mess of emotions, also. The stress was getting to her greatly, making it difficult to concentrate half of the time. "We can't have a baby just because we're scared of losing each other."

"We won't be." he argued quietly. "We wanted to have a child before these feelings developed. Back when we first agreed to start trying, you told me later that night that you love me and that that was why you wanted to have my children."

"I do!"

"Then stop finding excuses not to."

"We've lost so much, Itachi!" she stressed, tears slipping down her cheeks. "Our village as a whole has lost so much!"

"And I have promised you that I will settle this feud between Konoha and Iwa."

"But what if he doesn't listen? What if the Tsuchikage won't stop and keeps attacking? What then?" Sakura demanded angrily. "Losing you would be unbearable, but losing something we created? Losing my own child? It will kill me."

"Then I will not–"

"_Stop saying that_!" Sakura all but screamed at him, her voice shaking and cracking under the pressure of her yell, of her emotions. "Stop saying you're going to make everything better, or that you're going to be there to protect us! Nothing is for sure. We have no way of knowing if we're going to be together for the rest of our lives – or if we even get to live full lives."

He was silenced. In his mind, nothing was going on. There were no words that Itachi could find to respond with, so all he was capable of doing in that moment in time, was watching the trembling sight of his wife. All he could do was witness the internal struggle within herself, the one that was so painful that it was beginning to make her angry.

It took a lot to keep her voice low and calm and even then, it didn't work entirely because there was still that traitorous shake to it. "I can't do it, 'tachi. I can't."

Silently, Itachi wrapped his arms around Sakura and pulled her against his chest, staring blankly at the headboard of their bed and sighing as he did so. What did they do now? What was he supposed to say? Sakura did not want promises that would be difficult to keep or fulfil. She didn't want pretty words that would make her feel just the tiniest bit better. What she wanted was something she was not allowing herself to have, because of the overwhelming fear of losing that thing: a baby.

And he wanted one, also. Itachi wanted to receive the news from Sakura one day that she was carrying his child. He wanted to watch her grow more rounder by the week, by the month. He wanted to see all of the tender and loving looks, all of the smiles of hope and happiness. He wanted to be there, watching it all. And when the child was born, he wanted him or her to look like their mother. Her smile, her eyes, her delicacy… He wanted all of those things, to share all of those experiences, with nobody but Sakura.

He wanted to be a father.

But if that wasn't what Sakura wanted, if she no longer wanted to be a mother, what was he supposed to do about it? He couldn't force her to have a child and there was not a chance in hell that he would force himself on her and impregnate her against her will. So what else could he do?

"I'm sorry." she choked out in a broken sob, clutching to him desperately. "I–I'm sorry!"

Itachi closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against her hair. "You shouldn't apologise for the way you feel."

He respected her wishes, though hoped that they would change one day.

That was all he could do.

* * *

Closing his eyes and sighing, Itachi allowed himself just a moment of rest before sitting up straight and reopening his eyes. A second later and there was a knock on the door of his temporary office, the new one not yet complete.

"Enter."

Even though he had been brought up to believe everyone else was below him, it was still strange to think of himself as Hokage, especially when, with that knowledge, came the fact that he _ordered_ others around. And as his father entered the office with Naruto, Kakashi and Tenzo behind him, that feeling of strangeness only increased. All of his life, he had followed his father's orders and now, it was the other way around. Itachi wasn't even sure if he liked the switch in authority.

As the four men stood in front of Itachi's desk, Naruto cast a glance over at the other two who were already there: Sasuke and Shisui. They were silently stood at the side of the desk, allowing the four men room in the cramped office. Really, there shouldn't be more than four in the office at a time – five, including himself. It was simply too small and had a horrible sense of claustrophobia settling in on them all.

"You asked to see me?"

Sasuke's head tilted to the side and his eyebrows tried their best to knit together, but he otherwise remained blank at the sound of his father's voice.

Earlier that day, Shisui had entered the Uchiha home and escorted Sasuke to Itachi's office, informing him of the fact that there was something important to discuss. Before even entering the office he knew it would be about his eyes. Either he would be taken off of mission rota, or be stripped of his rank completely. However, once he arrived, he was utterly stunned to hear what Itachi and Shisui had uncovered and, dare he say, hopeful.

"I did." Itachi spoke calmly, blankly. His voice had always held the tone of authority, but it wasn't really until that moment that they all saw him as a leader. "The beginning of next week, myself along with Sakura and Shisui will be leaving the village for several days – a week at most."

Kakashi resisted the urge to frown. "They agreed to a summit?"

"Yes."

"Oi, what're you talking about?" Naruto demanded sulkily, not liking the fact everyone looked so informed while he hadn't a clue what was going on. "What's a summit?"

It was Tenzo who replied, sighing as he did so. Even after all this time, after all these years, Naruto was still so clueless. "A Kage Summit is a meeting of all the Kage and during that meeting, they discuss whatever is affecting or threatening their respective counties, or sometimes the world."

Once that was explained, Itachi continued. "You will all be guards."

"Six guards?" Tenzo questioned with a frown.

"No, four guards. As I said: only Sakura and Shisui will be accompanying me to the summit. However, I want you, father, Kakashi–san and Naruto–kun to watch over Sasuke." There was no reply from Sasuke. He merely accepted the words and stared sightlessly ahead of himself. "You will also act as witnesses. It is a rule that, before, during and days after a summit, restrictions will be placed on all shinobi who will not be attending the meeting. By doing this, one village cannot work against another while their respective Kage is gone."

Slowly, unsurely, Naruto nodded. "And you want us to watch Sasuke because…?"

All at the same time, Kakashi, Tenzo and Sasuke resisted the urge to slap their foreheads and sigh with disbelief. And under his breath, the youngest Uchiha muttered out an "idiot", though none of them paid any attention since Naruto had surprisingly not heard the insult. Either that, or he was ignoring it.

"By watching over Sasuke, should anything happen to Iwa while the Tsuchikage is away from the village, we will have witnesses who can vouch for him." Shisui stated. "We hope that, should anything happen, this will pardon him from the accusations."

"However," Tenzo said thoughtfully, "you must take into account that you already have the entire clan backing him up, yet the Tsuchikage still refuses to believe Sasuke's innocence. What makes you so sure that he will listen now?"

"We're not." Itachi replied, sitting back in his chair. "I plan on discussing these matters with him during the summit, where we will have our own witnesses."

"And if he does not accept it?" Fugaku questioned, folding his arms over his chest and giving his eldest son a blank look.

Itachi's expression was just as empty, just as serious as his father's and when he spoke, his tone was empty though at the same time, it was deadly. "Then I will deal with the Tsuchikage myself." The others watched him with wide eyes. "Either way, I plan on ending this feud at the summit and will do whatever is necessary to do it, to protect Konoha and its villagers."

In response, Fugaku's expression darkened. "If he asks for your brother's life?"

Languidly, Itachi's eyes swept over to Sasuke, who was still staring sightlessly ahead of himself, although his head was tilted in his brother's direction, eyebrows mashing together. "I will not allow him." he murmured, his eyes narrowing a fraction. "I may be Hokage now, but I was a brother first. When we were younger, Sasuke, I promised you that I would always be there to protect you. That has not and will never change. Not only because I am your brother, but also because I am your Hokage. You are too powerful, too great an asset, to hand over to the Tsuchikage."

"In other words, you aren't under your brother's protection only." Shisui continued where Itachi finished. "You are under the Hokage's protection, also. The Tsuchikage, if he knows what is good for him, will not outright demand your death. He should personally know what it is to anger an Uchiha and to demand the death of the future patriarch to the clan, will anger the entire clan."

Kakashi nodded once, catching onto their thoughts. "As Tsuchikage, his biggest priority is to protect and do what is best for his village. To anger not just one Uchiha, but the entire clan – which includes our Hokage, also – will put his village in danger."

"Don't forget team seven!" Naruto yelled, slamming his fist into the palm of his hand. "Me and Sakura–chan won't let them get you, Sasuke! We'll be right up there with your clan!"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Sasuke allowed a small, reluctant smirk to pull at his lips. "Idiot."

"I am not saying that there won't be any fighting." Itachi stopped their conversation before it could develop into an argument, since he obviously not only knew his brother well, but also Naruto. "Chances are, there _will_ be. From what I have heard, the Tsuchikage is a proud and stubborn man. He will do whatever possible to make sure he isn't made to look like a fool."

His words had Tenzo sighing. "Pride is such an annoying trait."

The blond by his side grinned, nudging him. "Oi, Tenzo–taichou, that's not the brightest thing to say in front of an Uchiha, you know!"

"His words are the truth." Shisui commented with a shrug. "Many in our clan have fallen because of their pride. However, please keep in mind that it is not only us Uchiha who are prideful."

Once more cutting off an argument before it started, Itachi sighed. "If it comes down to it, I will dispose of the Tsuchikage. I know that there are many within Iwa who do not agree with his accusations, who believe in Sasuke's innocence. As I said, however, the Tsuchikage is proud."

"Killing the Tsuchikage will start a war between Iwa and Konoha." Kakashi frowned. "One much bigger than this. Are you that's a wise decision?"

"What else can I do, Kakashi–san?" the Uchiha questioned tonelessly. "I made a promise to the village that, as their Hokage, I will protect them the best I can. If nothing is done about these accusations, then the attacks are going to continue. I don't know about you, but I am tired of the suffering. Children are being pushed into wars they have no part in and are being shoved head first into loss and grief and anger. I am tired of watching my wife return to me each night, near inconsolable due to losing yet another patient because their bodies simply can't handle the damage caused to them. I am tired of her crying herself to sleep each night, with me being unable to help her the way a husband should be able to. Lately, Sakura is barely even changed for bed before she passes out with exhaustion, chakra pushed to its absolute limit. If she is experiencing such exhaustion, such chakra depletion even with her vast amounts of reserves, what are the other medics experiencing? We cannot have our medics running on empty or burning themselves out, not when we desperately need them.

"And as a village, we are all tired of losing the people we care for."

It was the most any of them had ever heard Itachi say all at once, except for Shisui, of course, who had listened to many of Itachi's rants over the years. It always happened when he was greatly stressed, when problems continued to build up and the weight of them almost caused him to buckle beneath them. Even the great Uchiha Itachi needed a break every now and then, needed to let out some of his aggression and anger and pain. He, like everybody else, experienced emotions – sometimes emotions that were far more intense.

After all, the Uchiha clan experienced powerful emotions and when bonds were forced to break, it was a fact within their clan and those who studied them closely, that the Curse of Hatred would blossom in its wake.

"I plan on ending this in whatever way possible, in whatever way will cause less deaths. However, sometimes that is not possible, which is why I wish for witnesses, for a summit. The other Kage will be there to witness me attempting to talk the Tsuchikage around, to try and make him see sense. They will also be there to witness that, if I were to kill him, it would be because there is no other option. I will not allow this village to experience more pain, not if I can help it."

It was safe to say that Fugaku was stunned by his son's words, though couldn't help but feel proud of him, hoping more than anything that Mikoto could somehow see him. It had been a shock when he heard of Itachi becoming Hokage, but at the same time, it made so much sense to him. Of course his son was Hokage! He simply hoped Mikoto was able to see him, so that she could be proud of how far he had come. And, as he glanced at his youngest son, he could see that Sasuke was hoping the same thing. It was like he was eight years old again, admiring his big brother with a great amount of respect.

A knock on the cabin door broke the tension in the room and at his mutter of 'enter', Itachi felt himself relax ever so slightly when Sakura entered the cabin, giving a small, sheepish smile to them all.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Itachi shook his head. "What is it, Sakura?"

"I just wanted to let you know that Shizune–senpai and I have assessed the other medics and we spent all morning coming up with a plan, of sorts." When he nodded, telling her to continue, she did so, stepping around the others to stand in front of the desk, directly before Itachi. "The goods news is that quite a lot of them already have great skills, though they're not perfect. I don't think they'll ever be up to Tsunade–sama's level, but they'll definitely be a lot more efficient in healing if Shizune–senpai and I can help them, meaning the death rate should go down by a significant amount."

He nodded once. "And the bad news?"

She bit her lip for a moment before breathing deeply and forcing herself not to give into her emotions. "The bad news is that we just don't have the time to train them. There's too many patients in the hospital and last I heard, we're struggling as it is to see to everyone. We've even brought in shinobi who have just the slightest amount of medical knowledge – such as Hinata, Ino and even Udon–kun, who is still learning basics."

Resisting the urge to rub his forehead at the headache beginning to form, Itachi nodded. "It can't be helped. How are the wounded?"

A grimace. "We're doing what we can to make everyone comfortable, but we're running out of space and beds. Already, medics are going outside of the hospital to treat people in their homes."

"And medicinally?"

"Medicinally…" Sakura was thoughtful for a moment. "We should be good for another month or so, though it depends on what happens during that time. I can recheck our supplies later and write down anything we may need."

That would be smart and, that way, they would have a slight chance to grab anything they needed while they were travelling to and from the summit. "How are your reserves, Sakura?"

Her professionalism slipped and she gave Itachi a small smile. "Stop worrying about me, Itachi. I'm feeling much better now. Last night I was just exhausted."

That was what he admired so much about Sakura. She didn't care what people thought about her. Despite being in a room filled with others, she didn't care that they could see her emotions and her vulnerability. She simply didn't see it as a problem and it was something Itachi respected greatly, because it took a lot to leave your heart open for all to see. Even he himself disliked showing his emotions to others, mainly because it just felt uncomfortable doing so, like they wouldn't understand. Sakura, on the other hand, didn't care if they didn't understand. Half of the time, she had once told him, even _she_ didn't understand the stuff she felt.

"We'll talk about it more tonight." she told him softly. "But just so you know now, because I know it will bug you all day otherwise: I haven't restarted it yet."

Surprising the others, a ghost of a smile pulled at his lips and something in his eyes warmed at her words. "We will talk about it tonight." Itachi agreed.

When she left, the others all glanced at him and, in their own individual ways, curiously regarded him, wondering what the couple could possibly be discussing later that night, that couldn't be spoken about in front of them all. It was mostly Naruto and Sasuke who were most curious, since it involved their teammate as well as the latter's older brother, but it was obvious the others also wanted to know.

For a moment, Itachi was silent.

Did he tell them?

"Father, Sasuke and Shisui, may I have a word with the three of you?"

When Naruto remained standing there despite the other two males walking out of the cabin, Tenzo sighed and continued walking, but as he did a long beam of wood left his right hand, wrapping tightly around the blond and dragging him out of the cabin. They ignored his yells of anger.

Fugaku gave his son a blank look once they were alone. "What is it?"

A pause. "I am sure you can all remember what was said about Sakura during the previous clan meeting."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm working on it."

No, he definitely wasn't – at least not what Itachi had in mind and a small smirk pulled at Shisui's lips as he caught on. Despite the vague amusement that flashed through him, Itachi remained serious. "Not that, Sasuke, although I would like to thank you for defending her."

"Then what?" Sasuke demanded, his cheeks burning ever so slightly.

"Sakura and I decided a few months back that we would start trying for a baby." he murmured, keeping his voice low. "However, around four months later, when Sakura believed she could have been pregnant, Tsunade–sama informed us that there was an abnormality."

Realising that his son may want his opinion, Fugaku pushed aside his usual aloofness and decided to be more attentive, frowning as he did so. Mikoto was the one who empathised with others, who comforted their sons and it was no secret that Fugaku wasn't all that good at it. Perhaps now was the time to start, however. Itachi would like his advice and as his father, it was important that he received it. "What sort of abnormality?"

Itachi shook his head and sighed. "Most abnormalities can never be explained and Tsunade–sama said that she wasn't sure what it was. At first, she believed it to be a condition called polycystic ovaries syndrome though decided later, after another examination, that that wasn't what was wrong with Sakura. She provided Sakura with medicinal herbs that… encourage pregnancies, in a way."

"Fertility treatment?" Shisui offered and when Itachi nodded once, he asked, "Do you know if it's been working?"

"…No. It hasn't."

For a moment, Sasuke was silent, trying to ignore the twisting in his gut. The quietness of Itachi's voice made it obvious to him that his older brother was pained by the fact Sakura was unable to conceive. Whether it was because he wanted a child, or wanted to have a child with Sakura specifically, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that it hurt him. "How is Sakura?"

"That is what I wish to speak with you all about. Sasuke, aside my myself, you know her best. You can understand her way of thinking." Slowly, unsurely, Sasuke nodded. "While we are in the village, I would like for you to be by her side. She could… do with a friend by her side right now." Again, Sasuke nodded, though more surely this time. If Sakura needed him, sightless or not, he would be there. "Shisui, I was also wondering if you could possibly speak with Kurenai–san and ask her to have a word with Sakura. Please do not mention Sakura's difficultly conceiving, as it is still a touchy subject for her and upsets her greatly. However, I would like for Kurenai to tell Sakura in her own way that it's okay to try for a child despite our circumstances."

Shisui frowned in response. "She no longer wishes to have a child?"

For a split second, Itachi's eyes lowered, his eyebrows knitting together. "Last night, she was very clear in not wanting to have a child. The thought of having a child while a war could break out at any moment frightens her and she doesn't want to risk being hurt once more if she loses either myself or our child, should we have one."

Nodding once, Shisui gave him a small smile. "I'm sure Kurenai won't mind speaking with her. She's spoken highly of Sakura the past few days and has thanked her many times for helping protect Asuma's child. Just this morning, she was trying to think of a way to properly thank her."

"Sakura won't want any thanks." Sasuke murmured with a frown. "She never has. In her mind, she doesn't need thanks. Seeing people when they're healed, seeing them happy, is enough for her. It always has been."

He nodded and then looked to his father, knowing that the things he was about to say next, would most likely upset the older man. "From what I can remember, mother had a difficult time with her second pregnancy, did she not?"

Something flashed in Fugaku's eyes, but he nodded once, his fists clenching against his folded arms. "She did."

Itachi paused, sighing. "I can remember that she spent a great deal of the second trimester and the whole of the third trimester, bedridden. And since then, there hasn't been any more children." Again, Fugaku nodded. "How did you help her?"

Advice. His son wanted his advice. Closing his eyes, Fugaku couldn't help but breathe deeply through his nose. "There is nothing you can do that will ease that pain, Itachi. After your mother's pregnancy with Sasuke, she was unable to carry more children due to the stress it caused on her body and it upset her greatly. However, she had the both of you and that eased her heartache." Another pause. "Your wife, she…" Opening his eyes, he watched Itachi, watched how intently he was listening. "There is no way of knowing if she will ever be able to conceive. All I can offer you for advice is that you be there and listen."

Frowning, Shisui spoke up. "I remember Mikoto–san's pregnancy with Sasuke, since that was around the time I began training you, Itachi. Despite the stress put on her body, I can remember that she was happy not only because she had another child on the way, but also because you helped her, even if you were only sitting by her side."

Sasuke was silent. This was the first time he was hearing about his mother's difficult pregnancy and as for the comment about being unable to have more children… Well, he simply thought that Mikoto hadn't wanted any more. He thought that he and Itachi had been enough for her. Had she wanted more? Had she been happy with the two she already had? Were they enough for her? Worse yet, had he hurt her during the pregnancy? Was it because of him that she couldn't have more babies?

"Sasuke," Shisui sighed, patting the younger Uchiha's shoulder, "stop brooding so much."

At Shisui's words, Fugaku immediately looked to Sasuke, inwardly frowning at the look on his son's features. His mother's death had hit him hard, there was no denying it. A few times during the night, he would wake up to the sounds of muffled screams, to Sasuke calling out for his mother in such a way that it was haunting. According to what he'd been told by another Uchiha, Sasuke had seen his mother die right in front of his eyes.

He did not blame his son for being unable to react. The shock of such a thing happening, of everything that was going on, would have been enough to freeze even the most hardened shinobi with fear. Yes, Fugaku wished somebody had saved Mikoto and yes, he wished Sasuke hadn't frozen, hadn't been afraid, but what was he supposed to say or do? Taking it out on the boy was not an option – Mikoto would have hated him for it. Hell, Fugaku would hate himself for it. So no, he was not angry with Sasuke. He simply… wished things had turned out differently.

"Right at the beginning, your mother was informed that the pregnancy would be difficult, Sasuke." Fugaku muttered sternly, watching his near sightless eyes. "She knew the risks and instead of choosing the option many other women would have, Mikoto instead carried you to full term. Your mother chose to keep you despite the risks and has never regretted it for a moment. Remember that."

It took a few moments until Sasuke eventually nodded, trying his best to ignore the lump in his throat.

"Oi, Itachi." Shisui murmured thoughtfully with a frown. "The abnormality you were talking about… Would it, by chance, have anything to do with the fact Sakura has suffered many fatal blows around the area of her womb?"

As well as having Sasori piercing a katana through her stomach, there was also the time when an Iwa–nin had shoved his entire arm straight through her stomach and out of her back. It would have killed her instantly had it not been for her seal. "There is no way of knowing for sure, but yes, I believe it may have something to do with that. Tsunade–sama never had the chance to fully examine Sakura and try to investigate what the problem may be."

"Sakura…" Sasuke shook his head, trying to sort through his thoughts. "She just needs time to think about it, nii–san. After everything that has been happening, she'll feel scared about bringing children into the world. Not only that, but you're Hokage now, which means the Tsuchikage could possibly target you. To do that, he could use Sakura, or your children should you have any, against you. Knowing Sakura the way I do, she'll have already thought of that. It's probably why she's against having children now."

"She isn't against having children." the older brother argued quietly. "More than anything, Sakura wants children."

After a moment or two, Sasuke nodded. "Just be patient with her, Itachi. Sakura's more vulnerable than she's ever been right now. Just hearing her voice tells me that. There's something not right with her. It's like she's more breakable, in a way."

Yes, he knew that already.

Deciding it was time to focus on more professional matters, such as the village, Itachi sighed. "As my adviser, I will be leaving Kakashi–san in charge of the village while I am away. However, I want you both to keep an eye on the elders."

Fugaku's eyes narrowed.

Sasuke frowned. "Why?"

"They still don't trust Itachi." Shisui murmured, making it obvious they _had_ to keep their voices low. "Or the Uchiha clan. According to Sakura, it's mainly the elders they don't trust because they 'twist the young Uchiha minds'."

"They were discussing her 'test' when the elders brought up the slip in security, the one where those in our clan got a hold of Sakura's medical files. Later that night, after I explained the real purpose of the test to her, she warned me of what they were planning and what was going to happen, should they get their way." Itachi gave his younger brother a serious look, one that told him not to bother arguing. Even though he was nearly blind, Sasuke could still sense it. "It is honourable that you are looking out for Sakura, Sasuke, but you cannot get involved with this. If you were to do anything to get rid of the elders of our clan, you could possibly turn the entire clan against yourself."

It couldn't be helped. His eyes widened a fraction.

Noticing his horrified shock, Fugaku sighed and shut his eyes. "You should have discussed this with me first, Sasuke. Getting rid of the elders will not be as easy as you most likely believed. I have been trying for many years now to figure out a way to rid myself of them without turning the clan against myself. I agree with the elders of the village – the elders in our clan _do_ taint the minds of the younger Uchiha, making them think in the same way as themselves."

Poisoning their minds, in other words. Itachi could recall the many times where they'd attempted to do the same to himself, as well as the story Shisui had once told him about them doing it to him, too. He'd only been around four or five years old when he was told that story and it was way back when Shisui first became his sensei (although due to how young Shisui had been, Itachi had never had to call him 'sensei', as it apparently hadn't felt right to the older Uchiha). In his own way, without it being blatantly obvious, Shisui had been warning Itachi of the elders.

As the prodigies of their clan, Itachi and Shisui had been the main target for the elders' plans. They wanted more power, wanted to be more involved in the village, but most of all, they wanted to make their authority known to all. They were Uchiha and they would no be looked down upon. They would not be tossed aside like a lowly, less important clan. They demanded respect and would do whatever they had to, to gain it.

Just as Sasuke opened his mouth, Shisui held a hand up to him and narrowed his eyes a fraction.

And just half a minute later, one of the decoders was all but bursting into the temporary Hokage office, panting heavily and clutching a hand to her chest.

"Hokage–sama!" It was obvious she was startled not only because of her wide, horrified brown eyes, but also because of the way she was shaking, because of how pale she was. "It's an emergency!"

The decoder brushed by Fugaku, not even glancing at the other two Uchiha stood at the side of his desk. He had to admire that. Not a lot of people could do such a thing. She was refusing to acknowledge the others and even though it was disrespectful of her to do so (since they were all her superiors), none of them said a word about it. The situation had to be incredibly serious for her to ignore them.

"The Raikage's brother… Kumo's jinchūriki has been taken by Akatsuki."

Itachi's eyes widened. That meant…

"There's only Naruto left." Sasuke murmured breathlessly, like he was feeling sick. "There's only the Kyuubi they have left to collect."

"That's not all."

He forced himself to calm down, to remain composed. "What else?"

The decoder placed the scroll down onto the desk, her features grim. "He says it was an Uchiha who captured his brother, Hokage–sama."


	43. The Summit

**Chapter 42 – The Summit**

Itachi had ordered her to rest for two whole days before leaving for the summit, telling Sakura without a hint of hesitancy that, if she did not rest, then she would be too exhausted to attend the summit and he would not allow her to join them. He needed his personal medic to be at her best because any less would be dangerous.

So, Sakura had done her best to restore her chakra and to get as much rest and relaxation as possible. Firstly, she slept for an entire day, stunning her husband when he returned to her just waking up around dinner time. However it didn't screw up her sleeping pattern like it should have done because Sakura still managed to sleep through the entire night. It was honestly the best sleep she had gotten in a long while.

And now, she was sitting with Ino during the blonde's lunch break. Since the second invasion, like Sakura had informed Itachi, the hospital was in desperate need of more medics. Ino didn't usually work at the hospital as she was normally away on missions, but Itachi had split her missions in half and put her in the hospital. Also, like the Kage had agreed, no shinobi was to leave the village. The restraint was now in full force, considering it was now only four days before the summit.

It would take them around three and a half days to make the journey to Land of Iron and at first, Sakura had refused to accept that it was more or less the same distance as Suna. Of course, she was right. As it turned out, Shisui would be transporting them over two thirds of the journey and they would be on foot for the rest. The Uchiha men had told her it was so they could arrive earlier than the others and gather intel on the other Kage.

They were expecting her to share what she knew about Gaara.

Closing her eyes, Sakura bathed in the hot sun, not even bothering to silence her sadness of leaving it soon. Apparently it was snowing in the Land of Iron, which was something to be sad about, in Sakura's personal opinion. No, she didn't not like snow. She just preferred the sun and its heat.

"You'll be careful, won't you?"

Cracking open an eyelid, she regarded the blonde who was leaning back on her elbows with her head tilted up towards the sun. Like Sakura's had been, Ino's eyes were also closed.

"Of course I will." replied Sakura. "This summit is way too important for me to mess it up somehow."

"I still don't understand why he's taking you." Ino sighed. "You're too impulsive and easily angered."

She growled in warning. "Ino–"

"Seriously, Sakura." With another sigh, Ino sat up straight and looked down at her best friend, frowning softly. "How are you going to handle yourself at the summit? The Tsuchikage is going to be there. Can you handle that?"

Knowing what Ino was really asking, Sakura's eyes fell to the ground below her, her own frown pulling at her features.

Aiko.

Mikoto.

Tsunade.

What Ino was truly asking was: could Sakura handle being in a room with a man who not only ordered his shinobi to invade Konoha, but also the man whose shinobi had murdered her loved ones. Honestly, the thought had been plaguing her mind ever since Itachi informed Sakura that she would be attending the summit with him. However, she knew her husband. He would have his reasons for taking her with him and not only because she was the only medic allowed to fight on the front lines.

After all, she was an emotional wreck of a kunoichi and had an awful impulsive streak.

He was most likely hoping the emotional side of her would be revealed.

Thinking about, Sakura found that it made a lot of sense. Itachi had difficulty showing emotion and sometimes, had difficulty empathizing with others, so it made sense that he would want his wife there, as she was a woman who showed enough emotion for the both of them. She was Uzumaki Naruto's teammate and it had been imprinted right into her heart that she should _never_ give up, at least not without getting her side heard.

"I'll be okay, Ino." Sakura stated quietly, finally meeting her eyes once more and giving her friend a smile.

As Ino regarded Sakura with a frown, high above them, birds were chirping loudly and soaring across the cloudless blue sky, seeming to be enjoying the gentle breeze that blew through the training grounds just as much as the two women.

"Just be safe, Sakura." the blonde murmured, her frown deepening. "I can't lose you, too."

* * *

"Why are you crying?" Naruto demanded, pulling Sakura to her feet. "Who made you cry, Sakura–chan?"

By his side, Sasuke was silent, though the crease between his eyebrows said it all to Sakura when she looked up at him: he wanted to know, as well.

"It's nothing." she choked and wiped at her eyes with the one hand Naruto wasn't gripping tightly. "It's just something Ino said a–and…"

"Are you fighting again?"

Adding to Sasuke's question, Naruto asked, "After everything that's happened?"

She shook her head quickly, her features scrunching up as a new round of tears began. "S–She told me to be safe because… because she can't lose me, too… And…"

Sasuke's near sightless eyes narrowed suspiciously. "That wouldn't usually reduce you to tears."

Nodding in agreement, she told them, "It's the… the way she said it and… and the look on her face and…"

Realising that his best friend was just being her usual, emotional self, Naruto relaxed and grinned brightly at her, pulling her against him in a comforting hug, one she returned immediately by gripping the back of his shirt tightly and burying her face into his chest. To Sakura, it was still so weird that Naruto was taller than her. Sometimes, she expected him to be the small, annoying brat from the academy.

"It's okay, Sakura–chan." Naruto told her with a smile, rubbing her back. Previously, he'd been terrible with comforting people and hadn't even known what to do with his hands or what was inappropriate to do when hugging a female friend. But Hinata had been helping him with that! When she got sad sometimes, he hugged her and it was through those innocent touches that Naruto learned what was acceptable and what wasn't. "Ino's probably just worried, but you shouldn't be! Itachi and Shisui are both going to be there and so is Gaara! None of them will let anything happen to you!"

Yeah, she'd realised that. A soft smile pulled at her lips and she trembled once. Stupid hormones. Ever since stopping the contraception jutsu and taking those fertility herbs that Tsunade had prescribed to her before her passing, Sakura's hormones had been running rampant. The stress of everything that had been happening wasn't helping, either.

Pulling away after a few moments, Sakura glanced up at Sasuke, wiping her eyes once more. "How are your eyes, Sasuke–kun? Do they hurt?"

"No."

Since Naruto had been informed about what would be happening between his watcher and the Hokage, she knew it was okay to mention certain things in front of him. Even though the blond could be an idiot at times, he still knew when to keep his mouth shut. "When we return, I'll do the operation. Itachi and I were talking about when would be the best time last night and since he'll need to rest for a few days afterwards, it was decided that we should wait until this mess has been dealt with."

Sasuke had been having those exact thoughts after Itachi had told him it would take a few days to rest after the operation. In response to her words, he nodded once.

"You'll say 'hi' to Gaara for me, right?" Naruto asked with a smile, trying to ease the tension. Sasuke's eyes were a sensitive topic and they were also one that Naruto had been trying his best to avoid for one specific reason: he always ended up putting his foot in his mouth. Quite often he put them both in his mouth. And it always ended with Sasuke silently raging at him with his chakra spiking threateningly. "And to his siblings!"

"It's not a social gathering, Naruto." replied Sasuke with an eye roll. "It's a summit."

She nodded her agreement.

"What time are you leaving?" Sasuke asked, sensing that Naruto was pulling away from Sakura.

Looking up at the sky to tell the time, Sakura sighed. "Soon. We're leaving earlier than originally planned."

To gather information, Sasuke realised. It was a wise decision. From what little they already knew, the Raikage had strength that rivalled Tsunade's and his speed was even greater. They also knew about Gaara's ultimate defence and the fact that he could create an enormous amount of sand with just a few grains of the sand within his gourd. As well as that, they knew that Sabaku no Gaara had a soft spot for Sakura and even though their relationship had ended, he was still protective of her.

The other Kage were a mystery.

"Have you packed everything you need, Sakura–chan?"

Like he needed to ask, he mentally scoffed. Knowing Sakura the way he did, Sasuke was willing to bet that she had packed days ago, and continued to go over and over her supplies and backpack to make sure everything was there. It was a habit of hers that had never been broken. Then again, Sakura's tendency to obsess over things such as that had saved their lives many times.

"Yeah, it's all waiting for me back at home."

"And you've been resting, right?"

She smiled at his worrying. "Itachi hasn't let me do anything _but_ relax."

"That's because you're exhausted, Sakura." Sasuke retorted, just about holding back a frown. "You've been depleting your chakra too much. Shizune has told you to start taking it easy, unless you want to start fainting again."

"Fainting?" Naruto scowled. "Sakura–chan doesn't faint!"

More proof on just how much Naruto had missed by disappearing with Jiraiya for three years. Did he honestly believe that Sakura managed to master Tsunade's jutsu without any trouble? It certainly hadn't been a walk in the park for her! Sasuke could recall the many, many times that he'd had to carry Sakura from the training grounds, through the village and to the Godaime after she had fainted. And every time, it was the same results: exhaustion. When she was fourteen, it even got to a certain point where Tsunade had refused to allow Sakura on missions and to take part in surgery.

"I'm fine, Sasuke–kun." Sakura told him quietly. "My reserves are full again."

Realising that he probably wouldn't understand what they had been talking about, Naruto decided to speak about something different, giving his best friend a smile. "Be careful, Sakura–chan! And make sure you put that old bastard in his place for us!"

She grinned at his words, eyes flashing with the same look as Naruto's.

Sasuke had to bite back a groan at the wickedness he could sense and made a mental note to warn Itachi.

* * *

It was time.

Only an hour after her teammates had joined her, it was time to leave. Luckily, Sakura had had time for a quick meal (it was ramen, but she wasn't going to complain), but unfortunately due to the tight schedule, she hadn't been able to see any of her patients before leaving. Instead, she gave her list to Shizune and Ino, who would be splitting it in half.

It was a shame really, because Yuhi Kurenai had been on her list and Sakura had been meaning to speak with the older woman regarding certain issues. She wanted her opinion and advice, since she would be entering motherhood very soon. She wanted to ask Kurenai questions about it. Was she scared? Was she worried? What would she tell the child when he/she began asking about Asuma? Was she dreading that day? How did she cope with the pain of losing a loved one, and how did she manage to remain so composed?

She and Itachi had had a long discussion about restarting the contraception jutsu and now that Sakura was thinking more clearly and wasn't so wound up with stress, she could see that Itachi wanted a child. He didn't even need to try and show her those feelings, because they were surprisingly obvious to her.

The thought of bringing a child into the world while it seemed so scary and dangerous still terrified her, but Sakura respected Itachi's wishes and had told him that she would not be restarting the jutsu, at least not until after the summit. They would see how the Tsuchikage reacted to their words and if he was still serious about going to war, then the jutsu was being restarted. There would be no arguing about it. Konoha needed her as their medic and she couldn't be fighting on the front lines and healing everyone while with child.

"You're late, Sakura."

Glaring playfully over in her former sensei's direction, Sakura shut the cabin door behind herself, ignoring her two other teammates as they spoke with Shisui. "Sorry, there was a fragile old lady carrying her shopping home, so I had to help out."

He pouted. "Do my excuses really sound that bad?"

"No, no." She smiled at his sigh of relief, adding a moment later, "Yours are usually worse."

Kakashi dropped his head and sighed dejectedly.

"Are you ready, Sakura?"

At her husband's voice, Sakura turned and gave him a smile, nodding once. "Everything I need is in my backpack, which is–"

"Here." Shisui tossed her the backpack, watching for a moment as she caught it effortlessly before raising an eyebrow. "You forgot it this morning. Itachi brought it here with him because of this."

She blushed.

"That reminds me." Kakashi spoke up and stepped forward so that he was standing beside Sakura. "Shisui–san, Sakura, even though you are both close with Itachi–san, in front of the others you must address him as 'Hokage–sama'. Do not drop the suffix and do not call him by his given name."

The older Uchiha nodded once. It shouldn't be too difficult to call Itachi 'Hokage–sama'. Strange, sure, but not difficult. All they had to really worry about was Sakura. No, Shisui wasn't doubting her professionalism in the least, he was simply being honest. Sakura and Itachi were married, so it was going to feel incredibly weird for her to call him by anything other than his given name.

There was silence for a moment until Itachi spoke. "It is as we planned: we arrive half a day early to gather whatever information we can on the others, though mainly the Tsuchikage. There is no telling what the other Kage may do if a fight is to break out between Konoha and Iwa, however–"

Naruto interrupted him with his usual, wild grin. "Don't worry about it, Itachi! Gaara will back you up! Suna and Konoha are allies now."

It seemed there was still so much for the blond to learn before he became Hokage. Not only did Itachi make a mental note of that, but so did Shisui and Kakashi. Whenever they had the free time, they would do whatever they could to teach Naruto more about his future role.

"_However_," Itachi continued his earlier sentence, ignoring Naruto and acting like he hadn't spoken, "we must be careful. Konoha will not be able to withstand attacks from Kumo and Kiri."

"What do you plan on doing, nii–san?"

"Whatever I must to protect our village." he answered Sasuke's question, only briefly glancing down at him. "They will listen to our side of the story, and then Iwa's, before coming to their own conclusion."

"And if they side with Iwa?" Sakura questioned with a frown.

"We still have Suna as our ally, which means we will not be completely defenceless. Hopefully, Naruto–kun will have at least a small amount of control over the Kyuubi–"

Rage was immediately flooding her features. "Naruto's not some sort of weapon!"

Waiting for her anger to subside ever so slightly, Itachi continued. "Naruto–kun has agreed to this, Sakura. He is willing to try and control the Kyuubi to help defend and protect our village. If he manages to control it, then we will be at an advantage because there are no longer any other tailed beasts. They have all been captured."

Her fists clenched tightly when Sakura gazed over at her teammate, not liking the frown on his features. Uzumaki Naruto, despite his past and despite all of the hatred that had been thrown at him, was always smiling or always found something to smile about. His presence always radiated comfort to her and it made Sakura feel like they were unstoppable. It was one of the many things she loved about team seven – their bonds.

"He's right, Sakura–chan. I agreed to this."

"You don't have to rely on that _thing_ to–"

"Don't try arguing with me." It was uneasily that Sakura silenced herself, as Naruto was speaking so very calmly that he seemed like an entirely different person. "This is why I was made into a jinchūriki, Sakura–chan. For this. To protect our home and everyone in it. If I have to team up with the Kyuubi to do it? So what? _I'll_ be the one who's in control. _I'll_ be the one protecting everyone. The Kyuubi will just be giving me his chakra without twisting my mind and taking over my body."

The haunting memories of the Kyuubi ripping into Itachi's chest flashed to the very front of her mind, like they always did whenever the beast was mentioned. She could still remember the paralysing fear of hearing Sasuke _screaming_ for her help. She could still remember the unstoppable shaking that had taken over her at the sight of Itachi laying dead on the ground.

He had been dead.

Sensing her pain, Naruto turned around to face her fully and dropped his hand onto her shoulder, smiling down at her brightly. "I promise, Sakura–chan. I won't let it take over me."

But…

Trying to reign in her emotions, trying to calm herself down, Sakura nodded once and raised her hand to the one resting on her shoulder, holding it comfortingly. "You'd better be safe." Then, she added quietly, "Konoha needs you, Uzumaki Naruto."

It wasn't every day he heard those words. Hell, it wasn't until recently that people looked at him like he was actually a person. And there was no denying that his throat felt incredibly tight, that his chest wasn't just as tight as his throat. There was no denying that it was taking a hell of a lot of strength to fight back the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him.

Konoha needed him.

That was what he loved most about Haruno Sakura. Smile widening, he pulled his best friend into a tight hug, ignoring her shocked squawk. Sure, she was (bordering on ridiculously) emotional, brutally honest and more often than not, pounding her tiny fists over the top of his head, effectively punching him into the ground for one thing or another. However, she was also a great friend who was extremely loyal to her precious people. She had that comforting older sister feeling, the one that made you feel like you could go to her with any problem, no matter how stupid or painful or scary that problem was.

"The same goes to you, Sakura–chan." He sighed, tightening his hold on her. "Tsunade–baa–chan would be so proud to call you her student."

"Are you _trying_ to make her cry again?" Sasuke grumbled under his breath with a roll of his eyes. "Let her go, dobe. She can't even breathe."

Noticing the truth in his words, Naruto smiled sheepishly and pulled back, wiping away her tears as he did so. "Don't listen to him." Naruto told Sakura soothingly when she immediately tried to control her emotions. "I like how emotional you are!"

"Sakura."

Glancing up at her husband, she offered him a hopeless smile, chuckling as she tried her best to wipe away the tears. "Sorry, Itachi. I'll be okay for the summit, don't worry."

It was with a sigh that Itachi closed the distance between them, nodding once in thanks to Naruto when the blond moved out of his way so that he could stand in front of Sakura. "You are my wife." Itachi stated seriously. Then, more quietly, he told her, "I will always worry. Are you okay?"

She moved forward and rested her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist and inhaling his scent. Yes, Naruto's hugs were comforting and she was grateful for that comfort, but they had nothing on Itachi's embraces. Being held by her husband and feeling fragile in his arms was something Sakura adored. She felt safe and protected when with him, like he could protect her from everything and everyone.

"I'll be fine. A break from the village will do me some good."

Surprising the others with his show of affection, Itachi returned her embrace, gently running his fingers through her hair until he was tilting her face upwards to get a look at her. "After Shisui transports us as close as he can, we will be staying in an inn. As I was trying to tell you before: we will discuss our plans while at the inn and once we arrive at the Land of Iron, we will watch the other Kage and gather as much information as possible."

It was difficult nodding when his long fingers were threaded through her hair, but she managed it. "What kind of information?"

"Weaknesses and strengths. Information such as that."

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Forgive me for interrupting, but shouldn't you three be heading out now?"

Reluctantly, although not showing it, Itachi released his hold on Sakura, silently promising her that later on that night, he would make it up to her. Public displays of affection never really bothered him like they previously did. In fact, Itachi quite liked the thought of showing off his wife in public, as not only was she a beautiful sight, but she was also powerful in her own right. She made him so very proud and honoured to call her his wife.

"Shisui?"

"Already on it." the older Uchiha informed them.

When they looked over to him, they saw that Shisui's eyes were closed in concentration and he was making a single seal with one hand, holding it in place. Itachi could sense the powerful amount of chakra that was gathering and he couldn't help but be in silent awe of his friend. Shisui's strength had always amazed him. It had amazed him when he was just four years old and it still amazed him now at twenty–six (going on twenty–seven) years old.

"I have a lock on the location. Hold onto my shoulders."

Following her husband, they both stood behind Shisui, one hand holding onto his shoulders firmly.

"Make sure you stay calm and breathe, Sakura–san." Shisui told her quietly. "This will be your first long–distance jump, so it could make you nauseous."

It did.

* * *

"How long does the nausea last?" Itachi asked Shisui calmly as he held back his wife's long hair, rubbing her back soothingly as she continued to vomit.

"It is different for everyone. I remember your first long–distance jump, Itachi, and you were sick for hours afterwards."

Although he hadn't shown it, or had done his best to hide it. Yes, he threw up a few times and yes, he had been sweaty and pale the rest of the day, but other than that, there had been no signs of illness on him. Itachi had merely done his best to shove aside the nausea.

Shaking hands clutched the toilet seat before one of them was reaching out, grabbing a hand towel that was resting near the sink. And once she had wiped her mouth, Shisui offered her a glass of water, one she accepted gratefully. She took small, careful sips, wary of upsetting her stomach further.

"I shouldn't have had that ramen." she muttered after placing down the glass, wiping her sweaty forehead with the towel.

"Try to relax, Sakura." Itachi assured her, tying up her hair so that it would be out of her face. "It will pass."

It didn't feel like it would. It felt like the illness was going to last a lifetime and she would be forever stuck in this spinning, small bathroom. That was just the nausea speaking, though. The medic side of Sakura knew that it would pass soon. All she really needed was to sleep it off and have something proper to eat, so that she wouldn't have an empty stomach.

Leaning backwards so that her head was resting against Itachi's chest, Sakura breathed deeply through her nose. Already, the dizziness was wearing off, although it didn't feel like she would be eating any time soon.

"Here."

Nodding once in thanks, Itachi accepted the damp towel and wiped down Sakura's face, cooling her down and also cleaning her face. It seemed to relax her, because she leaned more heavily against him and once again sighed.

"Are you feeling any better?"

She nodded. "Just tired."

Shisui gave a small, grateful smile and walked towards the door. "I'll go and get some food for us."

"Make sure to keep it bland, Shisui." Itachi murmured, gently cupping Sakura's face and tilting her head back, wiping her jaw and neck.

"I will!"

"Itachi…" Sakura groaned once Shisui was gone. "I want to sleep…"

Finally finished with washing her face, Itachi nodded once and leaned forward, kissing the top of her head softly. It was an awful thing to see; his wife being so ill. The worst part about it was that there was nothing he could do to make that illness go away. All Itachi was capable of doing was comforting her and staying by her side, bringing Sakura anything she needed.

Moving around her, Itachi slipped one arm around her shoulders while the around went under her knees, easily lifting Sakura and holding her close to his chest as he left the bathroom.

The inn they were staying in for the night was small, but that mattered little to them. It was clean and tidy, with no damp or dust or bugs. The decorations and the colours of the room were neutral, while the bathroom that was joined to their room was just as plain. And attached to their room was where Shisui would be staying and because they were attached, there was a single door opposite their bed, one that would take them to Shisui's room.

Taking a moment to kneel slightly and pull back the covers, Itachi placed Sakura down onto the bed carefully, tucking her in before sitting beside her, brushing the stray strands of hair off her face.

"Do you want some more water?"

She looked so small and fragile tucked up into such a big bed and the exhaustion only made her seem more vulnerable. Itachi hoped more than anything that this was just because of the transportation jutsu, but… But Sakura had been looking more delicate than usual for days.

"It's just nausea, Itachi." Sakura told him softly, seeing the worry in his otherwise empty eyes. "It's not what Tsunade–sama had."

Good. His head lowered, bangs covering his eyes. _Good_.

"I'll be better for the summit." she promised, grabbing the hand that was near her face and holding it.

"Worry about that later." replied Itachi as he once more leaned down and kissed her forehead. "For now, you need to rest."

"Is that an order, Hokage–sama?"

Hearing the teasing lilt to her voice brought a smirk to his lips. "It is."

"Stay with me for a bit?"

Did she even need to ask?

Instead of replying, Itachi carefully climbed over her and settled down by her side, smiling to himself when she turned onto her side and snuggled up to him, pressing her face into his neck. She was still rather warm, he noticed, but it seemed Sakura really was feeling better now.

He was glad.

* * *

"The Kazekage."

When they both watched her, Sakura's eyes fell to the floor and she felt her heart clenching tightly, as well as her stomach twisting uncomfortably – and not with the sickness she had been plagued with a few days ago. That had well and truly disappeared now, thankfully.

No, Sakura was feeling sick because of what Itachi was asking of her.

Information.

It was with a frown that Shisui regarded her. "Sakura–san, we need to know who we are meeting with."

"I know." she murmured and closed her eyes, reluctantly sharing the information. "I just… wish I didn't have to."

"You're a very loyal friend." Itachi stated. "However, now, you must be a loyal shinobi and we must be prepared for anything. That includes a betrayal from Suna."

It took everything in her to control her bottom lip as it threatened to tremble, or to hold back the tears filling her eyes. At that moment in time, all she could see was Gaara's face. He was smiling at her, looking so very peaceful and happy in her presence and… and it made her feel disgusting, like absolute _scum_ to be betraying him in such a way. Sure, during their short relationship it hadn't always been smiles and happiness, but in his own way, Gaara had tried hard to make her happy and at times, it had worked.

"Since the first chunin exams, Gaara started working on taijutsu." They all ignored the traitorous shake in her voice, the one that practically screamed that she was so very against sharing such information. "So don't expect him to only use his sand in a battle. Gaara's… Even without his sand, without Shukaku, he's still powerful. Don't underestimate him."

Many had made the mistake of thinking that Gaara relied entirely on his sand. In a way, yes, he relied on his sand but it was to make people think he would have no way to defend himself should his sand somehow be rendered useless. They could not be more wrong, however. Sparring against Gaara had taught Sakura that.

Closing her eyes, Sakura turned her face away from theirs. "He'll wait until your guards are lowered, until you believe he's been backed into a corner. After that, Gaara will attack and will use the surprise to gain the upper hand."

"And his guards?"

"Will be Temari and Kankuro." she replied. "They're the only ones Gaara trusts completely."

Shisui felt his gut twisting. "As well as yourself."

She didn't deserve his trust. Previously, sure, but now? No. So she ignored Shisui's statement. "Temari's skilled with all weapons and not just her fan and even though Kankuro relies mostly on his puppets, like Gaara, he's also skilled with taijutsu."

"Do you know if the Kazekage still wears his sand armour?"

Too much. That was too much. She couldn't answer that one, especially not since it would reveal a huge weakness of Gaara's. And at her silence, the two Uchiha men exchanged glances, both aware that they were pushing Sakura too harshly though at the same time, determined to get as much information as they could.

"Sakura, think about–"

"Shut up!" Sakura snapped in return, rudely cutting Itachi off but not caring. Instead she glared angrily at him, standing up from her seat on the sofa. "What if your positions were reversed? What if I ended things with you and married Gaara instead? What if I was having this discussion with him and _not you_? How would you feel knowing that I'd betrayed you in such a way?"

"Calm–"

"_You wouldn't even feel the same things as he would_!" she practically screamed into his face, ignoring Shisui as he tried to calm her. "Pretty much all of his life, Gaara has been hated and feared, he's been betrayed and had so many attempts on his life! He's been messed up in the most painful ways possible, yet he's tried _so hard_ to become a better person. And you may be my Hokage, you may be my husband, but I swear, Itachi," She gripped his shirt and yanked him up from his seated position so that they were eye level, "if you or any other Konoha–nin lay a finger on him or harm his village, _I will never forgive you_."

Throwing him back into his seat and ignoring his stunned expression, ignoring Shisui, Sakura stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut, collapsing backwards against it as she tried to control her emotions.

No matter what, she couldn't betray Gaara. He was one of her precious people.

Her throat felt tight as she slid down the door and onto the floor, holding her head in her hands while trying to control the sudden urge to cry.

Sakura knew that Itachi was only doing what was necessary to protect their village, that he was only taking precautions, but this was… It was all too much. Already she had lost so many precious people and she would do anything, _give anything_, to keep that list from gaining another name.

* * *

It was over an hour later that Itachi finally managed to break into the bathroom, sighing as he did so.

"The other Kage are arriving."

Since they had arrived quite some time before the others, they were escorted to their own waiting room, of sorts. There was no telling how long the summit would go on for but Itachi was determined not to leave until everything was settled and his village was safe once more.

This would be their rooms until they left the Land of Iron. It was rather large, Itachi supposed. There was a sitting room and conjoined to it were two separate bedrooms and a bathroom, all plain and lacking decorations. It hardly mattered, really. Hopefully, they wouldn't be there long enough to actually use the bedrooms, although Itachi had the feeling that they would be. The Tsuchikage, Shisui had informed him after Sakura's burst of anger, was a very stubborn man. It could take days to talk him into seeing their side of things.

"…Okay." Sakura murmured, washing her face after turning on the tap and once she had, she patted it dry with the clean, white hand towel resting in a holder. It felt rough and unpleasant against her skin, she inwardly sighed.

"Sakura–"

"I'm sorry for exploding like that, but…" She looked at her husband seriously. "I meant everything I said. Every single word."

"I know." Regarding her for a moment, Itachi sighed. "It is just a precaution, Sakura. I highly doubt the Kazekage will turn on us, but it is just in case he does. However," Sakura looked up at him at the however, frowning softly, "I know that, if he does turn against us, he will not attack you. That is one of his weaknesses."

"I'm not going to hurt him and that includes his siblings."

"I know." he repeated quietly.

Her eyes were sad when they locked with his and heavy with indecision, yet at the same time, there was stubborn determination written all over her features. "I don't want to fight with you, Itachi, but these people… They're my friends and I care for them. Suna… Suna has helped us out several times before! And I know… I know it's just precaution, that you're thinking of the village, but…"

When her voice trailed off with hopelessness, he closed the distance between them and gently pinned her against the cabinet. "I don't expect you to choose sides, however, you must remember that you are a tool for our village, Sakura. No, I don't like viewing you as a tool, but that is what you are. It is what we all are. Some of us chose this life while others had no choice. You _chose_ to become a shinobi. Nobody forced you into it."

"But my reasons were childish and stupid!"

Yes, they were. Becoming a shinobi just so you could see your crush every day was stupid. "Do you regret becoming who you are today?"

"…No."

"Then remember that. You stuck to this life even after everything that's happened."

Nodding sadly, Sakura lifted her hand and cupped his cheek, frowning at the circles that were beginning to show under his eyes. "You're exhausted, Itachi."

He gave a small, small smile. "As are you."

"When this is over, I'm putting you on strict bed rest." she told him sternly. "Hokage or not, you _are_ going to rest and you _are_ going to get some proper sleep."

The smile slipped into a smirk and he leaned down ever so slightly. "I don't doubt that you will."

Just as she raised herself to meet her husband in a kiss, there was a knock on the bathroom door, making them part reluctantly.

"_The Tsuchikage has just arrived, Itachi. They're all here."_

It seemed that, with Shisui's words, the moment became so much more serious and in response, Sakura's fingers grasped a tight hold of Itachi's shirt, leaning closer to him. He wasn't wearing his Hokage robes, although the official Kage hat was resting on the table in the sitting area. In just a few minutes, it was going to be resting on the desk he would be sat at for the summit.

"Do you remember the rules I explained to you, Sakura?"

Slowly yet surely, she nodded once.

He turned away though held her hand, pulling her out of the bathroom and nodding once to Shisui, who handed him his Kage hat. So far, nobody knew that it was he who had become Hokage. They were aware of there being a Rokudaime Hokage, but none of the other Kage knew that it was Uchiha Itachi, as he had signed off all scrolls and letters as 'Rokudaime Hokage' and not his name. Today was the day they would find out who he was.

Part of Sakura couldn't wait to see the Tsuchikage's expression.

They left their rooms and when they did, Sakura let go of Itachi's hand, taking her place behind him instead of beside him and opposite her, walking at the same pace behind Itachi, was Shisui. Since they were his guards, they had to be flanking him and not walking by his side. He was their superior at that moment in time.

"Only address me as 'Hokage–sama'." he stated seriously as they made their way down the otherwise silent corridor. "Do not speak unless directly spoken to. Our guards are able to stay by our sides because of the trouble between Iwa and Konoha, but you are not to make any sudden movements that could be considered as threatening. We are allowed to keep our weapons on us, but you are to make no move towards them or even think about using them."

They both nodded.

"Even if we hear something we do not like, we will listen to the others' and let them have their say." Itachi paused behind the double doors leading to the meeting room, waiting for them to be opened for him. "However, I can assure you both now that when this is over, Sasuke will be pardoned and I will have this ridiculous mess with Iwa sorted."

Again, they nodded.

"_And now introducing the one who called for this summit_."

The doors swung open for Itachi and he kept his head lowered, his hat covering his face and leaving the others guessing as to who he may be.

Sakura glanced around the room, unsurprised to find the others already there and it didn't take much to hold back her smile at the surprise that flitted through the Sand Siblings' eyes. Of course they wouldn't have expected her to be there, but that mattered little at that moment in time, especially as her eyes locked with the Tsuchikage's.

White hot anger pooled in her stomach and she had to take a deep, calming breath, feeling rather proud of herself that she had remained blank and emotionless, just as Itachi had taught her.

As her husband sat in his designated seat beside Gaara's, Sakura stood to his left and Shisui remained standing at his right.

She kept her eyes on the Tsuchikage's, watching the agitation and the hatred and the burning anger that swelled within his dark eyes. She watched as he sat on the edge of his seat, just waiting for the new Hokage to remove his hat. However, feeling her heavy gaze, his eyes shifted, narrowing dangerously as he spotted the Uchiha emblem on the sleeve of her sweatshirt beneath her flack jacket. His eyes snapped to Shisui's next, his stomach twisting uneasily at the sight of the Uchiha.

But just as he opened his mouth, Itachi reached for his hat and languidly removed it, placing it down onto the desk and staring the Tsuchikage down with an unblinking and unnerving expression. And in response, the old man's eyes widened almost dramatically and the two guards behind him exchanged a wary glance, unsure as to what they should do.

"I give you Uchiha Itachi." the samurai general finished the short introduction. "The Rokudaime Hokage."


	44. I Will Be Unforgiving

**Chapter 43 – I Will Be Unforgiving**

She had to admit, Sakura was disappointed with what she saw.

The Tsuchikage was a tiny man and even though he was currently sat down, silently seething in his seat, she would say that he would just about reach her hip should he stand up. Not only that, but he was hunched over, his hair was white and looked to be receding with old age and he had many deep wrinkles marring his face.

All in all, he didn't appear to be much. Just an old man with too much time on his hands.

Next, she glanced over at the woman sat beside the Tsuchikage. Going off the colour of her hat, Sakura knew that this woman was the Mizukage. Well, she already knew that after she had briefly met the woman over ten years ago, just before she became Mizukage. It had been when Tsunade first became Hokage, when the woman was passing through Konoha and had stopped by to congratulate her. That was all Sakura really knew, however.

The Mizukage was beautiful to say the least and as her green eyes stayed glued on Itachi, Sakura felt self consciousness and old insecurities springing to the front of her mind, making her take in all of the Mizukage's flawless features. She was slender and seemingly tall with stunningly long, auburn hair that appeared to be endless in length, her bangs covering one of her green eyes. And the dress she was wearing… Well, from what Sakura could see of it, it certainly accentuated her already obvious curves and assets.

Then, beside her, seated right at the centre of the semi–circle shaped table was the Raikage. He was an incredibly harsh looking man and was certainly one of the angriest looking people Sakura had come across so far. The deep lines created by his scowl seemed to be permanently etched into his tanned, leathery skin and his white–blond hair was almost shocking in contrast to his skin tone. His eyes were piercing and she found herself unable to look into them for too long.

Finally, seated between Itachi and the Raikage, sat Gaara. He was as emotionless and as proud looking as always, although there was no disguising the widening of his eyes as Sakura had entered the room, as Itachi had revealed his features to them all. She had known the redhead far too long for him to be able to hide such things from her, no matter how fiercely he forced back his emotions.

Like herself and Shisui, all other guards remained standing and flanking their respective Kage, each of their features set into hard, determined and emotionless masks. There had been a moment when one of the Mizukage's guards, the one with the eye patch, had tensed at the sight of Uchiha Shisui, but that was all the reaction they received – not including the Iwa–nin's reactions just moments before, of course.

"Thank you for agreeing to this summit." Itachi stated politely with a toneless voice.

"I was going to decline," the Raikage muttered, his voice just as harsh as his features, "but then my brother was abducted by an Uchiha."

He nodded once. "I am hoping to clear up any accusations such as those during the summit."

The Tsuchikage scoffed and shook his head. "Clear them up?"

"Yes."

"I, too, am hoping to have this mess sorted once and for all." Gaara spoke up, his deep voice sounding almost bored. "Many of my shinobi have been caught in the crossfire between Konoha and Iwa."

Sakura fought hard to keep her eyes forward, for they wanted so badly to snap to Gaara's and widen. His shinobi had been attacked? They'd been caught in their battles? This was the first she was hearing about such things! How long had it been going on for? Only recently? Or months?

Itachi's eyes were languid as they met with Gaara's. "And on Konoha's behalf, I apologise for all that has happened to your villagers because of our feud with Iwa. Our previous Hokage attempted to settle this without violence and without threats, but as you can see, her plan failed."

"Speaking of which," the Mizukage said, "I was saddened to hear of your Godaime Hokage's passing. I offer my condolences. Senju Tsunade was an admirable woman."

That she was, Sakura thought sadly.

The atmosphere around them was heavy and somewhat dark, those feelings seeming to multiply with the way the Tsuchikage continued to openly glare at Itachi. Sakura glanced up at Shisui, frowning when he looked to her and she could see that he was silently telling her not to lose hope just yet. The summit had only just begun and there was no way of knowing just how it was going to turn out. Who knows? By the end of the summit, the Tsuchikage could be worshipping the ground Itachi walked on (though that was highly doubtful).

"You assured me in your scroll, Hokage, that you're certain it was not an Uchiha from your village who abducted my brother. How can you be so sure?"

"Because for the past few months, all members of my clan have remained inside of the village except for one time and that was to protect the village when we were being invaded. Since then however, every Uchiha has remained inside the village."

"And your brother?"

The question was spat by the Tsuchikage, though seemed not to bother Itachi in the slightest. "Has also remained in the village. After losing so many honourable shinobi, we have needed to keep our strongest within the village, ready at all times for another attack."

"How many attacks have there been altogether?" the Mizukage asked.

"Including the Akatsuki's invasion, there has been three major attacks and many minor ones. Each time there has been many casualties."

Aiko's face flashed through Sakura's mind and she gritted her teeth.

Itachi's eyes met the Tsuchikage's, narrowing a fraction. "I understand that you are having a hard time believing me, but I know that my brother was not the one who attacked your village, Tsuchikage. During one of the first attacks, one of our teams was able to capture one of your shinobi. It was while we were interrogating him that we discovered the attack and when it happened. It is impossible for Sasuke to be the one who attacked, as during that time, he did not leave my side."

The anger doubled. "You have my shinobi?"

"He survived up until your latest attack."

Silence.

"My clan is known for being in charge of the police force and when your shinobi attacked our village, somebody infiltrated the prison and left a large amount of damage, allowing many criminals to escape. My wife," Itachi gestured to Sakura, "did all she could to save the criminals who were caught in the attack, but unfortunately their injuries were too severe."

In response to finding out that Sakura was his wife, the Mizukage sighed almost inaudibly, though remained professional. "It was during the latest invasion that you lost your Godaime Hokage, right?"

"Yes."

This time, her sigh was more audible. "Surely, Tsuchikage, you have avenged your village now? How many did you lose during this supposed attack?"

"Three hundred and eighty–six."

Sakura's blood began to boil.

"Over two thousand." Itachi's voice was harder now. "We lost over two thousand of our villagers during the latest attack."

Everybody's eyes widened.

"Many more were injured and have slowly been succumbing to those injuries. Sakura," he addressed her directly, immediately gaining Itachi her full attention, "describe the state of our hospital."

Her emotions. They had always gotten through to people and right at that moment in time, she was ninety percent certain that Itachi wanted her to try and get through to the others. "The hospital is completely filled with the injured and we haven't even got a single spare bed anymore. Most of our patients have to remain in shelters or in homes because we just don't have enough room for them at the hospital. It's chaotic. People are constantly crying and wailing and screaming in agony, in grief and in anger. We have orphans who can't even bring themselves to speak. We have the elderly who are just about clinging onto life. We have so, so many people who are depending on us to save them, but what if we can't?"

Once more, Sakura gritted her teeth at the stubborn annoyance in the Tsuchikage's eyes. "We lost our best medic during that attack and the hospital has been lost without her. Tsunade–shishou… She kept everybody calm and professional, she helped us if we were unsure of something or needed support during a surgery. Our survival rate has _plummeted_ since her death and people are _afraid_ of coming to the hospital!"

"Our medics are running on empty." Itachi continued, silently telling Sakura that that was enough. "Tsunade–sama's students, Shizune–san and Sakura, now have hundreds of medics looking to them for guidance, however, they don't have time to guide the other medics because of the amount of patients we have. We have inexperienced beginners seeing to patients. We have shinobi who know just the basics of healing volunteering. We have civilians who are coming into the hospital every day to see to those who are able to be healed naturally."

Gaara's eyes slid from Itachi's features and up to Sakura's, feeling like he was truly seeing her for the first time since Shukaku was extracted from him. It had been a while since he last saw Sakura and while she was definitely as beautiful as always, there was a deep exhaustion that seemed to cling to her, that hovered in the air around her. She looked fragile and so very small.

He had to hold back his need to yell angrily. "Medics must be protected and kept at full health." Gaara stated. "I will send as many medics as possible to Konoha once this summit is over. It is thanks to Sakura's hard work that they are as talented as they are right now, so it is only fair that, as your ally, they are sent to assist at the hospital."

"Thank you."

Sakura also nodded her thanks. It would be such a huge help to have just a single platoon of medics sent to them! And Sakura knew how talented Suna's medic–nin were because, as Gaara had just said, she had helped train them at one point. She helped to refine their skills.

"They will be happy to help after all you have done for us."

"The number of missions we receive has also decreased due to our shinobi being either too weakened and injured to complete those missions, or because we simply do not have the resources to complete the missions. It is too risky to send out our strongest shinobi because of fear that there will be another attack and civilians have left our village to find somewhere safer to live."

The Tsuchikage seemed rather pleased with the news as he folded his arms over his chest, smirking. "Your village is crumbling around you, huh?"

His answer was simple and blunt. "Yes."

They were unsure and even a little startled by Itachi's bluntness and their uncertainty grew with his openness about the state of Konoha. Usually, the Kage kept their respective village's problems to themselves, just in case one of the other Kage tried to exploit those weaknesses and use to their advantage. However, Uchiha Itachi was stating them all blankly, like there was no use in denying them.

They had all heard about Uchiha Itachi. They had all heard about how great his power was and the fact that weaker shinobi have killed themselves in front of him, just to avoid battle with the Uchiha. It was a horrifying thought, but those eyes of his looked as though they had seen it all. Like Sakura, there was an air of exhaustion around him but unlike Sakura, he also had a hardness to his eyes, one that _screamed at you_ that he would not tolerate the suffering any longer, no matter what he would have to do to stop it and no matter what the cost would be.

"But just know, Tsuchikage, if you continue with these absurd accusations, if you continue to try and destroy our village, we will strike back with everything we have." Itachi warned him darkly just a moment later, sending shivers up the others' spines. "Unlike Tsunade–sama, who gave you the chance to try and right what was going wrong, to try and fix things, I will not do the same. If you attack my village again, I will be unforgiving whilst attacking yours." His eyes narrowed. "Is that understood?"

Sakura's eyes hardened when the Tsuchikage looked ready to argue.

Gaara spoke up before the old man could. "Because of your actions, Tsuchikage, Konoha has been left vulnerable and in ruins. Do not think that this is a bluff. The Godaime may no longer be around, but her villagers, her shinobi, are. They will want revenge." He looked almost bored as his eyes languidly met Onoki's. "And Suna will also back up Konoha."

"Gaara–"

"Quiet, Temari." he silenced her without even looking in his sister's direction. "We owe a lot to Konoha and its people. I simply think it is a shame that not all villages can hold alliances, friendships, like the one between Konoha and Suna."

"Forgive me," Mizukage spoke up, glancing up at the men from beneath her eyelashes, "but I must ask you a question, to which I want a truthful answer." Gaara nodded once. "Why does Suna owe so much to Konoha? We have heard many things over the years, from your average every day gossip, right to the things that we know for a fact are true. For example, your relationship with the Godaime's apprentice. That is every day gossip and we cannot tell–"

Icy blue eyes narrowed, the temperature seeming to drop around them. "That is hardly something to discuss at a Kage Summit."

The woman smirked. "I knew it was true. What did I tell you, Ao?" She received a sigh from the man behind her (the one wearing an eye patch) in response. The younger boy who was by Ao's side merely glanced away with a small blush on his cheeks. "But no, that is not what I wish to ask you. If you had let me finish instead of being defensive and impatient, you would have realised that." Kankuro eyed his brother warily, as did Sakura. "_However_," Mei continued her previous speech, "what we know is a fact, is that you were abducted by Akatsuki, and that it was Konoha who saved you." Many teeth gritted. "Is that why you owe so much to Konoha? Because they saved your life?"

Oh Sakura wanted to smash her fist into the Mizukage's face. Apparently her anger was obvious because Shisui glanced down at her with a shake of his head, telling her to hold it back. Had Itachi been next to her and not in front of her, he probably would have done the same thing as Shisui.

"It doesn't matter why Suna believe they owe Konoha so much!" the Raikage snapped, his voice just as harsh and loud as ever. "What matters is that they will not turn on one another. Onoki, I don't know what made you turn on such a large village in such a way if it was only a small attack, but–"

"Uchiha Sasuke _must die_!" Onoki stressed in return, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Itachi's eyes did the same. "You wish to kill my younger brother?" he questioned, his voice low, soft and deadly. "I must warn you, it will not be so easy."

"He attacked Iwa!"

"He did not."

"He–"

"Sasuke is innocent!" Sakura couldn't help but yell, glaring viciously at the old man. She ignored the warning look Shisui shot her because Itachi didn't interrupt her despite the glares she received. He allowed her to speak. "I can defend Sasuke because he's my teammate. _I know him!_ This attack that you keep going on and on about… It wasn't him! Sasuke may have bursts of anger sometimes, but this is just uncalled for. He would not attack another village unless ordered to do so – and we _know_ that he wasn't given any orders. Tsunade–shishou tried so hard to stop a war from breaking out. She fought so hard to keep the peace and everyone safe!

"She told you so many times that Sasuke was in the village during the attack. His entire clan can vouch for him, as there was a clan meeting. Not a single Uchiha was outside of their district that day – Sasuke included." She shook her head angrily. "Glare at me all you want, Tsuchikage–sama, but I don't fear _cowards_."

Eyes widening in shock and rage, the old man opened his mouth, about to retort, but Sakura cut him off. "Haven't you won enough already?" she asked quietly, her chest aching. "Konoha has already lost so much, yet you want to take even more from us. You weren't there after those attacks, both from your own village and Akatsuki. You haven't seen the ruins that was once our home. During the second attack… Over two thousand villagers died that day – both shinobi and civilians. Men, women and even innocent children. The village lost our Hokage, but I lost my shishou. The woman who made me into who I am today, who took a pathetic, weak little girl under her wing and made her into a powerful kunoichi, the woman who protected that entire village like it was her child, is dead. _Isn't that enough for you_?"

Auburn eyebrows knitted together as Mei watched Sakura's pained expression. She too had seen the difference in the younger woman. Since she had known Tsunade from back in the day, when the woman had saved Mei's aunt, she had gone to visit the blonde to congratulate her on becoming Hokage and had seen her training Sakura. The difference in that thirteen year old girl and this woman, was astounding. But…

"You have very emotionally weak shinobi, Hokage." Mei murmured with a shake of her head, but she then smiled. "Although I have to say, _Uchiha_ Sakura, you remind me very much of Tsunade. She will be proud of you for defending your village in such a way."

The words cut deep into her chest, no matter how hard Sakura tried to hear them as a compliment. It wasn't that she _didn't_ hear them as a compliment, because she did. It was just so painful thinking of her shishou, so being told that Tsunade would be proud of her, was agonising, even though she knew it to be true.

Onoki shook his head with obvious anger. "Uchiha Sasuke will die."

Her pain momentarily forgotten, Sakura's hand slipped over to her pouch, only to be caught by something harsh and grainy. Sand. Glancing up at Gaara, her eyes narrowed, but he wasn't even looking at her. He still shook his head, though.

Itachi sighed and closed his eyes. "If you want my brother dead, you will have to go through myself, our clan, and his teammates first. I can assure you now that it will be no easy task. And then you will face my brother himself." Opening his eyes, Itachi's gaze was bored as he stared at the Tsuchikage. "I trained Sasuke myself ever since he was old enough to hold a kunai. If you somehow manage to fight him, you will not survive."

He looked offended, downright murderous, but Itachi cut him off. "We may be brothers, but Sasuke and I differ in many ways. The first being that he is merciless when it comes to battle. Whilst I myself can be the same, I _do_ take mercy on those who are weaker. Sasuke does not. If you threaten him, if you attack him, he will kill you without hesitation, regardless of your rank." Inwardly, Shisui smirked at the affronted expression on the Tsuchikage's face as well as his guards'. "If you wish to fight him so badly, I am sure it can be arranged for the both of you to have a one–on–one battle. I must warn you, however," His sharingan activated, glaring at the older man darkly, "_I will not allow you to kill Sasuke_."

Everybody was moving so very quickly. The two shinobi who were brought with their respective Kage suddenly intervened, blocking the view of their Kage and protecting them, despite there being no real threat. They had all heard about how powerful Itachi's sharingan was, which was what made them all so on edge and uneasy.

Sakura narrowed her eyes as she stayed crouched low in front of Itachi on the table. Even though he could protect himself, she would allow no harm to come to her husband. She'd rather die a thousand deaths. And Shisui was thinking the same as he stood in front of them both, his own sharingan activating and the tomoe morphing into a different design.

Instead of being on the offensive, however, Shisui was on the defensive.

"Shisui."

The quiet that momentarily swept over them all was deafening.

"Give me back my sight!" the Raikage roared in anger, only to pause when he felt he couldn't move his body, either. "And my movement!"

"Please calm yourselves." Shisui spoke up. "I have also taken sight and movement from Hokage–sama, too."

"Hokage–"

"Listen to Shisui, Mizukage." Gaara muttered, completely relaxed yet on edge all at the same time. It unnerved him greatly not having his body movements or sight, but after a second, Gaara realised he could still summon his sand, as it was still forming armour around his body. A piece even broke off on his palm at his command. "I am sure Shisui has his reasons for blinding us all."

Shisui nodded once even though nobody could see him. "I do." he then sighed. "I wish for this to be resolved without violence."

In response, Onoki scoffed. "Without violence? You think threatening the Kage this way will do any good? You're just a child!"

"I am a child who has managed to make all five Kage and their guards completely defenceless." he retorted coldly. "Remember that."

"Uchiha Shisui is the most powerful genjutsu user alive." Ao murmured to his Mizukage as well as to the rest of them. "It is no surprise that he has managed to ensnare us all."

What a problematic guy.

Thoroughly unnerved, Mei murmured, "Go on."

"You are all under a paralysing genjutsu." Shisui informed them. "Despite being startling, it is harmless, so do not fight against it. Listen to me without interrupting. As a member of the Uchiha clan, I can tell you now that Sasuke _was_ at that meeting. We are all considered the most powerful of our generation, so Sasuke was sat between myself and Hokage–sama for the entire duration of the meeting. You may also speak with the patriarch if you wish to know more. Even though Fugaku–sama is his father, he will not lie to the Tsuchikage."

Although he wasn't promising that Fugaku wouldn't attack the old man on sight.

Itachi spoke up next. "We believe that somebody may be trying to start a war between the five nations. Who, we are not sure as of yet. What we do know is that somebody has been impersonating my brother and this is not the first time that something like this has happened. In ANBU reports it is stated that, a while ago, an enemy once impersonated our jinchūriki and infiltrated the village, although was stopped before anything else happened."

Having been forced to stop and listen, the Tsuchikage thought over their words slowly and carefully. "Are you saying that my village has a different kind of enemy?"

"Yes and no." Itachi replied smoothly. "This enemy could be an enemy to us all, but to the Uchiha Clan especially."

"It is obvious that whoever this is, wants the Uchiha Clan annihilated." Gaara muttered in agreement. "Does your clan have any enemies we should know about, Hokage?"

"Everyone has enemies." Itachi retorted. "However, there is nobody that I can think of as of this moment that would be powerful enough to pull something like this off." Then, he added, "Shisui."

And just like that, everybody had their sight and movements back.

Slowly, just in case anybody tried anything, Sakura slid backwards and off the desk, though stayed standing beside Itachi instead of moving behind him once more.

"We can make this an official war, if that is what you wish." he stated plainly, simply. "Smaller villages will be torn apart, countless lives will be lost and hatred towards our villages will grow immensely, all because of your obsession with my brother."

"That is unfair!" Onoki snapped. "I–"

"Unfair?" Itachi murmured, raising an eyebrow. "I will tell you what is unfair. What is unfair is that you ordered your shinobi to attack our village when it was already destroyed and going through pain and loss. What is unfair is that, during that attack, we not only lost our Hokage, but my clan lost our matriarch when she tried to save the Hokage."

It took a lot to hold back the urge to snarl the words at the old man and it was obvious in the way Itachi's upper lip curled that he was just about holding himself back, putting _everybody_ on edge. "What is unfair is that I lost my mother at the hands of your shinobi, and now you are asking that I give up my brother and allow him to die by your filthy hands also." There was a pause, one where the Mizukage and Raikage watched in shock, whilst Sakura's, Itachi's and Shisui's hard eyes never left the Tsuchikage. Accusing him. "Forgive me for my lack of etiquette, but I hardly think you deserve any of my respect. If it weren't for the fact that we may possibly need you at some point, I would have killed you myself the moment I walked through that door."

Just as Itachi opened his mouth to continue, the Mizukage cut him off firmly and her greens eyes narrowed. "Hokage, it is unwise to throw threats such as those around. You are making no friends here."

Itachi merely stared back blankly. "I am in no way looking to 'make friends'. What I am looking for are allies, ones who will benefit me in finding out who is attempting to start a war."

"Hokage–sama."

Itachi's eyes shifted from Mei's and moved to the centre of the room. "I know." he told Shisui, his ever–sharpened senses already noticing the lurker. "It is as we suspected."

The other Kage all looked between each other, not appreciating that they were being kept out of the information, but one look from Sakura had Gaara's eyes losing their hardness, had him relaxing ever so slightly. Even though he did not trust Uchiha Itachi, he trusted Sakura and knew her well. She would not lead him to his demise. Hokage's wife, yes, but she was his friend. Sakura always had and would always be extremely loyal to her friends.

"Hokage–" Raikage began to roar as he slammed his fist into his desk and shot up out of his seat.

Something all but exploding out of the tiled floor in the centre of the room cut him off, making them watch with widened eyes as a plant–like being entered from below, the green plant surrounding him separating and revealing a white being with only half a face.

"_Hello!"_ an obnoxious voice said enthusiastically.

And once more, all shinobi were standing in front of their Kage, weapons drawn and features set into deadly expressions.

In front of Itachi, Sakura's fists were glowing blue, ready to shoot forward and pummel the intruder. She barely even noticed the fact that Itachi and Shisui were calm, like they'd been expecting him.

"_Uchiha Sasuke is here right now!"_

Sakura's eyes widened and her breath left her. "I–Impossible!"

"He's–"

Shisui shot forward faster than anybody could even keep track of, appearing to flash in front of the plant–like creature.

A second later and the white being was bending backwards, eyes staring up at the ceiling in a daze.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" Onoki roared, shooting to his feet. "He's–"

"If that is really my brother, Tsuchikage," Itachi murmured, also standing, "then I will deal with him myself for disobeying direct orders." Casually, ever so calmly, Itachi made his way around the table and stood in front of the useless plant–person. "If I am correct, then this man is a member of Akatsuki."

The Raikage scowled at him. "And how do you know that?"

When Itachi did not answer, Shisui did, instead. "For many years, Hokage–sama watched Akatsuki and regularly completed missions assigned to him by the late Jiraiya–sama – who was observing them closely."

"Zetsu." the younger Uchiha murmured when Sakura joined him. "Or, at least, half of him."

"He seems pretty useless compared to the others…" Sakura mumbled as she looked down at Zetsu. "I mean… Pein had his rinnegan. Sasori had his puppets. Deidara had his explosions. What's so special about this guy?"

"Do not underestimate him." Gaara stated as he stood up, gourd once more on his back. "There will be a reason as to why he is in Akatsuki."

Sakura glanced over her shoulder at the redhead, frowning as she did so. "But what do you think his purpose is? Just barging in here like this, when everybody knows that there will be a Kage summit…"

The Tsuchikage's eyes widened. "He is a distraction!"

In an instant, Ao was creating a single hand seal and closing his eyes, utterly stunning her when he barked out, "_Byakugan!_"

"The Byakugan? H–He's not a Hyuuga!"

Mei's eyes narrowed a fraction and she stood from her seat. "He won it during a battle."

Won it… "You don't _win_ eyes!"

If Neji knew about such a thing… Scratch that. If _anybody_ in the Hyuuga clan knew about such a thing, they would be out for blood because it meant that a Hyuuga from the main house had been defeated. It meant that their clan's secrets had gotten out. This man… He should not have the Byakugan. It hadn't been a gift like Kakashi's sharingan, it had been stolen. He had stolen somebody's eyes and–

And she felt so very sick.

Ignoring the women's words, Ao's uncovered eye snapped open. "Intruder. He seems to be leaving, however."

"Why?" the Iwa kunoichi demanded, speaking for the first time since the summit began. "Why the hell would he be leaving?"

Shisui glanced up at Itachi. "Because he knows who is here and that he doesn't stand a chance."

"I do not recognise his chakra." Ao told the Uchiha men. "But I can recall his face from the bingo book. However, I thought that you had already disposed of him."

They knew in an instant who it was and in just a second, Shisui was nodding once to Itachi, about to leave to go after the man.

But then Sakura was stepping forward. "Wait."

They all looked to her warily before the Raikage growled with annoyance. "You're a medic! You don't go to the front lines and you do not give out orders!"

Just as Shisui turned away, she shook her head, holding out her hand. "I'll deal with it."

Temari and Kankuro exchanged wary glances, the latter taking a step towards her. "Sakura, this is–"

"I know." Sakura gave him a small smile. "And I can handle him." Looking up at her husband, she raised an eyebrow. "Hokage–sama?"

He nodded once while Shisui tossed her a scroll. "Once he is defeated, store him away in this and bring it straight back to Hokage–sama. This is the last time he's getting away."

She nodded once, slipping the scroll into her pouch. This battle… It would be medic–nin against medic–nin. A battle to the death. However, it was as Shisui said: this would be the last time the man was getting away from them. It was time to bring him down after all of the pain and suffering he had caused. This man… He gave even her shishou a hard time back when they fought (mostly because of her fear of blood, but that was beside the point).

For Konoha, she had to do this. She was the only one capable of winning against him and healing any damage he would definitely cause. The others… Yes, they were all ridiculously powerful, but this was her battle. She was the only one who could get close to him and survive. His medical–ninjutsu… Tsunade had said that it was close to her own level in skill.

"Head north." Ao told her. "He hasn't gone too far."

Nodding once, she turned away, though was stopped when Itachi grabbed her wrist, causing her to face him once more. "Itachi?"

"Return."

Hearing the unsaid words, Sakura smiled softly and kissed his cheek, ignoring their audience. "Always."

* * *

It was freezing out and not for the first time since arriving in the Land of Iron, she wished she was wearing more than her standard issue jonin uniform. The top half of her body was at an okay temperature, but the bottom half was not. It was her own fault, really, for wearing a short skirt during this weather. It didn't help matters that she'd had to remove her cloak for the summit, so had forgotten to pick it up on her way out.

Sakura came to a stop in the middle of the snow, narrowing her eyes on the cloaked figure she had finally caught up with.

"Stop." she ordered, sounding calmer than she felt.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, adrenaline scorching her veins, when the cloaked figure slowly stopped in his walking, turning and glancing over his shoulder. A second later and he continued walking, writing her off as unimportant.

Sakura threw the three kunai in her hands at his feet, forcing him to stop.

"This is as far as you go, Kabuto."


	45. The Search

**Chapter 44 – The Search**

"She's been gone for over an hour, Temari. _That's_ why we're being sent after her."

Grumbling under her breath at her brother's words, the blonde narrowed her eyes and scanned the area around them, trying to spot a head of pink hair.

Nothing.

Like Kankuro had just stated: Sakura had been gone now for over an hour – closer to two, in fact. It had the Hokage, Shisui and the Kazekage on the edges of their seats even though they were good at hiding their unease. Temari could see it, though. She could see the tension in Uchiha Itachi's shoulders. She could see the clenching of Shisui's fists. She could see the faint twitch in Gaara's eye.

They were all worried about her and rightly so. Pulling her cloak tighter around herself as a harsh wind blew by, almost feeling as though it went right to her bones, Temari gritted her teeth and pushed herself forward once more. This place was hell and she missed the heat of the sun. She missed the burning of the sand in her desert. She even missed the days when it got so hot it felt like she was about to pass out!

"Sakura will be fine." she grumbled. "They're worrying over nothing. Just because she's a woman, it doesn't mean she's weak. Us women have to be strong in order to survive."

Kankuro rolled his eyes. "Again with the feminist talk."

The blonde whirled around and glared at him. "Again with the chauvinistic attitude!"

Knowing that now wasn't the time to be starting an argument with his older sister, Kankuro marched forward, disliking the snow as it soaked into his sandals. Great. Just perfect. He should have packed some of those steel capped boots but he couldn't pack what he didn't own, right?

"It doesn't look like there's been any battles here." he sighed with annoyance and a tremble shook his body for a moment. "The area isn't destroyed either, so it's obvious Sakura wasn't fighting here."

She nodded in agreement and followed her brother as he changed direction. "I can't sense any chakra, either. The Mizukage's guard should have joined us since he's a sensory type."

"Yeah." Kankuro muttered, glancing over his shoulder to the place where the summit was being held. It was well over three miles away now. "I don't like leaving Gaara there without any guards."

"He has his sand. You know it will always protect him, even if he doesn't want it to. But…" Temari sighed again, following her brother's dark eyes. "I don't like leaving him there, either. I've got a really horrible feeling in my gut."

"Something big is coming."

She nodded. "That's what my gut instinct is telling me, anyway."

"Damn it… Where is she?"

"There's no use in getting so wound up, Kankuro." Temari chided as she walked by his side now instead of behind him. She'd never been much of a believer in the whole 'women should walk three steps behind men' thing, anyway. "She's strong."

Annoyance was so very obvious on his features as Kankuro glared down at her. "Yeah and so is that freak Kabuto." Shaking his head with annoyance, he picked up his pace, forcing Temari to do so, too. "She's one of the very few people _he's_ let in, Temari. Gaara… He's only ever lost one precious person and that was Yashamaru."

Yes, she knew that already. "Who would've thought that she'd marry Uchiha Itachi, huh?"

"Gaara didn't seem that surprised."

"No, I suppose he didn't." Temari murmured and once more glanced around with a sigh. She could see her breath and much to her horror, it was starting to snow again. Big, thick flakes of it coming down on them – like they weren't cold enough already! "Do you think he's bothered by it?"

Kankuro shrugged in response. "We know he cares for Sakura, but he's never really spoken about what happened between them, has he?" She shook her head. "He's protective of her, that much we do know, but then again Gaara's protective of everyone he cares about."

Their brother didn't have many precious people and those he cared for, were held very dear to him. After losing Shukaku, his constant (and often unwanted) companion, he had continued to change. He opened up more to them, although kept certain things to himself. He protected their village even more fiercely than before!

"He's a private person." she eventually replied.

"Yeah."

Grabbing Kankuro's arm, Temari pulled him to a stop and sighed. "We're getting nowhere like this and if we stay outside too long, we're going to get frostbite."

"What do you suggest? We can't go back without her!"

"I'm not saying that! Just–"

She cut herself off and glared at him, silently telling him to shut the hell up unless he wished to be hit over the head with her fan. Then, she closed her eyes and focused hard on their surroundings, trying her best to feel out the area with her chakra. It was difficult and she'd only practised it a handful of times, but Temari was hoping that would be enough.

It wasn't until five minutes later and a lot of struggling that she picked up on a faint chakra signature.

"East. Half a mile from us."

"Are you sure it's her?"

Temari shook her head and set off running in the direction she had sensed the chakra coming from. "If it's Sakura, then she's used a lot of her reserves."

"Like I said earlier: Kabuto's strong, too. How could they send her to fight him alone?"

"Because this is her battle, you chauvinistic pig!" Temari snapped at him harshly. "Like _I_ said earlier: just because we're women, it doesn't mean we're weak."

"I never said that–"

"Wait!" she cut him off and threw her arm out to the side, holding him back from moving forward. Her gut instinct was…

Narrowing her eyes, Temari pulled her fan from her back and held onto one end of it tightly, bringing it down onto a certain area of the ground.

Not even a second later and the snow collapsed in on itself. The hole wasn't all that deep and already, snow had been filling it, but seeing the crack in the ground was a good thing. It meant that they were close to Sakura!

"How much do you think it's snowed since Sakura left?"

Frowning, she looked up at her brother as he glared at the area surrounding them. "A lot, I suppose. Why?"

"What if she's buried beneath it?"

Her eyes went wide.

"They should've sent a sensory type, damn it!" Kankuro growled as he created a clone and sent it forward and after a moment, Temari was doing the same, catching onto his thoughts easily. It would be too risky to go ahead themselves, especially since there was a chance even deeper holes were waiting for them. That thought was proven correct when the two clones disappeared into the ground before popping out of existence, making them curse. "Nobody can withstand freezing temperatures like this!"

No, they couldn't and Temari couldn't even deny that her heart was racing, that panic was beginning to settle deep within her stomach. If Sakura stayed out here much longer…

"I'll try it again." she muttered and once again shut her eyes, focusing completely on the weak chakra she'd picked up on before.

It was harder to distinguish this time and it took much, much longer than before, but once she had it, Temari took the risk of creating another clone even though it divided her chakra again and sent it in the direction of the chakra she could sense. The siblings followed the clone closely, running in a straight line and copying the clone's exact path. On more than one occasion, she almost went straight down an unseeable hole, just like the others had.

"The snow's picking up…" her clone stated rather worriedly.

"Just keep moving!" Temari ordered.

"Tch." the other blonde rolled her eyes, moving more quickly. "And you wonder why Shikamaru is always calling you a bossy, troublesome woman."

Temari growled warningly at her clone, glaring vicious daggers into the back of her head and behind her, Kankuro couldn't help but smirk despite the seriousness of their mission.

"_There_!" the clone suddenly yelled in a panicked voice, pointed over at a figure laying in the snow.

They recognised the pink hair easily, even though she was half buried in the snow, unmoving.

* * *

"What is taking them so long?" Mei sighed as she sat back in her seat and glanced up at Ao. "Can you see them?"

He shook his head. "They are out of my range."

"They're that far?" the other guard of the Mizukage's asked, clearly shocked. "How–"

"Enough." Itachi cut them off, narrowing his eyes a fraction. "Do not underestimate Sakura. She is stronger than she looks."

Mei's eyes also narrowed and she sat up straighter. "She is your _wife_."

"I am sure the Hokage knows who his wife is." Gaara sighed with annoyance. "There is a reason why he is not underestimating her. Sakura learned a lot of things from Tsunade and her motivation is to protect those she cares for. However," He paused, noticing how he had everyone's attention, even Itachi's, "another thing that pushes her are her teammates. Naruto and Sasuke have always been ahead of Sakura and she has always been watching their backs. That alone was enough to push Sakura to better herself."

When they looked to him, Itachi closed his eyes and also sighed. "The Kazekage's words are true. For the past couple of years, I have also been training Sakura and have taught her many things. She is by no means weak, despite her appearance and difficulty to conceal her emotions. Her former sensei is Hatake Kakashi, the infamous Copy–Nin. Her shishou was Senju Tsunade, the world's greatest medic and the Godaime Hokage. And now, she is learning whatever I choose to teach her. She is bettering herself every day. That is why I have never and will never doubt my wife."

Shisui glanced down at Itachi, surprised that he had said so much in front of such people. "Hokage–sama has always seen the potential in Sakura and has always been able to see who she could become with the right training. Just like Tsunade–sama did."

"I have to admit," the Mizukage nodded once, "I am impressed by the leap in her abilities and strength. I saw what she was like as a child, when she was just about in her teenage years and, do not take this offensively, but she was pitiful and an embarrassment of a kunoichi. She was always expecting somebody to come and save her, like she was nothing but a damsel in distress!"

She raised an eyebrow when Itachi's eyes snapped open and narrowed warningly. "You cannot tell me that you haven't thought the same thing, Hokage. Even the Godaime thought it. However, when I asked her why she was putting so much time and effort into a child like that, when I asked her why she didn't train somebody who would definitely not disappoint her, she told me…" Mei couldn't help but smile softly. "Tsunade told me that Sakura reminded her of herself. There was a hidden potential within her that needed to be brought to the surface."

The Kazekage had to refrain from rolling his eyes. "And as you can all see, it has been."

"But is it enough for somebody such as Yakushi Kabuto?" the Raikage demanded. "That man was once Orochimaru's righthand man!"

"Yes, how do you know she has what it takes?"

Itachi smirked at the Raikage and Tsuchikage. "I know because unlike her shishou, my wife doesn't know how to lose. She will win this battle."

* * *

_"Shit!_

_"Sakura!"_

Everything felt like it was nothing but noise to her and as Sakura opened her heavy eyes, trying to see the three figures running towards her, all she could make out were their outlines.

It was cold. That much she was aware of. It was cold, she was exhausted and she was in pain. There wasn't too much damage, Sakura believed. After all, she hadn't been sitting on her ass doing nothing since the discovery of Tsunade's illness. No, since discovering it, in secret, she had been trying to think of ways to avoid screwing up her body but also making sure she could fight on the front lines. How?

Yakushi Kabuto's technique.

"Shit," Kankuro muttered as he dropped to his knees by her side and checked for signs of a damaged neck or spine, "she's freezing, Temari!"

"Oi, Sakura can you hear us?"

Yes, yes she could. However, she just couldn't find the energy to reply even though it was rude not to.

"Is it safe to move her?"

"Is her spine damaged?"

"No, I don't think it is."

"Well check properly, Kankuro!"

"I'm not a fucking medic!"

Their voices were so annoying, Sakura inwardly groaned, shutting her eyes once more. It was so disorientating having to listen to them when they sounded like they were both underwater.

"We're going to have to move her anyway." She heard Temari snapping in return. "Somebody is bound to have at least _some_ knowledge in medical ninjutsu!"

Vaguely, Sakura felt something snaking around her knees and shoulders and only mildly, she panicked, thinking it was _him_. It couldn't be, though. It just couldn't be. That sentence repeated itself in her mind over and over again, trying to comfort her. It didn't work and the harder she tried to tell herself it wasn't him, the more alert Sakura became.

"Relax, Sakura." Kankuro grumbled, holding her close to his chest and trying to share the little body heat that he had left in weather like this. "We're taking you back."

"I–Itachi…"

Walking in front of them but not turning around, Temari nodded, watching her clone disappear. "We're taking you back to Itachi."

Relief washed over her so strongly she wanted to cry.

"We need to hurry, Temari." Kankuro stated seriously as he started to run. "She won't last much longer in freezing temperatures like this."

"I know!"

Instead of replying or yelling at her like he usually would have, Kankuro instead ran as fast as he possibly could without jostling the exhausted woman in his arms too much. At the same time, though, he was panicking and wanting nothing more than to sprint there. It was times like these that he wished he could use a damned transportation jutsu!

Sakura's head rolled to the side, her forehead pressing against his wide chest. Too wide and nothing like Itachi's. Sure, his chest was broader than his hips, but not as much as Kankuro's was. A tired pout formed on her lips. She wanted Itachi. He made everything feel okay. He made her feel safe.

"Itachi…"

"We're almost there, Sakura." Temari yelled over the wind that was suddenly picking up, trying to slow them down. "Just hold on!"

She trembled in Kankuro's arms.

She just wanted her husband.

She had to tell him the news.

* * *

Itachi was on his feet the moment Temari and Kankuro entered the room, the latter holding Sakura carefully in his arms.

"Sakura–"

She gave him a peaceful, proud smile and held out her trembling hand, a scroll being held as tightly as it possibly could be in her grasp. "Mission completed. I… I did it, 'tachi." She swallowed hard against the pain. "Yakushi Kabuto… is dead."

"She's amazing." Mei commented breathlessly.

Watching how Itachi gently took Sakura from Kankuro and made his way over to his part of the table, the Kazekage also stood up, waiting for Itachi to place her down onto the table and pressing her freezing legs together when she was, mentally chiding his former lover for wearing a skirt in such weather. Shisui appeared a moment later, placing Temari's cloak over the lower half of her body, much to Itachi's gratefulness. He'd rather his wife's underwear was not on display to all the Kage and their bodyguards.

Temari stepped forward just as Itachi was about to make several seals. "We found her laying in the snow and presumed Kabuto had won, since there was no sign of him and she looked close to death's door."

Ignoring her words, because Sakura was definitely not on death's door, Itachi continued with what he had been about to do and made several seals, hands glowing green once they were made. He could remember a small fraction of Sakura's healing techniques due to her showing most of them to him. Not only that, but growing up in ANBU, Itachi had also taught himself very basic medical ninjutsu. He was so glad he had now. Hands hovering over his wife's chest, Itachi pushed his chakra into her body delicately, watching her expression for any signs of pain.

It was a tricky thing, medical ninjutsu. If your chakra was too rough, if your control wasn't absolutely perfect, there was the possibility of completely destroying the patient's body. Breathing deeply, calmly, Itachi raised one of his hands and cupped her cheek, tilting her face in his direction. No serious heads wounds other than a slight bruise to her cheek that had yet to fully form, which was good. If there had been a head wound, he never would have been able to heal it. The mind was much too fragile for him to even dare to think about healing it.

"You're doing good." She smiled tiredly at him, chakra spent. "Though… I think… I think we finally found something… that I'm better than you at."

He gave her a small smirk, ignoring those around him as the hand not cupping her cheek, hovered over her stomach. There were a few grazes to her side and when he noticed that, Itachi gently pulled away from her and lowered the cloak to her hips, unzipping her flak jacket and raising her sweatshirt to just below her bindings.

"Chakra scalpel." Sakura informed him, knowing what wound he was looking at. That explained why it was far too sharp, too thin, to be an injury caused by a kunai, and too long to be from a shuriken. "Don't waste your chakra on it, Itachi." she told him seriously. "Just wrap it up."

The other Kage exchanged disbelieving looks, unable to fathom how Uchiha Itachi, the Rokudaime Hokage, could take orders from somebody below him. Wife or not, he was Hokage. Gaara inwardly rolled his eyes and stepped forward once more, aiding Itachi in rolling Sakura onto her side so that he could access her medical pouch. It didn't surprise him in the least that Sakura attempted to order Itachi around – she was hardly the submissive type and more often than not, tried to be the dominant one.

"Kankuro, bring me our cloaks." Gaara ordered quietly, his voice nothing but a murmur. "We need to warm Sakura up."

Nodding once in thanks, Itachi got to work with disinfecting the wound she had told him to wrap up, making sure there was nothing lurking inside the laceration before he was doing as she asked and wrapping it up tightly. And once she was on her back once more, he couldn't help but pause for a second, watching her expression until something gained his attention.

How hard had she pushed herself to defeat Kabuto? Her seal…

Noticing his eyes on her forehead, Sakura shook her head. "I only used my reserves. I didn't… I didn't use _that_ jutsu."

She needed to rest, Itachi thought as he glanced over his shoulder at everyone else. However, he didn't trust the others, especially not the Tsuchikage. Sakura was Konoha's best medic, taking the number one position when Tsunade had passed away. As Hokage, he could not allow their best medic to die, but as her husband, Itachi could not allow any harm to come to her.

"Shisui, make sure there are no sudden movements towards Sakura."

He nodded and stood beside the medic, giving her a small smile. "You did good, Sakura–san."

Surprising them, she chuckled softly. "I know… right?"

After turning back to face her once more Itachi cupped her cheek, noticing how her eyes were growing heavy once more. They had lit up when she saw him and her exhaustion had momentarily been forgotten, but now it was coming back. "Rest, Sakura."

"But now is–"

"Is fine." he cut her off. "I will not allow any harm to come to you."

His dark eyes held a promise, making her heart flutter and as soon as she closed her eyes, she was out like a light.

"Allow me to help."

Itachi glanced over his shoulder, watching one of the Raikage's bodyguards for a moment with a blank expression, a guarded expression. Could he trust this man? From the information Shisui had been able to gather, Itachi knew that the man before him was called Shee and he was a sensory type. As well as this, he was a medic–nin. However…

He narrowed his eyes a fraction and in response, Shisui shifted closer to Sakura, holding his arm over her body as a precaution.

"You dislike Konoha too greatly for me to allow you near my wife."

Shisui added, "Sakura–san is our number one medic–nin at this moment in time." He watched the Raikage and his guards with an empty mask, his voice just as empty when he spoke once more. "We cannot take the risk."

"Your medic–nin is injured – I can sense the injuries from here. I can also warm her up with my chakra, decreasing the chances of hypothermia and pneumonia." Shee stated, raising an eyebrow. "Wouldn't it be best to allow me to heal her, so that we can all get on with this meeting?"

His eyes lowered to Sakura's features, watching them carefully for a moment before he looked back to Shee. "If I sense even the slightest shift in your chakra, if you attempt to harm my wife, I will kill you without hesitation. Is that understood?"

Shee nodded once. "Yes, Hokage–sama."

"Did you see the battle?" the Tsuchikage questioned the two Suna–nin.

Kankuro leaned back against Gaara's part of the desk, right beside Sakura's feet and shook his head, sighing. "No. It seemed to have been over for a while by the time we found Sakura."

"I wonder what happened." the Iwa kunoichi murmured as she looked at Sakura's face. "That mark on her forehead is gone. The previous Hokage had one like that as well, right?"

Neither Itachi nor Shisui answered. Instead they kept their hard eyes on Shee, as did Gaara and Temari.

"Yeah, she did." Kankuro answered with a shrug. As tired as he was, he refused to show it. Already, there had been rumours about Gaara being the weakest Kage so far and he'd be damned before he let his brother or their village down by making it seem like their shinobi were also weak. Of course, his brother was by no means weak, but that wasn't the point. "It's something to do with storing up a load of chakra to use later on. From what I can remember, Sakura had been storing chakra up for years before that seal showed itself."

"So you knew her when she was younger?" Mei asked curiously.

He nodded once.

"And her teammates?"

Both Shisui's and Temari's eyes slid over to the Raikage's at his question, but still, it was Kankuro who replied, once again shrugging. "I don't really know them that well, but they stick together. They're like family, I suppose."

Temari's eyes narrowed a fraction. "She's protective of them all, just like I am with my brothers. That's why she won't give up on clearing Uchiha Sasuke's name. They're a lot closer than you'd think they would be and there isn't a single thing she doesn't know about him and vice versa."

"Enough, Temari." Gaara warned, his voice sending a shiver up the Iwa kunoichi's spine as well as the young boy who was guarding the Mizukage.

"Don't act like this doesn't bother you either, Gaara." Kankuro muttered under his breath. "Even _we_ know that Sasuke wouldn't do something as stupid as this."

The redhead shook his head, ignoring the disbelieving looks aimed at his siblings. "If he did attack Iwa, it would have been much more devastating."

"What–"

But the Tsuchikage was cut off.

"Hokage–sama…"

At the sound of Shee's quite, unsure voice, everybody looked to Sakura's features, checking them over. It sounded like he was surprised, yet sheepish at the same time and while they were certain he didn't want there to be, a very faint blush was sweeping over his cheeks.

"What is it, Shee?" the Raikage demanded. "It's not like you to be shy!"

His eyes met Itachi's, mouth opening for a moment before he glanced around the room, mainly to the Tsuchikage, frowning. "I don't think I should be telling you in front of everybody else."

"Nonsense!" the huge, blond man yelled, slamming his fist into the table before him. "You will share what you have found with the rest of us, Shee! Nothing will be hidden from us in this room."

When Itachi nodded once, he sighed. "Considering the fact you didn't say anything straight away, I am only guessing that you don't already know."

Itachi couldn't help the way his eyes narrowed. "Continue."

"Your wife… She is with child, Hokage–sama."


	46. How Is That Possible?

**Chapter 45 – How Is That Possible?**

His breath left him as Itachi stared down at his wife. She was… She was with child. _His _child.

Even though now was not the time or place, Shisui couldn't stop himself from placing a hand on his shoulder and offering the younger Uchiha a smile. "Congratulations, Itachi."

Pregnant. She was pregnant. After believing for so long that it may not be a possibility for them, after their few arguments about whether or not to restart the contraception jutsu…

It was overwhelming.

He was going to be a father.

"You have both wanted this for a while now." Shisui continued, feeling so very happy for his friend. "You finally have it."

It took everything within Itachi to stop himself from showing how… how truly ecstatic he was, from showing how much the news meant to him! It would be dangerous to do that with so many powerful shinobi surrounding them.

And at that thought, a certain presence became more impossible to ignore.

"Will you take them from me, too, Tsuchikage?" Itachi questioned, raising a single eyebrow as he glared at the man from over his shoulder. "You have already taken my mother. You want my brother. Who's next? Sakura? Our unborn child?"

The man looked affronted. "I would never harm–"

"Innocent people?" Gaara offered. "Tsuchikage, I feel as though you have forgotten just what you ordered your shinobi to do. Konoha has been left in _ruins_ and over two thousand _innocent_ people died that day – both shinobi and civilians."

"You can't speak to the Tsuchikage like that–"

The Iwa kunoichi was cut off by Temari, who narrowed her eyes dangerously. "And you can't speak to the Kazekage like that. I won't stand for it!"

Shisui stepped into the centre of the room, looking around at them all with an annoyed glower. "Everybody needs to calm down, if you ask me." he stated seriously in a firm, no nonsense voice. "We will not get anywhere if you all begin to argue with one another over things such as our etiquette and manners." Dark eyes slid over to Itachi, narrowing a fraction. "I understand you're feeling protective of her, Itachi, really I do, but you need to focus. You haven't been Hokage all that long and you were definitely thrown head first into the role, but you know just as well as I that you _can_ be a leader. Remember everything you have been taught."

Next, his eyes went to the Tsuchikage. "I am by no means accusing you, Tsuchikage, but please keep in mind that our village has suffered a great loss and it was incredibly personal to Itachi, who lost his mother during the invasion. He has every right to be wary of you."

Just as the Mizukage was about to interrupt, Ao placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "Uchiha Shisui is right, Mizukage–sama. What he is saying _needs_ to be said."

The boy by her side nodded in agreement. "He is trying to keep the peace, Mizukage–sama. I think we should do what we can to help!"

Before he could start to question himself, the auburn haired woman offered the boy a smile. "You really are growing into a fine man, Chōjūrō."

He blushed and lowered his head.

"Please," Shisui sighed, "do not let there be any more unnecessary bloodshed. We have all suffered enough already. Families have been torn apart because of our wars and our hatred and what happens in the end? More hatred is born. We are destroying the world with our ways!"

For the first time since he entered the room, Uchiha Shisui showed emotion: exhaustion. "Like every other person in my village: I am tired of waiting for the next attack. I am tired of hearing about more and more of our shinobi dying or going missing while on a mission. I am tired of seeing people I care about suffering!" His eyes went back to the Tsuchikage's. "Please believe me when I tell you that Sasuke was not the one who attacked your village! I have known him since the day he was born, meaning I know everything about him. I have watched over Sasuke just as much as I have Itachi. He would not attack your village, not without being provoked. He was also not the one who attacked Killer Bee–san."

"How can I be so sure that you're telling the truth?" the old man demanded.

Itachi's eyes snapped to his, narrowing dangerously. "Because at this moment in time, my brother is blind. I know his limits better than anyone and he would not have been capable of defeating Killer Bee–san even with his eyes fully functioning."

They were silenced by his confession as well as by Shisui's speech.

"Uchiha Sasuke is… blind?" the Raikage asked, scowling. "In both eyes?"

"Yes."

"Reports say that the Uchiha who attacked my brother had only one sharingan."

Shisui's eyes widened.

Itachi's features went blank.

_"I had a friend who couldn't see out of one of his eyes before." Aiko suddenly told Sasuke, placing her hand over her eye until she remembered he couldn't see her. He grunted. "Do they hurt?"_

He'd always known there was something strange about how they found Aiko. Out in the middle of nowhere, a building had been burnt to the ground and both of her parents had been killed. It was far enough that they hadn't heard a thing – Itachi had checked the distance and examined the burnt down home himself. Aiko should not have been able to outrun the Iwa–nin and make it so close to the border. She should not have been able to escape. Iwa–nin were known for being very thorough, so would not have left the girl until she was dead.

Somebody had saved her. They had moved her to somewhere Sakura would find her, knowing she would heal Aiko.

Itachi closed his eyes and lowered his head, his hair shielding his features from the others.

It was why he had been so suspicious of the young girl.

He opened his eyes and stared at the relaxed face of his wife. Sakura… As much as Itachi would rather not inform her of such a thing, she had to know. She was the only one who could confirm the possible link and until then it remained at that – only a possibility. However, knowing her the way he did, Itachi knew that Sakura would not immediately open up about Aiko, especially not with the Tsuchikage in the room.

"Hokage?" Mei called with a frown. "What is it?"

Shisui was the one who answered for him, understanding that his friend needed a moment. "Around two years ago, a young girl was found near one of our base camps. She was the child of two Iwa–nin, in fact." The Tsuchikage's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing as he listened intently. "She was badly injured and just about clinging onto life when Sakura–san found her and brought her close to full health."

"Close?" It was Gaara who questioned Shisui. "Sakura would not stop healing somebody until they are fully healed."

"She never had the chance." Itachi muttered. "The girl she saved died only a week or two later. At the hands of Iwa–nin, no less."

The Iwa kunoichi's eyes immediately went to the Tsuchikage's, widening with pure horror and in response to the news, he lowered his to the ground, scowling down at it. His other guard, the large dark haired man, was just as silent. "The girl…?"

"Her name was Aiko. Yoshida Aiko."

After coming across her aunt and uncle in Iwa, Itachi had scraped up whatever information he could find about the family and while it was limited, it was still better than what they'd previously had. He had even managed to pick up an old photograph of the girl for Sakura to remember her by.

Yoshida Aiko, the child of Yoshida Karashi and Ai. The couple had been together for only a short amount of time before Ai found out she was pregnant and soon after the discovery, they got married. They had lived in an average home and Ai, who had been a retired kunoichi, had had an average job and remained in the village – she quit being a kunoichi to raise Aiko. Karashi had been anything but average and had in fact been a member of Iwa's ANBU, which was why they'd had hunter–nin sent after them.

"They…" The Tsuchikage's scowl deepened as he immediately recognised the surname. "They were only supposed to dispose of Karashi." He shut his eyes and sighed. "Karashi left the village without warning and without permission, simply taking his family and leaving–"

"He was paralysed from the waist down." Itachi stated calmly, slowly. His eyes were still on Sakura. "And it was his wife who made him leave, believing that life outside of the village would be better for him, as he was not coping with being useless as a shinobi."

"How do you know all of this?" the Iwa kunoichi questioned, seeming torn between horror and disbelief.

He didn't answer. Sakura… How was he supposed to tell her this? How was he supposed to ask the questions that needed to be asked? It wasn't impossible, but it felt like it was. Itachi was so tired of seeing his wife in pain, he was so tired of seeing her hurt and upset. Just once, _just once_, he wanted to be able to give her good news.

"And the baby?" Temari suddenly asked Shee. When they simply stared at her, she placed a hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes. "Look, there's no point getting all wound up about this until Sakura wakes up and trust me, it'll be best to give her good news before you dump something like this on her."

Kankuro nodded in agreement. "She's not known as the second Tsunade for nothing, you know."

"Leave my wife to me." Itachi held back his sigh. "And it would be best if nobody interrupted. Sakura will have a difficult time opening up about Aiko."

"But Temari–san is right about the pregnancy, Itachi." Shisui told him. "It will be best to give her some good news before we give her bad."

He nodded once and then looked to Shee, silently repeating Temari's question.

The man sighed in response and looked down at the unconscious kunoichi, unable to fathom just how the hell the baby was still alive. "It shouldn't be possible. Healers can pick up on everything that's been previously healed and what's previously been damaged, so I can sense all the beatings your wife has taken, Hokage–sama. Her abdomen is…" He shook his head. "Pregnancy for her should not be possible. It's not impossible, but it's also highly unlikely that she will fall pregnant."

Just a moment later and Shee's hands were glowing green and he placed them over her stomach. "There's not only that to take into consideration, but there is also the battles she has been in while pregnant. I would say she is…" He frowned, his hands tilting ever so slightly before he placed one of them onto her stomach and shut his eyes. "Just over a month into her pregnancy, so it's still the early stages. This stage is the most risky, which is why I'm so surprised that the battles she's been in hasn't affected or disturbed the fetus."

"But the child is healthy?" Mei questioned. God knows the girl deserved a break, she added silently.

"…Yes." he eventually answered, eyebrows knitting together. "However, Hokage–sama, I advise that you do not let your wife take part in any fights until after she has given birth. I also advise that she does nothing but rest for the first trimester." He finally opened his eyes and looked up at the man standing on the other side of Sakura, not surprised to find Itachi watching him already. "I am no expert when it comes to pregnancies, but even I can tell that this child is a miracle. I'm not sure if your wife will be able to conceive again after this child."

Second opinion. As soon as they returned to Konoha, Itachi would get a second opinion from Shizune. And then he would do everything to prove Shee's thoughts wrong, no matter how childish it seemed. Sakura wanted a large family, a happy one. That was what she had told one time not long after the news of possibly being infertile, while opening up to him. She was going to have that large family.

"She must have been subconsciously protecting your child, Hokage–sama." Shee continued as he carefully probed with his chakra.

There wasn't a chance that she knew, after all. Sakura would have never been able to stay quiet about it, not to mention she'd been talking about restarting the contraception jutsu – it would kill their child if she restarted it. She would have been bouncing off the walls or would have been too stunned to do anything! She would have been ecstatic yet frightened and it would have been obvious to them all.

"We must also ask her what happened with Yakushi Kabuto." the Raikage stated.

Even though she had won, that wouldn't be enough for the other Kage. They would want details. Hell, Itachi found himself wanting to know the details of that battle, too.

"What do we do with this guy?" Chōjūrō questioned, indicating to the plant–like being in the centre of the meeting room.

"I tried to search through his mind with my sharingan," Shisui informed them, "but it is filled with many powerful blocks. However, he's useless for now because of the genjutsu I have cast on him."

"Wait!" Shee suddenly exclaimed and quickly, yet carefully, extracted his chakra from Sakura's body. "She is waking up."

"How can you tell?" the Raikage demanded. "She–"

"Her chakra was attempting to shove mine out."

Temari couldn't help the way her eyes brightened. "Her body and chakra knows. It's just her who doesn't."

He nodded.

"It was only a slim possibility." Itachi reluctantly shared with them. "Sakura did not want to get her hopes up."

They all fell silent when apple green eyes fluttered open, only to shut again at the harsh light beaming right into her face. It was uncomfortable and even painful but thankfully, two sets of hands eased her up into a sitting position, one set of them disappearing while the others held onto her. She knew those hands, though.

"Itachi."

"I'm here." he murmured quietly, watching her tired features. It seemed she was still exhausted, though hadn't been able to continue resting when somebody else's chakra was invading her body. "How are you feeling?"

"Not great, but definitely better." she told him just as quietly. "I'm not as cold anymore and I'm not aching as much."

"I know you have only just woken, Sakura, but we must ask you what happened with Kabuto."

As much as she wanted to, Sakura knew it would be inappropriate to lean against Itachi or hug him, so she remained sitting up and finally fully opened her eyes, looking around the room. She wasn't surprised to find everyone staring at her.

"Well…"

* * *

_It was freezing out and not for the first time since arriving in the Land of Iron, she wished she was wearing more than her standard issue jonin uniform. The top half of her body was at an okay temperature, but the bottom half was not. It was her own fault, really, for wearing a short skirt during this weather. It didn't help matters that she'd had to remove her cloak for the summit, so had forgotten to pick it up on her way out._

_Sakura came to a stop in the middle of the snow, narrowing her eyes on the cloaked figure she had finally caught up with._

_"Stop." she ordered, sounding calmer than she felt._

_Her heart was pounding in her chest, adrenaline scorching her veins, when the cloaked figure slowly stopped in his walking, turning and glancing over his shoulder. A second later and he continued walking, writing her off as unimportant._

_Sakura threw the three kunai in her hands at his feet, forcing him to stop._

_"This is as far as you go, Kabuto."_

"_Oh?"_

_As he fully turned around, she straightened her stance, doing her best to make sure that every inch of her body was guarded and protected, leaving no openings for him to attack. Yakushi Kabuto was a sneaky man who would attack when you were least expecting it. They wouldn't be fair attacks, either. She knew this because Tsunade had told her all about her fight with Kabuto, even the parts that bruised her pride and made her feel so very angry and useless._

"_How did you escape Konoha?"_

"_It's funny that they sent you after me, Sakura–chan." All Sakura could see of his face was his smirk, due to the way his head was lowered, his hood covering the rest of his face._

_She didn't humour him with a response. "Answer me. How did you escape Konoha?"_

"_During the invasion." His disgusting smirk widened. "It was quite the distraction, after all and the perfect opportunity to get out of there without anybody noticing immediately."_

_Bastard! "Who helped you? Reports say that that blast came from the outside. Who got you out?"_

"_A friend – well, more like an acquaintance."_

"Who_?"_

"_Well, well. It seems you really are Senju Tsunade's student. It doesn't take much to anger you, does it?"_

_No, it didn't, but Sakura was trying her hardest not to get angry. She was trying her hardest not to let the sly bastard rile her up. If that happened, she would attack without thinking, leaving her at a disadvantage. She needed to be calm, emotionless. That was what Itachi had taught her._

_Taking a deep breath, Sakura cleared her features of all emotion and after breathing out, she questioned him once more, although this time she was calm. "Who helped you escape, Kabuto?"_

"_And there's Itachi–san!" He barked out a humourless laugh. "Or is it Kakashi–san?"_

_Deep breaths. She had to remember what Itachi taught her. So, like he would, Sakura remained silent and stared Kabuto down._

"_I don't have time to be entertaining you, I'm afraid." Kabuto sighed suddenly._

_And then he attacked._

_Quickly crossing her arms in front of her neck and face, Sakura blocked the punch with ease and retaliated quickly by grabbing the fist in a firm grip, yanking Kabuto closer. Her fist was almost glowing with chakra as it moved towards him at a fast pace, but somehow, he managed to dodge, managed to get away and in her moment of confusion, he struck again._

_How did he manage to escape her attack? Nobody had ever been able to do that before. He would have had to–_

_He had broken his own wrist._

_To escape using force, Kabuto would have to break his wrist and knowing that, he did it anyway. Knowing him, however, he would have it healed already or almost healed._

_Clenching her fists, she shot forward, putting extra chakra into her movements to enhance her speed. Due to her reserves, it wasn't all that risky and since they were full, Sakura wasn't too concerned about running low on chakra any time soon._

_Her hands shot through several seals and after only a short few seconds, water was shooting out of the ground, snaking around Kabuto's legs. If he wouldn't stay, then she would make him. And like Sakura had been hoping, because of the freezing temperature, the water that was now up to his hips froze solid, taking away Kabuto's ability to move. He struggled against the ice, eyes widening a fraction as Sakura continued to run towards him, having never broken stride._

_Just as she was about to punch him, however, he once more dodged the attack by leaning backwards and instead of punching him in the face, Sakura instead took down his hood and her eyes widened at the sight of his face. She quickly jumped backwards to put space between them when he shot up so he was standing straight once more, breaking out of the ice with the help of his chakra._

_He was… He was experimenting with himself. Sakura recognised that ugly, golden eye. She recognised the pale skin._

_Orochimaru._

_It wasn't the cold that made a horrible tremor run down her spine._

_And the grin he suddenly sent her way wasn't helping her unease at all._

_Before Kabuto could say anything to creep her out further, Sakura once more made hand seals and this time, a large dragon made completely out of water rose from behind her, shooting straight at Kabuto. And the second the water made contact with him, she forced herself to go through the hand seals she'd once seen Sasuke making._

_Lightning erupted around her._

_The only downside was that it took a huge chunk out of her reserves and it only continued to take more chakra when Sakura struggled to control the lightning completely. Even though it was risky, she took a deep breath and threw her hand forward and as she did, the lightning shot out of it, lashing around the open area until it finally made contact with the water just as the water collapsed on top of Kabuto._

_There was a pained scream, one that echoed all around them in the otherwise silent area._

_It was so bright! Sakura quickly released the lightning and covered her face, trying to block out the blinding light. She couldn't risk something like that again. Lightning was not her element and it clearly showed with that last attack. To use it again would be dangerous and not only to her opponent._

_But then just as she lowered her arms, Sakura's eyes went wide as she spotted what appeared to be coffins shooting out of the ground. When had Kabuto found the opening, the time, to make hand seals? What the hell was this, anyway? This was…_

_Her already wide eyes widened further and the colour drained from Sakura's face._

_What had Itachi told her before? Back when Kabuto had infiltrated the village and tried to steal the bodies of the most powerful, deceased shinobi? Something about the Nidaime's jutsu. Edo Tensei, she believed it to be called._

_And as the lids on those coffins fell forward, crashing into the snow, Sakura felt her heart go straight up into her throat._

_Konoha–nin._

_One of them she recognised, but all others were a mystery to her. The one she recognised was the man who had been one of the proctors for her first chunin exam. He was… Gekkō Hayate. Sakura could remember praying for him during the service when she had seen his picture near the Sandaime's. She could remember a weight settling in her stomach when she saw the picture, that weight only continuing to grow heavier when Kakashi later informed her of Hayate's lover in a rare moment of openness._

_This was unforgivable._

"_You bastard." Even though Sakura wanted to scream the words, they came out as a whisper, especially as several of the eyes belonging to the deceased snapped open. "You fucking bastard."_

_However, it seemed he was still learning how to use the jutsu, for many of the deceased never opened their eyes. Some of the lids didn't even open. Unfortunately, Hayate was not one of them and as he, along with many of the others, ran towards her, Sakura found herself torn. Did she fight back and possibly destroy their bodies, or did she respect the dead and retreat?_

_As she quickly dodged one of many katana trying to slice through her, Sakura realised there would be no escaping. It was either die or fight back._

_It broke her heart._

_Squeezing her eyes shut, she clenched her fist and threw it forward, slamming it into Hayate's face._

"_Forgive me."_

_He was thrown many metres away from her but Sakura didn't focus on him for long as she began to shut down her emotions, as she recalled her battle with Sasori and his puppets and began to fight back._

_But then Hayate appeared in front of her again only a few minutes later, attempting to stab her, making Sakura scowl and punch him once more._

_What the hell was going on?_

_Turning around, she looked at all the other reanimations, taking an uneasy step back as she watched their bodies reconstructing themselves out of what appeared to be paper. How was she supposed to beat somebody who was already dead? How could she beat people whose bodies couldn't be destroyed?_

_Her eyes slipped over to the far left, narrowing on the smirking face of Kabuto._

_You go for the heart._

_Sure, there was the risk of the jutsu _not_ being undone if she killed him, but Sakura knew that she had to try. It was her only shot unless she wished to continue fighting an endless battle until her chakra ran out, until they eventually got the best of her. It seemed the only way to defeat them would be to seal them and she couldn't–_

_It took a lot to hold back the expression threatening to show on her face._

_The storage scrolls! Sure, they wouldn't be properly sealed away and sure, it was supposed to be used for objects, but… They were already dead. From what she could tell, they weren't even conscious. They were merely bodies being forced to fight._

_It made it easier thinking that way._

_Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out a single storage scroll._

_There were seven reanimations altogether and if they stayed grouped up like they currently were, then she'd be able to take several of them at a time, sealing them away into her storage scroll. When she was done, Sakura would hand it over to somebody in the village who was trained and highly skilled in sealing jutsu, somebody who she know she'd be able to trust with the bodies of their comrades._

"_Just know, Sakura–chan," Kabuto taunted, "if you kill me, the jutsu won't stop."_

_That was a risk she was going to have to take._

_Moving as quickly as she possibly could, Sakura unravelled the storage scroll and made a single hand seal and not even a second later, a bright light momentarily flashed. The second it was gone, so were three of the corpses._

_She ducked as a fist went straight over her head and swiftly shoved the scroll back into her pouch, reaching for another._

_Get them together…_

_Don't stop moving…_

_Sakura leaped into the air and once more ripped open a scroll, taking a deep breath as yet another chunk of her chakra was taken to seal them away._

_One more._

_It seemed almost too easy, her mind was trying to tell her and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Kabuto making more hand seals. However, once those hand seals were done, the coffins were disappearing and along with them was the last reanimation._

_He didn't want her to take his corpses._

_Panting, she dropped down onto the snow, pushing the scroll back into her pouch. What would his next move be now that she'd proven his Edo Tensei jutsu pointless against her?_

_Sakura didn't have long to think about it because not even a few seconds later, he was right in front of her. His hand was glowing blue with a technique she knew well. It was the chakra scalpel, something she used daily at the hospital. To have such a technique used against her in battle was an insult. Why? Because medics devoted their lives to saving people, learning jutsu and techniques such as the one Kabuto was now using against her to do so._

_Figuring out where it was going to hit her, Sakura gritted her teeth. Why did they always aim for her abdomen? Was there writing on her somewhere telling her enemies to always attack there? How many times had she been hit in that area now? Major attacks… First there was Sasori. His katana had sliced through her, savagely tearing into an organ and it would have killed her in mere minutes if it hadn't been for Chiyo. Then there had been the Iwa–nin, the one who had shoved his entire freaking arm right through her stomach and out of her back. Again, Sakura would have died had it not been for her seal._

_However…_

_His mismatched eyes widened and right at the last moment, just as Sakura prepared herself for yet another hit to the stomach, Kabuto misdirected the blow, his chakra scalpel scraping across her side instead of stabbing her, easily cutting through her clothing and skin._

_She leapt backwards, holding a hand to her side. Harmless. The injury was harmless and to use her chakra to heal it would be stupid and a waste. Tsunade would tell her to man the hell up and keep fighting. There were only bruises and a few cuts on her, so healing herself could wait until later._

_But why had he changed his aim right at the last moment? Sakura knew that she wouldn't have been able to dodge, no matter how much Itachi's training had helped to improve her speed. So why?_

"_Why?"_

_Once more, Kabuto's eyes were wide, but only by a fraction this time. "You don't know."_

"_Know _what_?" she stressed, her heart pounding._

"_It doesn't matter." he replied, his tone losing all friendliness as he narrowed his eyes. "I won't miss next time."_

_And as he ran towards her again, Sakura noticed that he was now purposely aiming for her stomach and her fear multiplied. Medics were trained to notice certain differences, certain changes…_

_No, it wasn't possible._

_She couldn't._

_Sakura dashed forward to meet him head on, using one of her shishou's techniques next. Again, considering it was of the lightning element, it would be risky for her to use it. But that was why she knew Sasuke's jutsu in the first place. Sakura wanted to be able to master the lightning element just like Tsunade had been able to. And if Kabuto was going to use medical ninjutsu against her, then she would do the same. That bastard didn't deserve an honourable death. He deserved to join Orochimaru in hell, where they would both burn together for eternity._

_It seemed, other than the Edo Tensei jutsu, he was only using his chakra scalpel against her. Was there a reason for that? Narrowing her eyes, she focused on his chakra. It felt weaker than the other times she'd crossed paths with him. Why? Was Orochimaru's DNA having a negative effect? Was it reacting badly to his own? Or was Kabuto simply worn out?_

_It didn't matter._

_Tsunade had told her all about her fight against Kabuto and had told her how quickly he'd been able to overcome the technique._

_She had to make sure he couldn't concentrate._

_His chakra scalpel sliced through her arm muscle just as Sakura reached around him, slamming her hand down against the back of his neck. That was risky, also. She should have attacked from behind, but there had been no opening. It was the best she could do in a situation such as this._

_And in an instant, Kabuto went down, his body shaking as he tried to make it respond to him._

"_This again?" he snarled, already working on relearning the connection between his brain and limbs._

"_Yeah." Sakura also snarled and stepped in front of him, eyes hard and angry. "Only this time, you're not getting away or being given the chance to work everything out." Her eyes narrowed. "Tsunade–shishou wasn't at full strength back then because of her fear of blood. Had she not had that phobia, she would have destroyed you in less than a minute."_

"_I–"_

_Sakura's hand lashed out without mercy, the kunai she'd suddenly pulled from her pouch slicing across his throat._

"_Have gone on causing pain long enough."_

_But just when Sakura thought it was over, Kabuto attempted to heal the wound, his body trembling with the effort._

_Her eyes went wide and Sakura clenched her fist tightly, blue chakra enveloping it in less than a second._

_If anybody could heal a wound as fatal as that, it would be him since it was rumoured that his skills had rivalled Tsunade's._

"_I don't think so."_

_She ignored his pained, gargled scream as her fist connected with his chest, as it went straight through until she met snow. Around them, the snow that had already fallen to the ground rose high into the sky, falling around them after a few seconds of pause._

_Sakura was panting as she checked Kabuto's pulse, making sure that he was definitely dead this time and much to her relief, he was._

_It hadn't been the battle she'd been expecting and if he'd been at full strength, Sakura seriously doubted that she would have won. She had a weakness, one Kabuto had picked up on easily and tried to use against her. What was it, though?_

_Collapsing onto her knees, Sakura weakly retrieved the scroll from her pouch, the one Shisui had told her to use. It took only a minute to store Kabuto away._

_Again, the battle hadn't gone the way she'd expected it to. For some reason her chakra control wasn't as great as it usually was. Either that or that lightning jutsu had really taken a lot out of her. It felt like she was running on empty and as Sakura took a deep breath, attempting to calm her body, breathing and heartbeat, she stared up at the dark sky, enjoying the sight of the falling snow._

_And then her eyes rolled to the back of her head and Sakura fell face first into the snow, falling into unconsciousness._

* * *

"It's not anything new." Sakura finished with a sigh, rubbing her arm. It seemed the torn muscle had been mended. "When I was first learning how to master Tsunade–shishou's strength and seal, I had many fainting spells and could be out cold for minutes or days. It depended on how much chakra I used and how much was in my reserves. The stress of trying to control so much chakra…"

"You won." Temari stated with a small smile. "That's all that matters right now."

"You said Kabuto picked up on a weakness, one you don't know about."

At the Mizukage's question, she reluctantly nodded.

The auburn haired woman smiled to herself and her eyes went from Sakura to Itachi. "Give your wife the good news, Hokage."

Unlike Mei's, when Sakura's eyes met Itachi's, they were confused and her expression showed her confusion, also. He wished more than anything that he could have shared the news with her while they were alone and not stuck in a room with the other Kage along with their guards, but some things just couldn't be helped.

Placing his hand on her cheek, he couldn't stop the smile that graced his lips. "You're pregnant, Sakura."

Silence.

It dragged on for a few moments and as it did, wary hope seemed to build in her eyes.

"I'm…?"

Itachi nodded.

"B–But _how_? Tsunade–sama said that I can't have babies!"

At her words, not only did Gaara's head snap up, but so did Temari's, Kankuro's and even the Mizukage's.

"No, she said it will be more difficult." Itachi told her patiently, wiping her tears away before they even fell. "I told you, Sakura: I _will_ give you children."

Temari, as well as the Iwa kunoichi, couldn't help but blush at his words.

All the Tsuchikage was capable of doing, was watching in stunned silence. Stunned because of how normal the couple seemed to be. Underneath his cold exterior, underneath his threats and intimidating aura, Itachi was a normal man who was a husband. He was a normal husband who wanted to give his normal wife whatever she desired.

Her bottom lip began trembling and it wasn't long until Sakura was sobbing with happiness, a bright smile on her face as her hand fell to her still–flat stomach. "We did it." she whispered happily, unable to control her emotions. "We did it, Itachi!"

But the moment couldn't last forever. There were still questions that needed to be answered and until they were, they had to put their personal lives on hold. "Sakura, we must ask you something." Itachi stated quietly, wiping away her tears. "And we need you to push your emotions aside and focus fully on what you need to do." Frowning, she nodded. "Did Aiko ever mention anything about her one–eyed friend?"

Sakura's features emptied and became so very guarded all at once, utterly stunning Gaara, Temari and Kankuro. "I'm not bringing Aiko–chan up here." When Itachi went to argue, she glared over at the Tsuchikage, hissing, "Not with _him_ in the room."

Outrage was so very clear on Onoki's features, but the older Uchiha silenced the man with a frown. "Please forgive her, Tsuchikage–sama. Sakura–san grew very fond of Aiko–chan during the short time she knew her and has had an incredibly difficult time coming to terms with her death."

"Because _he_ killed her!" she yelled angrily, voice cracking and she ignored Itachi's hands on her arms as they restrained her, keeping her seated on the desk. "You and your stupid accusations _killed Aiko–chan_! She was just a kid, but she died because you ordered your shinobi to attack us! You killed one of your own, you vile bast–"

"Sakura." Itachi's voice cut her off. It was hard, serious. "Do not insult the Tsuchikage, especially not with our village being in the position it's in right now. Do as I say and focus on what Aiko told you – everything. I have a feeling it's all linked."

Her rage crumbled, tears filling her eyes. "Don't make me, Itachi. I _can't_."

"Naruto–kun is the only jinchūriki left, Sakura–san." Shisui tried to soothe her, standing by her side. "Killer Bee–san was the jinchūriki for the Hachibi and he has been caught by Akatsuki. There is only Naruto–kun left."

It was Gaara who spoke next, something softening in his eyes and tone when he saw her pain – surprising everyone. "Do it for her, Sakura. For the little girl you knew."

"She wanted peace." Sakura whispered, her hands trembling. "All Aiko–chan wanted was to live in peace with her parents."

"And the world will be in chaos if Akatsuki manage to get their hands on the Kyuubi!" the Raikage snapped. "Tell us what you know!"

"Just use your sharingan on her, Shisui–san." Mei offered with a sigh. "You could then–"

"I refuse." Shisui cut her off, uncaring of the fact it was rude. "Sakura–san will speak when she is ready. I will not force her."

Ignoring the others, Itachi gave Sakura an understanding yet serious look, dropping his voice to a low murmur so that only she would hear him. "I promised you that I would do everything in my power to make our village safe, Sakura. However, right now, I need your help to do it. We need to know more about the friend Aiko had, the one with only one eye."

Silent tears slipped down her cheeks as Sakura forced herself to think back on all the conversations she'd had with little Aiko. It still broke her heart merely thinking about her and the devastation the young girl had gone through. It still killed her on the inside when she thought about how badly she'd failed her. She'd promised Aiko that she would live a happy and normal life, one where she would go to civilian school and make lots and lots of friends. That was when she told her–

Her eyes stayed locked with Itachi's. She couldn't look at the Tsuchikage. She couldn't. "He was her only friend." Sakura's voice was low and croaky, obviously weighed down by her emotions. "They met a few weeks after Aiko–chan and her parents moved away from Iwa to start a new life. She was lonely and missing her aunt and uncle so much." Unknowingly, her hand sought out Itachi's, squeezing it tightly and seeking comfort. He squeezed back instantly. "He was older than her – a lot older. Short, dark hair. A–Aiko–chan… She said he used to wear a mask, one that covered his entire face, but… But she asked him to take it off."

Everyone else was completely silent, focusing intently on Sakura's words. "When he took it off, she said his face was badly scarred down his right side. I think that's why he wore the mask, because of being disfigured." Itachi nodded once, silently asking her to continue. "Dark hair, dark eyes and kind of tanned skin. She called him her best friend and said he seemed just as lonely as she did."

"Did she say what his name was, Sakura–san?" Shisui asked quietly, his stomach in knots and at the sound of his voice, Itachi glanced over at him, just barely hiding his own frown. What could be causing Shisui, the most composed man Itachi had ever met so far, such great discomfort?

"Uh…" She breathed deeply, swallowing hard. "Tobi, I think. Yeah, she said his name's Tobi."

"Tobi is…"

Mei took a step forward and waved off her guard when they moved with her, not even sparing them a glance as she silently told them to back off. "My shinobi confirmed a while back that there were two Akatsuki members who managed to obtain the Sanbi. Their names were Deidara and a masked man named Tobi."

"That's not possible!" Sakura yelled, features scrunching up in pain. "Aiko–chan was just a little girl! She had _nothing_ to do with Akatsuki."

It was Temari who spoke next, trying to calm Sakura down. "The Mizukage isn't saying she did, Sakura. She's just telling you what was reported to her."

Her green eyes slipped up to Itachi's, pleading. "Tell them they're wrong, Itachi. _Please_."

It made him feel so very sick. "I'm sorry, Sakura. Our own shinobi have confirmed that a member of Akatsuki is named 'Tobi'. He wears an orange mask with only one eye hole. According to Jiraiya–sama, Tobi took over Sasori's place after you defeated him."

Her hands clutched at his shirt as Sakura buried her face into his chest, trying so very hard to hold back her need to sob. Not sobs of sadness, but sobs of anger and pain. In her mind, Aiko was just an innocent little girl – _had been_ an innocent little girl. She had been excitable and cheerful and such a nice person to be around. Her smiles had lit up the entire base camp! How could… How could somebody take advantage of that?

Squeezing her eyes shut, she just about managed to choke out, "Signs of being a victim of…"

Itachi immediately shook his head and cupped her cheeks, raising her face so that she was looking at him. "You examined Aiko, Sakura. You found no evidence of such a thing happening."

"But what if something _did_ happen and I missed it?" Sakura demanded. "What if that Tobi guy hurt her and I never noticed?"

"Sakura–"

"No!" She cut Kankuro off, uncaring for whatever he had been about to say. "Aiko–chan would _not_ have had anything to do with Akatsuki!"

"How can you be so sure?" Onoki demanded, his eyes narrowing.

Sakura's narrowed just as much and she slipped off of the desk so that she was standing, towering over the small, old man. "I'm so sure, Tsuchikage, because Aiko–chan loved Naruto, who is our jinchūriki. She loved spending time with him and loved how he was just as energetic as she was. She loved his terrible jokes and his obsession with ramen. She loved his laughter! Everything he did always, _always_, made her happy! In her eyes, Naruto could do no wrong. She wouldn't have done _anything_ that could harm him!"

While nobody was looking, Gaara couldn't help the small smile that warmed his eyes. Even after all this time, Uzumaki Naruto was still a great influence on others. The smile was gone only a fraction of a second later. "Calm down, Sakura. We will get nowhere if you continue to scream at us like that." When her green eyes snapped to his icy blue, he regarded her for a moment with a serious expression. "Your friend, Aiko, could have simply crossed paths with Tobi by chance and, like you have, he may have taken a liking to her."

"Somebody saved her on the day her parents were attacked, Sakura." Itachi continued. "You know yourself that Iwa–nin would spare nobody if they posed as a threat, even if it is just a helpless child. They–"

"That's not true!" the Iwa kunoichi snapped angrily.

"Not true?" Sakura yelled right back at her. "Have none of you been listening to a word my husband's said so far? Your shinobi _slaughtered_ over two thousand of our shinobi in the last invasion – that includes innocent children who couldn't even defend themselves. It includes the elderly, who couldn't get out of the way fast enough or even see the attacks coming. Even women who were with child, even people with disabilities, were attacked."

Shisui's eyes hardened as Kurenai's face flashed in his mind.

"So don't stand there and say that we're lying!" Green eyes narrowed dangerously and clenched fists began to tremble. "Tsunade–sama was incredibly ill when your shinobi attacked and could barely even get around without it causing her excruciating pain. What did your shinobi do? They took advantage of that! _They murdered my shishou!_"

Silence.

"Tsunade was ill?" Mei gasped, her eyes widening a fraction.

Forcing herself to calm down, Sakura eventually nodded once. "A jutsu of hers had negative effects on her body and her health began to deteriorate quickly. When Iwa invaded, she could just about leave her cabin."

The Raikage shook his head. "Then why wasn't she being protected if she was so ill?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "She was. Tsunade–sama was being protected by my mother, who died protecting our Godaime Hokage. Her personal guards had already been holding off many of the Iwa–nin to try and buy Tsunade–sama some time to escape."

"They were relentless." Shisui added. "And destroyed everything in sight."

Most nights when at home, Shisui would be woken by Kurenai's cries no matter how hard she tried to smother them. Not only did she suffer with nightmares from the loss of Asuma, but now she was stressed and constantly worried about the world she was bringing her child into. There was no resting for her as Kurenai was always working and thinking of ways to protect Asuma's child should anything else happen to the village.

He wanted it to stop. He wanted Kurenai to be able to raise Asuma's child without constantly looking over her shoulder, without living in constant fear. He wanted her to enjoy this last gift Asuma had left to her, not worry so much that it took over everything else and took the enjoyment out of raising the child.

And Itachi could now understand why Shisui was so protective of Kurenai, why he was so much more determined to help crush all accusations against Sasuke and save their village. No, he was not the father of Kurenai's child, but he cared deeply for them both already. Itachi was a father now and already, he was feeling the same things as Shisui. He was feeling even more determined to smother the troubles and enemies plaguing Konoha.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura released it in a sigh. "But… Tsunade–sama, despite her personality, wouldn't want us to be arguing at a time like this or pointing the finger at each other. She'd want us to sort this mess out once and for all, so that her villagers can live in peace like they deserve to. That's all she ever wanted." she told them quietly. "All Tsunade–shishou wanted was to be a good Hokage and to protect her grandfather's legacy. It was more than just a job to her."

"I wish to speak with Uchiha Sasuke." the Tsuchikage finally spoke up. "Face to face. There will be no violence on my part but just know, Hokage, that if I so much as sense a threat, I will do whatever necessary to protect myself and my village."

"That's all we're asking for." Itachi responded. "All we want is for you to hear Sasuke out."

Shisui nodded. "He's a good kid beneath his cold exterior."

"Just be patient with him." Sakura added quickly with a frown. "He's… Sasuke–kun hasn't been himself since his mother's death. It hit him pretty hard no matter how much he tries to hide it. Sasuke–kun can't hide anything from me, which is why I know he's innocent, Tsuchikage. Just looking into his eyes tells me that."

The old man sighed, suddenly looking more exhausted than the Konoha–nin and behind him, his guards also seemed tired. "I will be the judge of that during our meeting. For now, however, we must discuss who could possibly be impersonating Uchiha Sasuke, should he be telling the truth."

Itachi nodded once. "So far–"

Somebody entering the room cut him off.

However, it wasn't through the door that the man appeared, or by the hole in the floor created by Zetsu (since he was still filling that hole). No the man entered by some strange teleportation jutsu, making Sakura's eyes narrow. It wasn't one she'd witnessed before but if she had to compare it to anything, it almost looked like Kakashi's _Kamui_.

The second a black cloak and red clouds were revealed to them, Sakura made a move to stand in front of Itachi, though was stunned when he stayed in front of her, keeping his wife behind him. Instead of it being her who was protecting him, he was protecting her.

"No fighting, Sakura." he warned her under his breath, lowering his arm to his side. "Shee–san stated that you must rest as any more fighting will cause stress for our child."

Nodding and watching as Shisui stood slightly in front of Itachi, she noticed out of the corner of her eye how the other guards were also standing in front of their Kage, features determined and set into grim masks as they each fell into defensive stances.

And then her eyes landed on the man who had interrupted them, widening in horror at the sight of the orange mask she'd just heard so much about.

He was…

The masked man stood up straighter from his place on the unused desk and even though many in the room were taller than him, to Sakura, it felt like he was towering over them all.

"I am Uchiha Madara."

It felt like time had slowed down and all they were capable of doing was staring up at him in shock.

"I have something I want to explain to you all and once you comprehend it, I want to pose a question."

The Raikage's head lowered, his dark eyes glaring up at the masked man hatefully as he demanded, "What is it?"

"It's about my plan…" Madara murmured, his low voice sending shivers up Sakura's spine. "_Project Tsuki no Me_."


	47. You're Nothing But An Imposter

**Chapter 46 – You're Nothing But An Imposter**

Itachi's eyes narrowed.

Not even a fraction of a second later, everybody's eyes widened as the Raikage suddenly appeared in front of Madara, blue lightning engulfing him but just when Sakura was certain he was going to punch him, the Raikage's attack went straight through Madara and he crashed into the wall.

"Nothing planned by the Akatsuki is going to be good!" he spat after standing up straight once more, turning around to glare at the untroubled, masked man. "Who knows what you're up to?"

"Listen to my explanation." he replied calmly.

"Calm down, Raikage." the Tsuchikage warned him and much to Sakura's surprise, he began to float into the air until he was by the Raikage's side. "Let's hear him out and take it from there."

So after all this time, after all the trouble and the pain of trying to get the Tsuchikage to listen to them, mere seconds after this Tobi (or Madara, whatever the hell his name actually was) appeared, he agreed to listen to him? What the hell was that about? Was he on the enemy's side? Or was he simply wishing to hear him out before taking him out? Sakura's fists clenched tightly.

He leaped backwards onto one of the higher wooden beams, watching them all. "Now, then, are you all ready to listen?"

There was a pause.

"I was intending on weakening the five Kage and taking you all hostage."

Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously, a lot like the others who were sent to protect their Kage. "Like hell we'll let you!"

Madara went on like she hadn't even spoken. "However, that is when I discovered not only is Uchiha Itachi here, but so is Uchiha Shisui. You are both a problem for me due to your ocular powers."

That was no surprise, Sakura thought more calmly as she remembered what she had seen of the pair while they were in battle. Itachi was known as a prodigy of his clan and everything he learnt, came naturally to him. The knowledge he knew would be incredibly dangerous if he fell into the wrong hands and could complete destroy their village. The same went for Shisui, who was known to be the most powerful genjutsu user alive. He was also classed as a genius and could control your mind without you ever knowing.

"Taking us hostage?" Mei demanded. "For what purpose?"

"To smoothly implement the aforementioned _Project Tsuki no Me_."

Onoki watched the masked man with narrowed eyes, his features displeased. "It's quite shocking to learn that Uchiha Madara is still alive, but why would a man of your skill resort to such a roundabout method? Surely you have the strength to bring any plan to fruition."

"The injuries I sustained during my battle with the Shodai Hokage, Hashirama, were too severe. I have no strength in me now." His head turned and it seemed like he was staring _right at_ Itachi and Shisui. "You could say that I am merely a shell of my old self."

The Shodai Hokage? Sakura's breathing was shaky. Tsunade had once told her all about her grandfather and what a great shinobi he had been. He was apparently in a league of his own and only one man had been able to fight him blow–for–blow. Only one man had been capable of knocking him down and sometimes even winning their battles. That man… was Uchiha Madara. He was just like Hashirama, in a way. They were both in leagues of their own and nobody had ever been able to win a battle against them. If you fought with the men, you would not live to tell the tale.

But that would make Madara over a hundred years old! Human bodies were not built to last that long, especially not in the condition Madara seemed to be in. Onoki was a very old man, yes, but age was obvious on him not only in appearance, but also in his movements. Madara was capable of leaping around and standing tall without a problem.

"Is this a plan to restore yourself?" Shee questioned.

Madara hummed before answering. "You could say that, but that's not all."

"What are you scheming?" asked Shisui, his features and tone as blank as always. If it weren't for the fraction his eyes had widened upon hearing the name Madara, Sakura could have sworn that he was unaffected by it all. "What is this _Project Tsuki no Me_?"

"I want to take my time talking with you all, so let me sit down. Afterwards, however…" There was another pause as Madara sat down on the bench he was standing on. "I plan on taking both yours and Itachi's eyes, as I enjoy to stock up on good eyes."

Sakura's eyes were wide with horror at Madara's words and in an instant, she glanced up at her husband and the man standing by his side. Neither seemed concerned with Madara's words but that mattered little. Her worry for them was enough for them all. If Madara got a hold of Itachi and Shisui's eyes, the damage he could cause, the destruction, would be catastrophic. No matter what it took, no matter what they had to do, Madara could not get his hands on their eyes!

Kankuro took a step forward, growling out angrily, "We're asking you what kind of plan it is!"

By his side, Temari looked just as annoyed and when Madara raised a single finger, Gaara raised his head, his eyes narrowing a fraction.

"All shall become one with me and result in a complete possession form that unites all."

None of them could control their shock this time.

The Tsuchikage was the one who spoke again, his white eyebrows furrowing. "Become one? Unite all? What do you mean?"

"The Uchiha have an ancient stone tablet that has been passed down through the generations. It still exists underground in Konoha."

Many eyes snapped to Shisui and Itachi, the latter nodding once and confirming his words to be the truth. Even if they were to go after it, they would not be able to decipher the stone tablet. Only those with the sharingan were able to.

"Upon it are written secrets," Madara continued, "engraved by the Sage of Six Paths himself. It cannot be read unless you have ocular powers. With the sharingan, the Mangekyō and the rinnegan, in that order, the contents become increasingly visible."

Many of them in the room were wary to believe his words, but the silence coming from the two Uchiha standing with them made it difficult to argue.

The Tsuchikage still managed to. "Your story is unlikely. The Sage of the Six Paths doesn't–"

"It's the truth!" Madara cut him off, raising a leg and bending it at the knee so that he could rest his arm on it. "He did exist and he left the stone tablet."

It was obvious the Raikage was losing his very short patience. "Don't change the subject!" He hopped down onto the ground. "What does your plan have to do with the Sage of the Six Paths?"

And still, Madara was unaffected. He continued to speak in a calm voice. "Do you know why he became a legendary figure and a godlike figure that is revered as a god of shinobi? There lies the link between my plan and this man."

"Uchiha Madara…" Mei spoke directly to him. "You possess the Mangekyō sharingan and among Akatsuki, there was one who possessed the rinnegan. You know everything, don't you?"

He seemed to sigh at this. "Actually…"

It surprised them when Itachi smirked. "He does not know where the rinnegan is, no matter how hard he has tried to search for it."

Sakura's eyes widened a fraction and snapped up to the back of Itachi's head as she recalled his actions, as she remembered what he had done after Konan had handed over Nagato's rinnegan to him. Instead of locking them away and keeping them safe, he had used his amaterasu on them and completely incinerated the eyes. They no longer existed and in his own words, were no longer a danger to the shinobi world should they fall into the wrong hands.

He'd been anticipating something like this.

Instead of replying to Itachi's taunt, Madara continued like he hadn't said a word. "The Sage of the Six Paths once saved the world from a certain monster."

"Monster?" Gaara repeated.

"Gaara, you also had one part of that monster sealed inside you. That monster was the combination of every tailed beast in existence. Something that possessed the most powerful chakra. The Juubi!"

Like earlier, everybody's eyes went wide as they imagined the horrific creature and the power it must possess.

Temari narrowed her eyes, demanding, "Aren't there only nine tailed beasts?"

"I just told you." he muttered with annoyance. "It was the combination of all the tailed beasts. Shukaku, Gaara's tailed beast, known as the Ichibi! The fiery monster cat of Kumo's Yugito Nii, the Nibi. The former Mizukage's Sanbi! Roshi of the lava style's Yonbi. Han of Iwa's Gobi. The rogue–nin Utakata's Rokubi. Fuu of Taki's Nanabi. Raikage's younger brother, Killer Bee's Hachibi. And the fox spirit of Konoha's… Kyuubi! The Juubi's chakra was simply divided up into nine tailed beasts by the Sage of the Six Paths."

From behind Gaara, Kankuro's eyes narrowed. "I don't like where this story is headed. Is that why the Akatsuki are collecting the tailed beasts?"

Her heart was in her throat when Madara continued his explanation of things and her fear for Naruto's safety multiplied. "The Sage of the Six Paths developed a certain ninjutsu in order to protect the world from the Juubi. Even today, that ninjutsu is still secretly being passed down. It is the sealing jutsu process for the jinchūriki. Yes, the Sage of the Six Paths was the Juubi's jinchūriki. In order to suppress it, he sealed the Juubi within his body. The Sage, who saved a world terrorised by the Juubi became a saviour and won praise as a god.

"But if the Sage died, the powerful and demonic chakra of the Juubi would once again be released unto the world. Fearing this, at the time of his death, the Sage of the Six Paths summoned every last ounce of his power to partition the Juubi's chakra into nine parts and scattered them across the world. Then he sealed the Juubi's body, now devoid of chakra and hurled it into the sky. And it became the moon."

The other guard of the Raikage's looked utterly bored and his voice sounded just the same. "What a tall tale! As if a human could do such a thing."

"When he became the jinchūriki of the Juubi, the Sage of the Six Paths went beyond the realm of humans."

"And you seek that inhuman power by gathering the nine tailed beasts." Shisui confirmed tonelessly. "But what will you do with that power?"

His reply was simple. "I will revive the Juubi and I will become the Juubi's jinchūriki. I will use its power to strengthen my ocular powers and activate a certain jutsu."

No longer floating in the air but instead standing on the desk, Onoki questioned, "A certain jutsu? What is it? What do you intend to do?"

"A genjutsu, where I project my eyes off the moon. Infinite Tsukuyomi."

Tsukuyomi. Wasn't that Itachi's…? Sakura narrowed her eyes. Did Madara intend to torture them all? Interrogate them? And did he just say _infinite_?

"I will cast a genjutsu on every human that walks the earth. And in that genjutsu, I will control all humans and unify the world. A world without hatred or war. Everything will become one with me, everything will be united. That is my _Project Tsuki no Me_!"

In an instant, the Raikage was yelling, "Stop joking around! I'm not handing the world over to you!"

Unlike the Raikage, when Gaara spoke, he was calm but it was obvious he was angered by the slight shake in his voice, the one that told everyone he was losing his temper. "Peace that exists only as an illusion is deception. Peace is only meaningful when it's genuinely achieved in the real world!"

"So what exists inside such a world?" Mei demanded. "There is no hope, no dreams! It's just an escape!"

"Unite the world, huh? I've heard something similar to that before. But instead of uniting the world, it just sounds like you want to make the world yours!"

Itachi was the only Kage who remained calm and showed no intention of losing his cool just yet. No, he just silently stared the masked man down.

Madara chuckled in response. "All this talk and yet, what have you Kage accomplished? You of all people should know by now…" Everybody narrowed their eyes. "There is no such thing as hope! To hope is equivalent to giving up and it's the biggest deception of all. Turn over the remaining Hachibi and Kyuubi and cooperate with my plan. _Or there will be war!_"

"War, you say?"

But before Gaara's question could be answered, the Raikage was cutting in. "The Hachibi? What are you talking about? Didn't you get Bee with the help of Uchiha Sasuke?"

"The attempt to capture the Hachibi failed and he escaped. He is a shinobi who is a perfect jinchūriki. Only your brother has got what it takes. As for the accusation of Uchiha Sasuke being the one to attack…" Madara chuckled. "Well, you have more than one enemy who is out for revenge, Konoha. That is all I will say about that."

In an instant they all looked to the Raikage, whose eyes were now wide. "_Huh_?"

His guard was the next to speak, sighing. "Yeah, I sort of had a feeling about that."

A feeling? And he never thought to bring it up instead of allowing his Kage to accuse their village? Sakura glared at the man angrily though her glare soon moved back to Madara. Bastard… But at least he'd cleared Sasuke's name for that particular accusation. Not only that, but he'd also just cleared up another fact for them: somebody _was_ impersonating Sasuke. They just had to figure out who wanted revenge on Konoha or, more likely, the Uchiha clan.

"_That idiot!_" the Raikage roared, looking absolutely livid. "He used that chance to slip away and now he's having the time of his life! Unforgivable!" His large fist raised, clenching tightly. "_He's going to get my Iron Claw!_"

Gaara paid him no attention. "We will not hand over Uzumaki Naruto."

"I agree with him!" Mei stated.

"You will not touch our jinchūriki." Itachi stated coldly.

"What about you, Raikage?" Onoki asked the man who was slowly calming down.

"There's no way I'll let him have my younger brother!"

"I don't have the strength, but the tailed beasts we've gathered so far, do. You people have no chance in winning."

Before anybody could say anything, Itachi stepped forward, staring up at Madara with an unblinking, intimidating gaze. "You do not have the rinnegan. You are forgetting that I am also an Uchiha, one who possesses the Mangekyō and I have also read the ancient stone tablet. You cannot control the vessel holding the current tailed beasts without the rinnegan, meaning they are dormant for now."

Madara stood up from his seated position. "Which is why I have come here, Uchiha Itachi. I am here to collect the rinnegan no matter what it takes."

The fact that Itachi seemed so relaxed caused Sakura to also relax, but only fractionally. To relax around such an opponent would be dangerous, especially in her condition.

"And if I were to tell you that I destroyed them after Nagato–san was defeated?"

"Then I will kill you anyway, you fool!"

He seemed angry – no, it went deeper than that. Madara appeared to be enraged, his voice deepening and becoming much rougher with that anger. They couldn't see his expression because of his mask but Sakura was certain that it would show his anger, too. She had a feeling that it would be terrifying.

But then Madara was disappearing. "But only after I take away something meaningful to you!"

And then he was reappearing beside her, making Sakura's eyes go wide as an orange mask appeared right in her face. Despite the darkness inside of the mask, when her eyes went wide and looked inside of it, she was met by an eerie, blood red glow, one that could only mean…

The sharingan.

Shisui turned, quickly reaching for Sakura and in the same moment, Itachi also turned around, sharingan activating and morphing straight into the Mangekyō.

However…

In an instant, Mei was in front of Sakura, breathing in before she was spitting out fire hot lava, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"You will not harm her."

Madara quickly leaped backwards, putting space between them and easily dodging the lava that collapsed onto the ground.

"Going after a pregnant woman who is defenceless against you." Temari snarled as she dropped by Mei's side, slamming the end of her fan into the tiled flooring, cracking the tile. "How pathetic and cliché."

And suddenly, the Iwa kunoichi was coming in from above and was just about to breathe out a jutsu of her own until something was shooting out of Madara's palm, seeming to burst through his skin.

It was like Sakura watched it all happening before it actually happened. She watched as many eyes widened, as people tried their hardest to get to her. She watched as the Iwa kunoichi's eyes widened in horror, as she realised there was no stopping her descent.

And then the pole was being slammed through her chest and time seemed to stop.

The other Tsuchikage's guard yelled in rage and the Tsuchikage himself looked just as murderous, but it was all silence to Sakura. She watched the dark haired woman collapse like she weighed a tonne and a sinking feeling of helplessness almost froze her in her place.

_Almost._

Not even a second after the attack, Sakura darted around the two women protecting her and whipped out three kunai from her pouch, launching them at Madara with enhanced strength. They went right through him, smashing into the wall behind him and going through it.

"Sakura, stop!"

She ignored the angered shout of her name and ran straight at Madara, eyes narrowing as she did so and like Sakura had been expecting due to her kunai experiment, her punches went through him. Not missing him, but going through him. But then his body seemed to materialise again because Madara was suddenly wrapping a hand around her throat, causing Sakura's entire body to jerk as it came to an abrupt halt.

She smirked.

Clutching his wrist and squeezing the nerves, once his hold loosened, her foot lashed between them, slamming into Madara's side and at the connection, he immediately released her and tried to retreat but it was too late.

As soon as he was out of the way, Sakura dropped to the woman's side, her hands automatically glowing green as they hovered over her chest.

"Shee, assist her!"

"Kankuro, protect the medics!"

"You too, Chōjūrō!"

Sand seemed to explode around them, darting straight for the man in the orange mask who was claiming to be Uchiha Madara. The sand was completely destroying the room and the walls surrounding them whenever it missed its target, whenever it went through Madara's body and it angered Gaara.

Once more, Madara spun around and reached for Sakura but just as he did, black flames engulfed the arm reaching for her and Itachi appeared in front of him with a cold, deadly expression, his sharingan blazing.

"You will not touch my wife."

The black flames grew and Madara staggered backwards, raising his arm so that it was eye level and as he did, the same transportation jutsu he'd used before was used once more, making the flames disappear.

"Amaterasu." Madara stated, lowering his arm and glaring at Itachi.

The other Uchiha simply stared him down before Itachi stood up straighter, his eyes narrowing a fraction and at the same time, Shisui dropped to his side and did the same.

"Prove to me that you are Uchiha Madara." the younger Uchiha said calmly, though there was no doubt that his words were an order. "We have heard many things about him and many stories have been passed down through the generations of our clan. So far, we're disappointed with what we see."

"Disappointed?" Madara chuckled darkly. "I _did_ tell you all that I am a shell of my old self."

The others watched the three Uchiha warily and hovered around the two medics who were working on the Iwa–kunoichi, making sure nobody slipped by and harmed them and if they did, then they would be close enough to deal with the problem immediately.

"I wouldn't even say that." Onoki retorted slyly. "I had the displeasure of meeting him once, so I know that the true Uchiha Madara would have wiped the floor with _all_ of us by now, even if he was only a shell of his former self."

Exactly Itachi's thoughts. "For years, somebody was spying on the Uchiha Clan and that somebody managed to catch things others missed. Personal things such as my illness, or my brother's weaknesses. Things such as clan meetings. Somebody managed to infiltrate the village and bypass all security. This person was you." There was silence for a moment. "And during a mission, you attempted to cast a genjutsu on both me and my wife. Your chakra signature… I recognised it. After years of believing you had simply disappeared, you showed yourself once more and I recognised your chakra as the same person who infiltrated my clan's district.

"You are powerful, I won't deny that." Itachi continued. "But you are not Uchiha Madara."

Once more, Madara was chuckling. "Very good detective work, Itachi. However, there was a reason behind my spying on the clan."

Shisui narrowed his eyes a fraction. After his infiltration mission, Itachi had spoken to him about everything, sharing all he knew, so none of this was a surprise to him. _But_, they were entering dangerous territory. The time of this masked man spying on their clan was…

"It was very unstable between the clan and Konoha for a while, don't you agree?"

Instead of seeming shocked by such news, the youngest Uchiha nodded once. "It was."

"And tell me, Itachi, what would have happened had you and Shisui been unable to settle things between the two of them?"

"I would have done anything that was necessary to protect the village."

"Which includes massacring your own clan."

He stayed silent, ignoring the others as they stared at him in horror.

"How did you feel about that, Shisui? Discovering that you could have been one of–"

"This is a pointless conversation." he sighed in return. "However, I will humour you. Had things really come to that, I would not have been around due to one of the elders of our village wishing to acquire my eyes. Should that have happened, I would have done what any shinobi would have: destroyed the secrets and the knowledge within my body, therefore protecting both the clan and my village."

"Danzo, right?"

His eyes snapped to the orange mask, wanting nothing more than to rip it off and see who it was beneath it, but Shisui kept calm. He stayed emotionless. It would do no good to show how worked up he was getting.

There was a pause before Madara continued with his questioning and mind games, enjoying the fact that he was riling Uchiha Shisui up. "And instead of killing him and ridding Konoha of a potential enemy, the Sandaime Hokage instead banished him."

What?

_What?_

"You didn't really believe that Sarutobi Hiruzen would be able to kill his lifelong friend and rival, did you? He couldn't even defeat his own student because of his feelings!"

Danzo was… "He is the one who has been impersonating Sasuke." Itachi stated blankly.

"Catching on, are you?"

Thankfully, since Danzo had disappeared, they had changed the security many times, always updating everything as a precaution. The moment Danzo was out of the village, he would have never been able to get back in, not without somebody knowing. Since his disappearance, ROOT had been disbanded and although their seals remained, they were no longer willingly loyal to the man, not after discovering all the wrongs he had done.

Of course there were still a few who would always be loyal to him but it wasn't long until they also disappeared. Itachi hadn't paid much attention to them, however. What was an army without a leader?

He should have watched them.

He should have warned somebody.

"You are working with Danzo!" the Raikage snapped.

It wasn't a question, but Madara answered anyway. "We also had Yakushi Kabuto, but it seems he wasn't nearly as capable as he made himself out to be. To be defeated by a weak woman–"

Not even allowing him to finish his sentence, Temari whipped out her fan and opened it, readying herself to attack. "Don't even finish that sentence, you sexist pig."

Inwardly, Kankuro sighed. His sister was too into that feminist crap, although he had to be somewhat grateful that she wasn't as crazy as the other feminists seemed to be.

"I am by no means weak." Sakura muttered, still working on the kunoichi. "Emotionally, yes. Mentally, maybe. Physically? I could break you in half without even trying."

"You would have to catch me first."

The sound of Sakura's healing chakra was the only thing that filled the otherwise silent room and they all realised in that moment in time that, if they wanted to defeat Madara, they would have to come up with a foolproof strategy. His ability to allow whatever he wanted to pass through his body, leaving absolutely no damage to him… It was problematic. And he also managed to rid himself of amaterasu like it was nothing. He could appear and reappear wherever and whenever he wanted because of his–

"Sharingan."

Many looked down to Sakura, frowning and in response she looked up at Shee. "Can you take over? I've healed the major damage and stopped the bleeding. All you need to do is close the wound and stay by her side until she wakes up."

Shee nodded once and just as the glow began to fade from Sakura's hands, it engulfed his own and he got straight to work, just barely hiding his awed expression. She'd managed to heal a fatal blow with barely any chakra in such a short amount of time! Haruno – no, Uchiha Sakura truly was Tsunade's student.

Sakura stood up and stood beside her husband, trying not to let her heart melt when he shifted in such a way that he kept her body shielded. Itachi would also be able to protect her within the blink of an eye should somebody attempt to attack her.

"You have only one sharingan."

Madara remained silent.

"I know this not only because your mask has one eye–hole, but also because of Aiko–chan. She told me a lot about you, only, she believed your name to be 'Tobi'." Again, more silence and Sakura's fists clenched. "I know a lot about my teammates."

"Where are you going with this?" the Tsuchikage demanded.

She raised her hand to the old man, her eyes never leaving the unsettling orange mask. "And even though I don't spend much time with him, I know a lot about my sensei."

Both Shisui's and Itachi's eyes threatened to widen a fraction.

"Hatake Kakashi also only has one sharingan. He also possesses the Mangekyō. During one of our missions and also while battling the Akatsuki member Deidara, Kakashi–sensei used his Mangekyō. He used a certain technique." Her eyes narrowed a fraction. "And you're using it now, which could only mean…" Her fists clenched. "The Uchiha who gave Kakashi–sensei his sharingan… You have his other eye!"

Mei stepped forward at this, frowning. "That sounds plausible, however, what makes you so sure that they're a matching set of eyes?"

It took a lot to hold back her anger. The man who had given Kakashi his sharingan… Well, he'd had an enormous impact on her sensei's life. And even though he'd never told her a damn thing about his past, or about the things that had happened to him, it was still obvious to her. Hatake Kakashi was a man who was haunted by his past. He was a man who was still trying to accept the deaths of his precious people. Every single day he was at the cenotaph, getting lost in his thoughts – to the point where he was late to everything!

"I got a look at the eye." Sakura murmured and still, her eyes never left the orange mask. "After working on Kakashi–sensei's eye for so long, to try and prevent the inevitable effects of the sharingan, it's safe to say that I would recognise that eye and that Mangekyō design _anywhere_." She gestured up to her husband and then to Shisui. "As you can see, their sharingan designs are completely different. No two Mangekyō are exactly the same. It's possible for this guy to have the same technique as Kakashi–sensei, the same abilities, but it's _not_ possible for him to have the same Mangekyō design as him."

But Shisui shook his head. "It is impossible."

Itachi had to refrain from frowning. Once again, Shisui was paling. He was losing control of his emotions and in response, it was putting him on edge. Very little was able to cause Shisui to lose control like that and if he was losing composure, then it meant it was big. Whatever was happening was a hell of a lot bigger than any of them could believe.

"The boy who gave Kakashi–san his sharingan was Uchiha Obito." Shisui informed them all. "His right half… It was completely crushed by a boulder. He was minutes from death when he told Kakashi–san and their third teammate, Nohara Rin, to take his sharingan as a gift."

The man in the orange mask seemed to twitch, but at what, none of them could tell.

"His sharingan was also crushed, so even if, by some miracle, Obito managed to survive, his sharingan would still be useless. His body would be useless. What you are saying, Sakura–san, it makes sense, but…" He closed his eyes and sighed. "Uchiha Obito was the cause of my awakening the Mangekyō. He is dead."

She tensed to the point where Sakura was certain she had frozen. She couldn't speak, couldn't think. Hell, she could barely even breathe. There were words trying to force their way out of her throat, trying to remind Shisui of what had been said earlier, but they wouldn't leave. She was too horrified. The man standing before her…

Thankfully, Gaara seemed to catch on as just one look at her features had his eyes widening a fraction, had him saying the words Sakura was unable to. "You said his right half was crushed."

Shisui opened his eyes and looked over at Gaara. "Yes."

"Do you remember what Aiko told Sakura?"

_Everyone else was completely silent, focusing intently on Sakura's words. "When he took it off, she said his face was badly scarred down his right side. I think that's why he wore the mask, because of being disfigured." Itachi nodded once, silently asking her to continue. "Dark hair, dark eyes and kind of tanned skin. She called him her best friend and said he seemed just as lonely as she did."_

His eyes widened and immediately snapped over to the orange mask. "You–"

"It doesn't matter who I am or what my name is." the man claiming to be Madara stated, his voice rough and sounding more gravelly with his anger. "I am no one."

Sakura clenched her fists, about to take a step forward but just as she did, Itachi grabbed her wrist and kept her behind him.

And then somebody was exploding through the double doors that granted entry to the room.

The sight of his wild blond hair, of his stunningly blue eyes and his whiskered cheeks had pure fear tickling up and down her spine, especially when Madara paused in his words, obviously recognising who this man was. He was panting and behind him were many samurai but they didn't seem to be trying to stop him. If anything, they were assisting him, allowing him access to the room despite the fact that one of the main rules of a Kage summit was that no shinobi was allowed to leave their village during, before or after the summit.

Itachi's eyes narrowed when Naruto stepped into the room, pausing at the destruction of it (just like the samurai did) before his eyes went straight to Itachi.

"You're just a clone."

Naruto nodded once. "I can just about keep it up for this amount of distance because it's drained most of my chakra. I'm in sage mode back in the village."

"Why?" Sakura demanded.

"I don't have much time before I disappear, but I came to warn you that we have a problem, Itachi." Naruto spoke only to him, the clone just barely clinging onto existence. He had only minutes, two at most, before he would disappear. The jumps had been too much of a strain on even _his_ chakra supply. "The village is under attack." When his eyes immediately glanced around the room, the blond quickly added, "Not by any of these guys." he muttered. "Sasuke said… He's called Danzo."

Both Itachi and Shisui's faces emptied and Sakura felt her stomach twist horribly.

"Summon the clan, Naruto–kun. I know that my brother has gone after Danzo–"

"_Eh?_ How the hell am I supposed to summon the _entire freaking clan_?"

He held back his sigh of annoyance and not for the first time, ignored the looks of shock. There was no use in telling the other Kage that Naruto would never be able to show respect. It simply wasn't in his nature. He was annoyingly loud, energetic and unpredictable and he most likely always would be. "Sasuke is your watcher. Since he can no longer use his sharingan, he cannot control the Kyuubi. If the clan senses you are about to lose control, they will intervene to protect the village."

Mei shook her head. "That's incredibly risky for your village, Hokage."

It seemed even the Tsuchikage agreed. "What makes you so sure your clan will help?"

"The Kyuubi is tied to our clan." he told them all. "With our eyes, we can control it and some Uchiha are trained specifically to keep track of the Kyuubi. However, only a select few are able to control it and that select few are currently unavailable. With the Mangekyō, only one Uchiha is needed. If the sharingan is powerful, like Sasuke's before he awakened the Mangekyō, then again, only one Uchiha is necessary. However, for others, many Uchiha will be needed and it will be a huge drain on their chakra. They only have one shot to subdue him."

Sakura pressed a hand to her heart, holding back her urge to scream out her protests.

"You know what to do, Naruto–kun."

He seemed wary, reluctant even, but Naruto nodded. "I guess this can count as training, right?"

Gaara looked over at the blond. "It helps if you detach your emotions, Naruto. Do not allow the Kyuubi to know how you're feeling because it will take advantage." When Naruto still looked unsure, he sighed. "Think of your precious people and think of what will happen if the Kyuubi takes control. Think of the damage that will be caused to the village and your loved ones."

Again, Naruto nodded and then glanced back to Itachi. "What about Sasuke?"

"He may not have his sight, but that will not stop him from attacking." Itachi stated seriously and his eyes suddenly moved to the Tsuchikage's. "As I said earlier: if he is provoked, if anything he cares for is in danger, Sasuke will attack regardless of rank, regardless of his own injuries or his sight. He will show no hesitancy and he will show no mercy. Danzo has caused a lot of trouble for our clan and Sasuke has always hated him for it."

Shisui paused for a moment. "Naruto–kun, please keep an eye on Sasuke. When Danzo attempted to steal my sharingan, I found that he already had a few. There is no telling whether or not he has used them, but there are many dangerous techniques our clan is capable of and he may possibly know them. Stay by Sasuke's side and be his eyes."

"Be his eyes?"

"You will figure it out."

There was another nod before his eyes went to Sakura, pausing at the sight of her before he gave his best friend a comforting smile. "We'll be okay, Sakura–chan! Remember? Team seven doesn't know how to lose! And when we're done with this Danzo guy and you're done here, we'll go and get some ramen and fill each other in, got it?"

She still looked sad and scared. "Just be safe, you idiot. And pass that onto Sasuke–kun, too."

Naruto grinned at her, though paused in releasing the clone as he glanced around the couple, squinting at the guy in the orange mask. "Who's he?"

"A nuisance!" the Raikage roared.

"One we are dealing with." Gaara added. "Go, Naruto. Your village needs you."

He raised his fist and punched the palm of his other hand, looking determined. "Damn right they do! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage! Remember that!"

And then the clone disappeared.

"It seems your village can never catch a break." Mei murmured before glancing over at Madara. "Now what do we do with him?"

Itachi's eyes languidly swept back over to Madara, looking almost bored. In truth, he was. It would have been an honour, in some way, to meet _the_ Uchiha Madara, if his abilities and strength were not over–exaggerated over the generations since his death. However this man was nothing but an imposter and had proven those thoughts by suddenly declaring that he was no one.

Itachi was bored of this battle already and had been since his eyes connected with Shisui's, the pair of them already coming up with a strategy with just a single look.

"First, we will immobilise him."

In response to his words, the Raikage lunged, once more aiming for Madara's head though was angered when his fist went straight through it, smashing into the desk on his right. Damn it!

Gaara was the next to act, his sand seeming to come in from all directions until it collided, causing a somewhat major sand explosion. He was able to keep it from collapsing on top of the other Kage, however, much to their relief.

The Tsuchikage appeared from above, floating in the air as he made a certain hand movement that Sakura couldn't follow since she was behind him and not even a moment later, some sort of white jutsu began to show, completely enveloping Madara.

And then he was gone.

Her eyes widened and hope swelled in her chest.

"You will have to do better than that, Tsuchikage."

That hope was shattered at the sound of his voice.

Temari whipped her fan out, blasting Madara with wind when he reappeared beside her brothers but like everything else, it had little effect and only caused more damage to the room. The far wall was now completely blown out.

And as the other guards tried their best to land a blow, Sakura felt her body itching to run forward, to attack Madara just like the others were, but Itachi continued to hold her back until he finally looked to the three from Suna. He knew he could trust them to protect Sakura.

"Protect her."

In an instant sand gently wrapped around her and pulled Sakura away from Itachi, much to her horror and no matter how hard she fought against the sand, she couldn't escape. She wouldn't be able to unless she used chakra.

"So you're finally getting serious."

Itachi didn't reply to Madara's words, instead choosing to stare him down.

"Somehow, I will find a way to get a hold of the rinnegan. Even if it means I have to create those eyes myself."

His eyes narrowed. Create the rinnegan? Was that even possible? The stone tablet stated that the rinnegan naturally came after the sharingan, but to _create_ the rinnegan? And how would one acquire the rinnegan if they had the sharingan? So many questions, but Itachi knew he would not find the answers with this man. Something had clearly happened in his past, had messed with his head, to make him believe an infinite genjutsu would make it all better.

What was something Itachi had seen so many times over the years? Something that happened to other Uchiha? Something that drove Uchiha insane?

It was Shisui who answered his thoughts, already thinking along the same line. "The Curse of Hared."

Itachi nodded once. "It is as the Sandaime said."

But how could they break that curse? Was it even possible to break it? Was that even what they were dealing with? Again, so many unanswered questions and until they removed that mask, until they managed to get inside of his mind, there was no way of knowing if that man was even an Uchiha.

In a blink of an eye, Itachi shot forward much faster than Sakura could even keep up with, utterly stunning her when he moved straight through Madara and reappeared on the wall, his sharingan eyes narrowing thoughtfully. Knowing that genius husband of hers, he was trying to work out how his body worked, how he managed to allow things to pass through him.

Once again, black flames erupted into existence, completely covering Madara's lower half and like he had earlier, he was able to make them disappear by using his sharingan.

Another moment passed.

And then another.

And then Itachi's eyes widened a fraction.

He had worked it out, Sakura realised not even a second after his eyes widened. Itachi had worked it out!

Instead of telling them what was happening or how he did it, Itachi used the wall to launch himself at Madara and at the same moment, Madara lunged towards him.

Her heart stopped and time seemed to slow down for her, especially when Madara reached out and leaned forward, fully intent on harming Itachi. And it petrified her when another one of those damned poles shot out of the palm of his other hand.

Like she had known he would, Itachi expertly dodged the pole, his sharingan easily predicting Madara's movements.

But the sharingan was only useful if the one who used it was capable of keeping up with it. Itachi was ridiculously fast, yes, but there were some things even he could not dodge.

So that was why as they all noticed another pole shooting out of Madara's hand, aimed straight for his heart, Sakura summoned her chakra and broke out of the hold the sand had on her. And as soon as she realised the pole was about to slam into Itachi, she shot forward and took the blow, but at the same time she backhanded Madara to the ground, ignoring how, at the last moment, he went straight through the desk to keep the damage he sustained to a minimum.

"Now, Shisui!"

Itachi's order as he caught her confused Sakura. The two had been planning on something like this happening? She didn't have long to think about it as she was dragged backwards and away from Itachi, the sand taking her over to Shee, who was currently giving her an unimpressed glower.

Just as Madara stood up straight, Shisui appeared out of nowhere, flashing in front of Madara with wide, sharingan eyes.

The man was caught, regardless of him using the jutsu he used to keep his body from being harmed.

"You are not Uchiha Madara." Shisui stated, his voice low as he stood up straight. "Had you been, you would have never been tricked the way you just had been, nor would you have been caught by something like that. You are nothing but an imposter."

Despite his hopes wishing he wasn't.

"Can you enter his mind, Shisui?" Itachi questioned.

He didn't want to, but… "Yes."

"What is happening?" the Tsuchikage demanded, the other Kage seeming to agree with him.

"With his Mangekyō, Shisui is able to use a specific jutsu, one that allows him to take complete control of another's mind without them ever noticing." replied the younger Uchiha, his eyes never leaving the back of Shisui's head. "We used this jutsu to erase all thoughts of '_Project Tsuki no Me_'."

Mei couldn't help but frown. "But why is he not moving?"

Whatever he saw inside of the imposter's mind had him breaking composure. He, Uchiha Shisui, broke composure. "Because without _Project Tsuki no Me_, he has no reason to exist in this world."

It unnerved Itachi greatly.

Stepping away with horrified features to put a small amount of space between them, Shisui reached forward and, surprisingly gently removed the orange mask, bile rising in his throat when he saw who the man truly was.

The orange mask fell to the ground, the clatter echoing around the otherwise deathly silent room.

Sakura was stunned by the display of emotion, of affection, watching the scene before her with wide eyes as Shee carefully removed the pole from her left shoulder, once more healing her.

"Shisui?" Itachi called calmly as he walked forward and stood beside his friend. "What is it?"

"Do you remember the story I once told you?" His voice was low, raspy. "The story of how I awakened my Mangekyō?"

Narrowing his red and black eyes as unease filled him, Itachi nodded once. "You lost the boy who was like a brother to you. He took care of you when your parents died and was the only one, at the time, that you could open up to. He was the only one who genuinely cared for the well–being of others."

His eyes were heavy, scarily empty as Shisui stared into the blank face of the man before him. "This is that boy, Itachi. This is Uchiha Obito."

* * *

"So _you're_ Danzo, huh?"

Said man turned slowly, his robes seeming to be weighing him down and for the life of him, Sasuke couldn't understand why a shinobi would wear such a thing. No, he couldn't see them, but he could _hear_ how heavy the clothing was. Just because he couldn't see, it didn't mean he could not hear or sense the shifts in the air.

"You're an Uchiha."

"The future patriarch, to be more exact."

There was a pause, one that seemed to be filled with surprise. "What happened to Uchiha Itachi?"

Something twitched in Sasuke's features. Something dark and angry and filled with hate. How dare this pathetic excuse of a man utter his brother's name? After everything he tried to make Itachi do? "What happened to my older brother, you ask?" He smirked at the tension that filled the air. "He became Hokage."

Anger. Hatred. Sasuke could sense it easily as the emotions filled the air around them. "An Uchiha as Hokage? Don't be ridiculous!"

"But he's not!" A loud, obnoxious voice growled. "Uchiha Itachi is the Rokudaime Hokage and the village respects him greatly!"

"This is my fight, Naruto." Sasuke warned him darkly. "Stay out of it."

Instead of listening, however, Naruto tightened his forehead protector with a deadly, determined expression on his face, his eyes never leaving Danzo's. "I don't care about your revenge, Sasuke." he told him coldly, seriously. "Right now our village is in danger and if I'm going to be Hokage, it's about time I did more for Konoha!"

"You? Hokage?" Danzo scoffed. "A demon brat such as yourself will never become Hokage. It is more laughable than a damned Uchiha becoming Hokage."

In an instant, a katana was slicing harshly through his chest and the Uchiha who had appeared out of nowhere hovered above Danzo in the air, features livid as he yanked the katana upwards, cutting into his heart.

Removing it and kicking the older man away, Sasuke landed in a defensive crouch, using his senses to make up for his lack of sight. Itachi had once stated that with his sharingan, Sasuke was a dangerous opponent but without? Without his sharingan, without his sight, he was downright lethal. And that was because he'd be even more determined to prove that he was not useless as a shinobi without his sight. He'd tear down and cut through anybody he would have to, to prove that fact.

"Do not disrespect my older brother." he snarled.

Naruto's eyes widened when Danzo didn't immediately drop dead, when he instead seemed to appear from another direction. What was happening? "Sasuke–"

"An Uchiha without his sight is useless."

Quickly making two clones, Naruto sent one to the one person who would be able to help them while the other sat down and began to meditate. If they wanted to win this thing against a man who didn't die at such a fatal attack, then they would have to be at their best. Sasuke didn't have sight at the moment, so he would have to act as his sharingan and predict Danzo's movements.

"I don't need my sight to defeat you."

And as if to prove that fact, even without the use of his sharingan, susanoo erupted around him and much to his relief, Sasuke could momentarily see through the beast's eyes. He had to concentrate hard, but it was not impossible. Simply a little disorientating. The pain caused by using susanoo was worth it.

He reached out, catching Danzo just as the man was about to reach him and held him high into the air.

"You tried to have my clan annihilated. You tried to make my brother be the one to annihilate the clan."

Danzo refused to answer, stubbornly staring down into the face that was not looking at his directly, yet turned in his direction. It unsettled him greatly how the Uchiha could get around so easily without his sight, like he didn't even need it.

Only vaguely did Sasuke notice the clone sitting on the ground popping out of existence, how Naruto was now in sage mode and muttering to himself that his other clone could move much faster now, that he could use a certain technique that would close the distance drastically. All he could focus on was Danzo.

And then he mercilessly crushed the man in susanoo's grip.

But once more, just as Sasuke was certain he was dead, he felt a spike of chakra to his left.

He released susanoo. It was too much of a strain in his condition.

"Naruto."

The blond immediately appeared by his side. "There's something up with his right arm." he told Sasuke without needing to be asked. "I can sense all kinds of chakra coming from it!"

"Try and find out what it is."

He nodded and Sasuke could sense Naruto disappear. There was a sound of metal clashing with metal and this time, it was to his right. The next sound to be heard, if he listened carefully, was a rip of fabric.

And then Naruto was growling, flickering to his side once more.

"You're not going to like it, Sasuke."

His voice was low, serious. And because of reading the ancient stone tablet, because of staying with Sakura as she had researched their clan's secrets, he knew exactly what was happening and why Danzo wasn't dying. "Sharingan."

"Yeah. Looks like there were ten of them altogether, but one of the eyes have just closed after I defeated him."

"How many are still open?"

"Uh…" He took a few moments to count. "Seven, I think."

There was no use in going into detail about _Izanagi_ with Naruto because he knew the blond wouldn't be able to follow it. Not entirely, anyway. But it definitely explained to him what was happening. He also knew what he needed to do in order to defeat Danzo.

Sasuke sighed. "Looks like we need to kill him another seven times."

"_What_?"

But there was no time to focus on Naruto's disbelieving yell. Not even a second after the words left his lips, he felt a shift in the air behind him and Sasuke was quick to lean backwards. From what he could sense, there was a shuriken above him. Damn it, despite what he said, he needed his sight. He could fight without it, but Sasuke knew it would be so much easier to defeat Danzo with it.

Something lashed out above him but from the feeling of the chakra, Sasuke knew that it was Naruto. He could feel that the blond had just rid him of the shuriken.

"Wow, that was so fast!"

Sasuke scowled, head turning in Naruto's direction. "What?"

"No, not Danzo. My clone!" He sounded awed. "It got to the Land of Iron so quickly."

Land of Iron… "What did Itachi say?"

"He wants me to summon your clan." Naruto stated seriously and despite the fact Sasuke knew he was feeling it, there was no hesitancy or uncertainty in his voice. His face was no doubt determined, too. "And Shisui told me to be your eyes, whatever the hell that means."

If there hadn't been a bandage over his eyes, Sasuke would have rolled them. "Just keep doing what you're doing now. Where's Danzo?"

"To your left. I think he's catching his breath."

"Summon the clan." Sasuke held his katana in front of him once more, turning in the direction Danzo was in and once he had, he focused entirely on his chakra. "Try to keep it lower than three, though. You always lose control after that."

Not waiting for Naruto's reply, he shot forward.

But just as he did, Sasuke was forced to skid to a stop as rabid growls tore through the air a second before eight dogs were bursting onto the scene and ripping into Danzo viciously, ignoring his pained yells as the man was taken by surprise.

"…Kakashi."

He dropped to Sasuke's side. "Yo."

* * *

"Where is your son, Fugaku–sama?"

Fugaku sighed with annoyance, wondering the exact same thing. It wasn't like Sasuke not to turn up for a clan meeting! He was usually one of the first there, though saying that, that was because somebody had always guided him to the meeting – mostly Shisui. Today, however, Sasuke had told his father that he didn't need escorting, that he would find the meeting place fine.

Tch.

"He will be here."

"Yes, but we are waiting to start the meeting. As future patriarch, he should be here."

"And he will."

They were losing their patience. He was losing his patience. That did not bode well if they were going to be stuck in this meeting hall for who knows how long.

But just as Fugaku opened his mouth to say more to the gathered Uchiha, he frowned and glanced down at his hand, feeling a strange itching sensation. Since he was patriarch of the Uchiha clan, he had been the first in line to be the watcher of the…

"Kyuubi."

In an instant, all Uchiha were standing.

"Fugaku–sama?"

Fugaku stood from his seated position, watching the kanji on his hand changing.

"Two tails." His head turned in a certain direction, sharingan activating. "Sasuke will not be capable of holding him back or helping our jinchūriki take control."

"_We need to stop him before anything happens!"_

"_Protect the village!"_

"Silence!" Fugaku snapped, effectively shutting them all up. "Since both my sons and Shisui are not here, there is no telling how many of us it will take to subdue the Kyuubi and as it is, the jinchūriki is pushing three tails. Sasuke stated in his latest report that Uzumaki Naruto loses complete control after he reaches three tails."

They were silent, watching him intently.

"Everybody gathered here will assist in making sure there is no further harm brought to the village!" Fugaku ordered, his red and black eyes narrowing dangerously. "Do not try to take the Kyuubi on unless it is headed straight for the village. You all know what to do in a situation such as this: stall it with genjutsu and then I will take control with my sharingan."

They nodded, barking out, "Yes, sir!"

"Move out!"

* * *

Sasuke was panting by the time his clan arrived and behind him, Kakashi was doing his best to make sure Naruto didn't lose control, staying close to him just in case he did.

However, instead of fighting against them, he fought for them, taking advantage of the momentary control he had over the Kyuubi and knocking Danzo down another three times.

Another three eyes closed.

After his dogs had torn into Danzo, literally ripping him apart, another eye had closed.

And since then, Sasuke had managed to defeat Danzo twice.

Just one eye left.

Sasuke was just about to attack once more when he felt his father's impossible to ignore presence, when he felt him flashing to his side.

"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded. "Itachi strictly forbade any training with the Kyuubi until _after_–"

There was no need to explain what was happening since his father had been cut off by the man who was now standing only a few feet away from him.

"Uchiha Fugaku."

Oh, Sasuke wished he could see the rage on his father's face. Just feeling his murderous anger was suffocating. "_Danzo_!"

There were many angered yells behind him.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Fugaku managed to calm himself for a moment. "Make the Kyuubi retreat and stop using its chakra."

It took a few moments and they were all secretly on edge the longer it took, but Sasuke could tell when Naruto managed to force back the chakra, to rid himself of it, because his father's full attention suddenly went back to Danzo and his hand stopped burning.

"You have committed a serious crime, Danzo."

"Oh?"

"Many years ago, you stole sharingan from many members within my clan. You attempted to steal Uchiha Shisui's sharingan not long after you ordered my eldest son to annihilate our clan." Fugaku narrowed his eyes, his sharingan spinning lazily. "It is time you paid for your crimes."

"Killing me–"

The Uchiha patriarch smirked, dropping his folded arms from their position over his chest. "Who said anything about killing you?" Just as the man's eyes widened, Fugaku raised his hand, making a single signal to his clan. "Despite the fact that he have obviously weakened over time, put chakra restraints on him and make sure he cannot use or create any seals on his body."

The fast movements of his clan disorientated Sasuke for a moment. "You're not killing him?" he demanded angrily. "Why?"

"Killing Danzo would be giving him the easy way out." Fugaku muttered darkly. "I plan on making him suffer greatly for believing he could rid of the Uchiha clan."

* * *

**A/N - And I have officially finished college! I finished on Friday, but my final exam was today. And I won't be going back to that college when summer is over. Why? Because they fucked everything up for me. I can't remember if I ranted about it or not, but meh.**

**So, just before my exam (a few weeks ago now), my personal tutor and her head of department told me that I can't come back to the college due to funding issues. At nineteen, they stop and since I'm nineteen next month... Yeah. However, that's all they told me. I had the choice of either appealing or finding another college, so I decided to do both. Only, a different college told me that my allowance has been used up and the government if refusing to fund my anymore. And do you want to know why? Because my college forced me to study a subject I didn't even want to do and that single subject used up all of my allowance.**

**I was supposed to complete this year, pass all of my subjects and then go onto doing my a-levels. That's what they **_promised_** me. I get that legislation and whatnot can change, but why did they make me sit through an entire year of IT, when I could have been doing something that will actually benefit me?**

**Anyway, I've found a different college, one that has found a way to help get the funding I need and hopefully, if it works, then I'll be studying a Humanities - Access to Higher Education course and if I pass _that_ then I'll be going onto university next year!**

**When one door closes, break your way through a different one! ;-)**


	48. How Could You?

**Chapter 47 – How Could You?**

Silence.

It had been silent since Shisui's words, since he told them who they were staring at.

The Tsuchikage fell back into his seat, breathing out a sigh of relief. Like the rest of them, he was so very grateful that they were not facing _the_ Uchiha Madara. Even with two Uchiha prodigies and his personal experience, he doubted they would have stood a chance.

Glancing down at her shoulder, Sakura frowned, watching as Shee closed the wound.

She had put her child's life in danger. That thought continued to run through her mind, growing louder and louder by the second and she wanted nothing more than to scream her apologies, to beg to be forgiven. By who? She had no idea. The baby wouldn't understand her yet, would it? How far along was she? It couldn't be that far because none of the signs or symptoms had been there and she also hadn't noticed that she didn't have a period.

So, about a month, then.

Closing her eyes, Sakura sighed, silently vowing that she would not put her child's life in danger again. This baby she was carrying was her little miracle baby. She would protect it with her life. It didn't matter if it couldn't understand her yet. This child was hers and Itachi. They had created it _together_.

"Oi…"

At the first word spoken in what seemed like hours, everyone glanced down at the dark haired kunoichi. Her eyes were slowly opening and her features showed a grimace of pain. Noticing this, Sakura waved Shee off and told him to check her over.

"How are you feeling, Kurotsuchi?" the giant of a man asked, though remained standing by the Tsuchikage's side.

Her dark eyes continued to watch Shee, wary of having him so close, especially while healing her but not long after, she looked to the man. "Thankful for being saved, Akatsuchi."

"You have Sakura to thank for that." Gaara stated tonelessly, watching the Iwa–nin. "She risked her life to save yours."

Kurotsuchi frowned and glanced over Shee's shoulder, but just as she was about to say something to Sakura, somebody else caught her attention and her eyes went wide, her already pale features paling further. "That's him, gramps!" she snapped, pointing shakily at Obito. "The one who attacked our village! Uchiha Sasuke!"

Rolling her eyes and pulling herself to her feet, Sakura reached into her sweatshirt, causing many to blush when she removed a photograph and slapped it down onto the Tsuchikage's end of the table.

"_He_," she tapped the dark haired man's face, "is Uchiha Sasuke."

It was a more recent team picture and instead of Kakashi leaning over their tiny heights, both Naruto and Sasuke were now the same size as him, if not a little taller in the former's case. And in front of them stood Sakura, looking so very small in comparison but at the same time, she looked to be under a scary amount of protection. No harm could come to her around the three men.

Itachi's eyes slipped away from Obito's face and to the Tsuchikage's, narrowing a fraction. "You never saw Sasuke for yourself, yet you continued to accuse him?"

"His description matched his picture in the Bingo Book!" Kurotsuchi snapped, nodding once to Shee as he finished healing her and helped her stand up so that she could also see the picture. "It's not our fault everyone looks the damn same in your clan!"

Sakura gritted her teeth. "I guess that settles it, then. You wrongly accused Sasuke of a crime he definitely didn't commit."

It took a few moments, but the Tsuchikage eventually nodded. "It seems so."

She had to take a deep breath to calm herself. There was no apology. He didn't apologise for accusing Sasuke of something as serious as that. He didn't apologise for continuously attacking their village. He didn't apologise for the deaths of their villagers who died during those attacks. _There was no apology and_–

"Sakura."

Thankful for the distraction, she turned to her husband. "What is it?"

"You need to remove his sharingan."

She nodded once, accepting the orders.

"And the reason you're removing his sharingan is because…?" The Iwa kunoichi, who was now leaning heavily against the giant of a man who had also accompanied the Tsuchikage, asked.

Both Shisui and Itachi remained back as Sakura carefully removed Obito's sharingan, placing it inside of a special jar before that jar was stored away into a storage scroll. Which reminded her, she still had a few storage scrolls holding six reanimations.

"Without his sharingan, Obito will no longer be able to use Kamui or use the technique that allows him to make his body intangible." Itachi answered, his eyes never leaving the motionless Obito just in case of any signs of life. The man was alive, but he was unmoving, seemingly lost in the darkness of his mind. If he did happen to move while Sakura was so close to him, then Itachi knew he would not hesitate in putting him down. "He will also be unable to see, as you can see for yourselves that he has no left eye."

"What do you plan on doing with the sharingan?"

The Tsuchikage's question had Shisui's head lifting from its lowered position, had him narrowing his eyes a fraction. "The sharingan will remain where it belongs: with the Uchiha clan. Our eyes belong to Konoha."

Just the like Byakugan did, Sakura added silently, discreetly glancing in Ao's direction.

"Itachi."

At his wife's voice, he approached her, accepting the scroll that held Obito's sharingan and put it in his pocket, but not before placing a seal on the scroll. It would only react to his chakra, meaning even if somebody somehow managed to take it from him, they would not be able to open it, no matter how hard they tried.

"What will we do with him? Sakura asked quietly as she stepped back with Itachi, putting more distance between herself and Obito. "We can't just leave him–"

"He is a criminal, Sakura." Itachi told her patiently. "This man has caused a lot of trouble for not only Konoha, but for Iwa and the other nations, too."

"He tried to start a war." Shisui added, his voice blank. "And we lost so many of our villagers because of it. That cannot be forgiven."

That was true, but… The look in Shisui's eyes said so much more. What they were trying to share, she had no idea, but it seemed Itachi could somewhat understand his friend. There was a moment of silence between them, one where Itachi watched Shisui silently until he nodded once.

Sighing, he stated aloud, "Since you are pregnant, Sakura, we cannot use the transportation jutsu to return to Konoha. It puts too much strain on the body and even though we have used it once, I will not take the risk."

She frowned up at him. "So what's the plan?"

"Shisui will return to Konoha with Obito, though he will be taking him straight to the interrogation unit." His eyes met Shisui's, narrowing a fraction. "Do not let anybody know of this, or see Obito, until I have returned. It will cause a lot of problems for our village if the news gets out."

But what about Kakashi? Sakura wanted to demand. He had a right to know that his childhood friend and teammate was still alive! Then again, considering how Uchiha Obito had turned out, would Kakashi really want to see him? Wouldn't it just ruin the memory of the boy who gave him his sharingan? It was so difficult thinking about what was the best thing to do and what was the right thing to do!

It always came down to one thing, though.

No matter what, Konoha was to be protected.

Stepping behind Obito, Shisui pulled the man's arms behind him, locking them in place with rope. It was infused with his own chakra to make sure Obito wouldn't be able to break out of it, but as a precaution, Itachi also placed chakra restraint seals onto the older Uchiha's wrists, cutting off his ability to use his chakra. It was still there, of course, but he could no longer summon it or control it and it would stay that way until the seals were removed – something only Itachi could do.

"Hokage–sama," Shee spoke up seriously, "it is important that your wife rests now. Travelling tonight will only cause more stress for her body and the baby."

He nodded once. "How long will Sakura need to rest for?"

Looking at the pink haired medic for a moment, he sighed. "It depends on how quickly your chakra replenishes, Sakura–san. It could possibly take a night or two and I don't suggest rushing it."

Mei seemed to agree as she watched the couple. "You still have trustworthy and capable shinobi in your village and you have also mentioned that your clan will deal with Danzo. Take a breather while you're still in neutral territory."

The Raikage nodded once, seeming much calmer than he had earlier. "There will be no fighting in the Land of Iron. Even rogue–nin know better than to start a fight here."

Not all rogue–nin, apparently. Instead of saying this aloud, Sakura smiled politely at the other Kage. There was nothing she wanted more than to just sleep in Itachi's arms for hours and hours, but she would rather it be in their own bed. She would rather it be _after_ she'd told everyone about her pregnancy.

She was pregnant.

It felt so surreal.

"Is there anything more that we need to discuss?" Gaara asked.

"Only one thing."

They all looked to the Tsuchikage, frowning at the hard look in his eyes.

"I want a say in how Uchiha Obito is punished."

That was fair, since Obito had caused a lot of trouble for Iwa, too. However… "Despite supposedly being dead for many years now, Obito is still a shinobi who belongs to Konoha. Not only that, but he is also a member of our clan." Itachi explained patiently. "I understand that he has caused a lot of problems for your village, for he has done the same to his own, however, please keep in mind that he still belongs to our village."

Just as he looked ready to argue, Sakura couldn't help but cut in, frowning softly. "Please, Tsuchikage–sama. I know that… the things Obito has done are unforgivable. Part of me will never be able to forgive him for putting Sasuke–kun in so much danger, or for trying to capture Naruto as well as actually capturing Gaara. But…" Her frown deepened. "Many have grieved for Obito's death and I know my sensei, Hatake Kakashi, still grieves to this very day. Please… Please let Konoha deal with him."

The auburn haired woman shook her head, seeming displeased. "Konoha will take full responsibility for his actions?"

"No." Shisui interrupted them all. "We will not. Obito has committed serious crimes that cannot go unpunished. Yes, I cared for him, but not this version of Obito. This version is corrupted. He is broken. This is not the boy Kakashi–san and I knew, Sakura–san."

"Which means he needs help." argued Sakura. "What was it both you and Itachi were saying before? Something about the Curse of Hatred?" Her eyes went to Itachi's, pleading. "You've told me the story about the curse before. Maybe Obito lost someone he loved dearly?"

He was losing his patience with her. A lot of them were. "His fate will be decided by the elders of both Konoha and the Uchiha clan. He–"

"The same elders who tried to have you kill your entire clan."

Silence.

Nobody could believe Sakura would utter such words to her husband. Neither could she, to be honest. They had just slipped out but she refused to back down. Obito had done many bad things, yes, but he no longer had his sharingan and he could no longer summon his chakra. It would force him to sit down and listen, to try and sort his head out. Konoha needed strong shinobi like him if they were ever going to rebuild their home!

"We will discuss this once we have returned to the village, Sakura." Itachi's voice was cold, toneless.

She shook her head with disbelief. "I don't see why. They're going to execute him the moment they set eyes on him. Obito knows too much, Itachi."

"Which is why Shisui will be the one to guard him." he retorted, no longer looking at her. "And nobody will know that he is there until I have returned to the village."

Sakura refused to answer, instead watching the dazed Uchiha. Yes, it was strange that she was defending a man like him and yes, part of her despised him. But his reasons… All Obito had wanted was peace, was to live in a world where there was no hatred and no fighting. Was that really so wrong? The way he'd gone about it, the way he'd tried to gain that world, was definitely wrong. But were his reasons?

Quietly, she added, "All he wanted was peace."

It was Gaara who answered, sighing as he did so. "You need to push aside your emotions, Sakura. They are clouding your judgement. It doesn't matter whether or not Obito wanted peace. He was willing to have the shinobi world warring to gain that peace. He was willing to kill people to gain that peace."

But there had to be at least a small part of him that was good. Why else would Aiko have been friends with him? Why would he have been friends with her?

"He tried to kill Naruto." Temari snapped, not understanding why Sakura was so against killing the Uchiha. "He killed Gaara and six other jinchūriki! That can't be forgiven!"

"It wasn't true peace, Sakura." Mei told her calmly. Unlike the others, she spoke to Sakura in the way her shishou would have: understandingly. She understood her reasons, though did not agree with them. "He was going to place a genjutsu over the entire world. I can understand why you wish to save him – I'm not completely heartless, after all – but you have to keep in mind that he is clearly mentally unstable. It could be a huge risk to your village and loved ones if you keep him alive."

"Who's to say there aren't others out there, waiting for him?" The Raikage demanded. "Waiting for his orders? Waiting to break him out? It's too risky to keep him alive."

Looking away, Sakura nodded in defeat.

While Tsunade would have done what was best for the village, she would have taken Obito's past into consideration. Obviously she wouldn't let them know that she had taken it into consideration, but she definitely would. And if he was too dangerous? Then Tsunade would push aside her personal feelings and deal with him herself. If there was even a shred of hope that he could fight on their side once more? Then she would jump at that chance.

This was somebody's life. This person was a living being.

But as Hokage, Itachi had to look at the bigger picture. He had to see the entire forest and not just a single tree. Like they were trying to tell her, Obito was incredibly dangerous and even though he no longer had either of his sharingan, meaning he could no longer make his body intangible, he would still be powerful. They couldn't risk anything happening to the village.

In the end, everything came down to protecting Konoha.

"Do you understand?"

To answer Itachi's question, she nodded silently.

Shisui sighed and placed his hand on Obito's arm. "Be safe, Itachi, Sakura–san."

They nodded once.

And then they were gone.

"I suppose this means the summit is over." Mei stated. "So if you will excuse us, Chōjūrō, Ao and I will be leaving."

It wasn't long until the Raikage followed them out with his guards, soon followed by the Tsuchikage, who merely nodded once in Itachi's direction. And it once again angered Sakura that he never apologised, but she held her tongue, instead watching them go with hard eyes.

Gaara stood before them, watching her with a blank expression before he sighed. "You are still very impulsive, Sakura."

She pouted.

"But your emotions got through to everyone." he added after a short pause. "Although you should definitely learn to push aside your impulsive nature when it comes to matters such as battle or rogue–nin, do not toss it aside completely."

Nodding once, she smiled. "I'll see you around some time."

He returned her smile, nodding to Itachi before leaving with his siblings.

Leaving her alone with her husband.

"Itachi–"

"Come, Sakura." Itachi turned away, walking towards the doors. "You must rest."

Even though he was emotionless it was obvious he was angry with her. And why wouldn't he be? Not only had she put their child's life in danger, but she had also questioned him in front of the other Kage. She had questioned not only her Hokage, but her husband, too. What was going through his head at that moment in time?

Instead of questioning him she followed Itachi silently, keeping her head lowered and her eyes on the ground.

How could she have been so stupid? How long had they been trying for a baby now? For so long. They had been trying for so very painfully long for a baby and she kept throwing herself in harm's way. She… She could have _killed_ their baby. And Sakura knew that she would never forgive herself for it. She wouldn't deserve forgiveness if such a thing happened.

She didn't hear Itachi opening the door to their rooms, nor did she recall entering the room.

It wasn't until he shut the door behind her that Sakura came out of her brooding thoughts. Why? Because he suddenly spun her around, cupping her face delicately and holding her close.

She was only partly stunned when Itachi crushed his lips against hers, though wasn't nearly as surprised when her eyes began to fill with tears before they slid shut, when she gripped a tight hold of his shirt to bring him closer.

"Don't ever," he warned breathlessly, forehead pressed to hers and his eyes remained shut, "risk your life like that again."

"I'm sorry." she whimpered quietly, features pained. "And I'm sorry for risking our baby's life!"

A small smile graced his lips and one of the hands on her face disappeared, falling gently to her stomach. It was still flat, but the meaning was not lost and Sakura's heart warmed at the movement, fresh tears filling her eyes.

"We're going to be parents."

The tears slipped down her cheeks and Sakura grinned brightly. "I'm going to be a mom!"

The smile on her face was so very beautiful to him, enough to allow a small amount of his anger towards Sakura slip away. She was truly sorry about risking not only her own life, but also their child's.

What was there to be angry about, really? Iwa was dealt with, as was Kumo. The accusations against Sasuke were no more and the threats against the village were also gone for now. All they had to worry about was the journey back to the village and then Danzo. The journey because it would only be the two of them and as Hokage, Itachi knew they would be targeted at some point. Danzo… Well, it was obvious why.

He wondered how they should deal with the man. No doubt his clan had arrested him and not killed him. His father had a very strong grudge against Danzo and rightly so. They would not allow him to have an easy way out.

But for now…

Itachi leaned forward, pressing his lips to Sakura's.

For now, he wanted to celebrate the fact that they were going to be parents.

And it seemed she felt the same way as he did, for Sakura pulled him as close as possible and started to walk backwards in the direction of the bed.

She didn't want to rest just yet despite being exhausted twenty or so minutes ago. What Sakura wanted was to be intimate with her husband again, as it had been just under a month since they were last intimate. That didn't include kissing and cuddles. Just everything else. They'd been too stressed with Iwa and then the Raikage for anything to really happen or for them to let their guards down.

Sakura closed her eyes as she was gently lowered onto the bed and her hands caressed Itachi's face when he followed after her.

There was no use in denying that Sakura had missed the contact, that she had missed the feeling of his skin brushing against hers. And as clothes were removed and sighs became moans, she could tell that she wasn't the only one who missed the connection. It was more than just sex for them. It was the bond they shared, the emotional connection that made sex, made _making love_ even better for them.

Breathing out a shaky sigh, Itachi moved one of his legs upwards when Sakura wrapped a leg securely around his waist, pausing in his thrusts for a moment so that he could kiss her slowly, softly and affectionately and enjoying the smile he could feel against his lips in response.

It was as his slow and deep thrusts continued that Itachi grasped the hand reaching for his, entwining their fingers and pressing Sakura's hand down into the mattress. He nuzzled her neck, littering kisses along it, making her shiver against him.

And when Itachi unhurriedly brought them both to orgasm, they were just as slow as their lovemaking, lasting for what seemed like hours and making their bodies tingle, making their hips buck.

He gave a small, tired smile as Itachi rested his head on Sakura's chest and shut his eyes, listening to the sound of her heartbeat and allowing it to lull him to sleep, but not before her quiet words reached his ears.

"I love you, 'tachi."

* * *

"It's about freaking time!"

Sighing, Sakura glanced up at her husband as he calmly stared down the annoyed blond who was currently glaring at them.

"Where the hell have you been? And where's Shisui?"

Itachi narrowed his eyes a fraction and in response, Naruto immediately shut himself up, only just stopping himself from taking a step back. The Uchiha was thankful that Shisui had followed his orders so well that not even Uzumaki Naruto had sensed that he returned three days ago. After all, because of his sage mode, Naruto could sense chakra without even trying, sometimes without even being in sage mode!

Just as he was about to say something, however, Sakura put her hand on Itachi's arm, silently asking him to let her speak instead. He nodded once, watching her closely. "Naruto, I want you to gather Fugaku–san, Sasuke–kun and Kakashi–sensei."

He frowned. "What? Why?"

"Just do it!" she snapped and instantly, Naruto was nodding shakily and dashing off, creating two clones so that it would take less time.

"Sakura?"

She smiled sweetly up at her husband and let go of his arm, though took his hand a moment later and entwining their fingers, leading the way into the village. "I want to tell them the news before anybody else hears it."

"We have–"

"More pressing matters, I know." Sakura sighed. "But we could all do with some good news before we have to give out bad." There was a pause and during that pause, she looked up at him with a soft frown. "I know that it's highly classified, but please tell Kakashi–sensei about _him_. He has a right to know."

There was no spoken agreement, but Sakura could tell that Itachi agreed with her because of the way his eyes flashed ever so slightly. Only looking closely at him could she see that flash and to anybody else, he appeared to be emotionless, but it was definitely there.

They were greeted warmly by the villagers as they walked through the village, making their way to the newly rebuilt Hokage Tower. It had been finished just before they left, though wasn't furnished until after they left for the summit. In response to the greetings and smiles, Sakura couldn't help but feel warm and content. It was so nice knowing that the villagers respected Itachi as their Hokage, that they _liked_ him being Hokage.

"How should we tell them?" Sakura whispered, trying to make sure nobody else would hear her.

He held back an urge to chuckle at the excited tone in her voice. "Simply say it."

It felt like only minutes later that they were inside the Hokage Tower and entering the office and Sakura couldn't help but admire it with wide eyes. It was eerily similar to how it had been before Pein's attack, but at the same time there were a couple of differences here and there. That was something Sakura was grateful for. Yes, she had accepted that Tsunade was gone, but that didn't lessen the pain and even though it was merely the wallpaper and the flooring that was different, as well as the windows, it was still different to her memories. It made it easier.

With a small, teasing smile, Sakura pulled on Itachi's hand with a little bit of chakra, forcing him to move with her as she guided him over to the desk. The smile widened when he followed easily, even allowing her to gently push him into the chair (which then secretly surprised them both as it wheeled backwards ever so slightly at the movement).

"You know, Hokage–sama," Sakura smirked as his hands gripped her hips and brought her closer and as he did, her hands fell to his shoulders, "I–"

"Save the role playing for later!"

She tensed though could tell Itachi wasn't surprised by the intrusion due to his lack of reaction. He merely glanced at the four men out of the corner of his eye.

Ignoring Naruto's outburst, Fugaku raised an eyebrow. "You asked to see us?"

Sakura pulled her hands from Itachi's shoulders and smiled sheepishly, though was surprised when he kept his hands on her hips and stood up.

"Sakura is pregnant."

Naruto's mouth dropped open.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

Sasuke, despite wearing bandages around his eyes, looked somewhat stunned.

Fugaku tensed for a moment before he gave a small, barely even there smirk. "Your mother was right."

"When was she not?"

He actually smirked this time.

"Congratulations." Kakashi told them both.

Sakura was unable to hide her bright smile, but when Naruto asked how they found out since they were at the summit, her smile dimmed and she explained everything that had happened. At Itachi's previous warning, however, she kept Obito's identity a secret, instead referring to him as 'Tobi' and 'Madara'. Also, reluctantly, she told them of Tobi's connection to Aiko, which shocked Naruto into silence, allowing her the time to reveal how they had known each other.

They were all unimpressed to say the least and those feelings only multiplied when Itachi started talking, telling them that Sasuke was no longer being accused of attacking Iwa or capturing Killer Bee (who was actually still alive). Why weren't they happy about it? For the very same reasons Sakura, Itachi and Shisui hadn't been. The Tsuchikage had accused Sasuke without even seeing him and thousands of people had died during his invasions.

By the time they were finished, Naruto couldn't help but frown at them all. "So that's it, then? Just like that, alls forgiven?"

Itachi sighed and finally sat back down in his seat. "Apparently so. Before we discovered that we had found the man posing as Sasuke, the Tsuchikage was willing to have a discussion with him."

"Why?" Sasuke demanded. "I doubt he would have listened."

Sakura had thought the exact same thing. "Because we _made_ him listen, Sasuke–kun. Too many things were…"

When she shook her head, unable to find the right words, Itachi continued for her. "We made the Tsuchikage understand that there were too many what ifs on top of solid evidence to prove you were in the village."

"Where is Shisui?"

His father's question didn't surprise him in the least, especially since they hadn't returned to the village with the other Uchiha. "Shisui returned a few days ago." Itachi informed them all, ignoring their shock. "You haven't seen him because he returned using transportation jutsu. He is currently in the interrogation unit, watching over the imposter."

She glanced up at her husband, biting her lower lip. They had thought that it would be best to tell Kakashi alone, where it would be more private, but Fugaku needed to know, too. Obito was an Uchiha, after all. He had a say in how the man would be punished.

"Sasuke and Naruto–kun, please leave."

Naruto's eyes went wide. "But–"

It was surprisingly Sasuke who cut him off. "Why? What are you trying to keep from us?"

"You will be informed of the news later."

"What's the point in that?" Naruto demanded angrily.

Before any of them could answer, Sakura was snapping at her two teammates, "Because it's _personal_ and needs to be handled carefully, you insensitive idiots!"

Silence.

Folding her arms over her chest, she stared them down, refusing to take back her insult or feel bad for calling them names. It was the truth – what they would be telling Kakashi needed to be handled delicately, because there was no telling how he would react.

"I am not concerned with privacy–"

"I am." Sakura cut Fugaku off, stunning them all. "Excuse my rudeness, Fugaku–san, but I'm protective of my teammates. All of my teammates."

All eyes went straight to Kakashi.

Itachi held back a sigh.

"I do not like repeating myself."

Hearing the seriousness in his tone, Sasuke grabbed Naruto and shoved him forward, following the sound of his footsteps as they left the office. It didn't matter if they tried to listen in because once the door was shut, Itachi made several hand seals and made sure the room was soundproof. What they were about to tell Kakashi and Fugaku could not leave the office.

The Copy–Nin regarded Itachi for a moment before his eye moved over to Sakura and he raised an eyebrow. "Care to share?"

She didn't have the heart to tell him. His eye was guarded and it was like Sakura could _feel_ the walls going up around him, trying his best to block out the words or prepare himself for the worst. It made her throat tighten painfully and she looked up at Itachi, silently begging him with her eyes to be the one who told him.

Again, Itachi held back a sigh. "As you have been informed: the imposter first went by the name 'Tobi', though soon called himself Uchiha Madara."

"Preposterous." Fugaku stated. "For Uchiha Madara to have survived this long… It is simply impossible."

Itachi nodded once. "After the battle, Shisui was the one who unmasked the man. His original name is Uchiha Obito."

Sakura's eyes were pained as she watched Kakashi's reaction, as she saw him tense and his single eye widen with pain and horror. If it was any other member of the team, she would have held them and done her best to comfort them, but Kakashi was different. He preferred space and time. Unless it was something to do with one of his perverted fantasies, then he hated being coddled.

"Impossible."

His voice was low, rough.

"Kakashi–sensei, it–"

He shook his head. "I watched Obito die."

Frowning in confusion, she looked up at her husband. "Itachi?"

"It _is_ Obito, Kakashi–san." he told the jonin. "Shisui confirmed his identity."

The older man took a step back and out of instinct, Sakura moved around the desk and held onto his arms, trying to help keep him balanced. "We weren't sure if we should tell you." she murmured honestly, trying her best to ignore the disbelieving agony in his eye. "Tobi… _Obito_ has caused so much pain. I didn't want your memories of him to be tarnished."

It took a few moments but eventually, Kakashi's hand fell to her shoulder, giving it a squeeze as he slowly collected himself, as he slowly regained composure. It was obvious he was shaken, though. "Thanks for the consideration, Sakura, but I'm glad that you told me."

She shook her head. He didn't understand, did he? "Kakashi–sensei, they're–"

"What is to be done?" Fugaku spoke lowly, his voice oddly calm. "I can safely assume that you have removed his eye and have chakra restraints on him."

In her hold, Kakashi tensed.

"We do."

"The same goes for Danzo." he muttered. "All sharingan have been removed from his body and he also has chakra restraints on. He is currently in the interrogation unit." There was a pause and during that pause, Fugaku tried to read Itachi's expression, his silence, but as always it seemed impossible. "As we will with Obito, the Uchiha clan are dealing with Danzo."

Her eyes met Kakashi's, trying to stress her other reason for being torn about telling him of Obito's survival.

He understood with that single look.

He was going to lose him all over again.

* * *

It was anxiously that Sakura sat on the ground floor level of the interrogation unit. Sasuke was sat by her side, though not anxiously. He seemed distant, cold. As usual.

She sighed.

"What's taking them so long?"

He didn't even look at her – well, he couldn't, but Sasuke gave no outward reaction to hearing her words. Not until a few moments had gone by. "It's an interrogation, Sakura. Not to mention Kakashi's seeing his childhood friend – one who's supposed to be dead."

All over again, her heart broke. To get the answers they needed and to try and understand just how the hell Obito had survived (as well as finding out how he was capable of moving around since the entire right side of his body had been crushed), Itachi had told them that they needed to interrogate Obito. In an instant, Kakashi had demanded that he be there. He needed to see Obito for himself to truly believe he was still alive.

Being there for the interrogation wasn't going to be easy, but at least they wouldn't be torturing Obito. No, Itachi had already discussed his current state with Kakashi and Fugaku, warning them both that the Uchiha was not in the right state of mind. He was unresponsive and lost in his own mind. So that meant they would be using the sharingan to get their answers. Itachi's sharingan, to be more precise.

She and Sasuke were not allowed in the interrogation room. They didn't have the clearance since it was highly classified. All they could do was wait near the entrance of the interrogation unit.

On the outside, it looked like a simple building with only a ground level. Appearances were deceiving. Really, the interrogation unit had about fifty levels (Sakura was certain that was what Ino said, anyway). Each level was for a different kind of interrogation. Some were for physical torture, some were for psychological torture and others were for things such as holding cells and offices. Conjoined to the interrogation rooms were spectating rooms, where others could watch the torture through one–way mirrors.

Never before had Sakura been below the ground floor, which had been undamaged during Pein's destruction.

She didn't want to, in all honesty.

The waiting was another form of torture, however. It always ground on her nerves.

"I'll be able to perform the surgery later this week." she stated conversationally.

Sasuke grunted.

Sitting back in her seat, she sighed. "Sasuke–kun!" All he did was turn his head in her direction, like he was looking down at her and when he did, she couldn't help but pout. "Are you mad at me?"

Finally, she received a reaction: confusion. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"You seem…" Sakura shrugged and once again sighed. "You seem really distant."

Sasuke merely shook his head, but when he could sense that her pout remained, he said, "I have a lot on my mind."

At this, she sat up and frowned. What was bothering him? "You can always talk to me. You know that."

He nodded.

It never did any good to push him, though. If you pushed too hard, Sasuke would, without a doubt, close up and put so many walls up that it seemed impossible to simply talk to him. With Sasuke, you had to be patient and calm. If you waited, he would eventually open up to you. That was just how it worked with him.

Ten minutes later and her thoughts were once again confirmed.

"They won't kill him." He continued at Sakura's silence. "Danzo. They won't kill him."

"Why?"

Don't get her wrong, she did not encourage or condone unnecessary violence and bloodshed (unless she was beating the crap out of Naruto for one thing or another). However, Danzo had caused so much pain and suffering. He tried to steal Shisui's eyes. He tried to manipulate Itachi into murdering his own clan! Those crimes… They were unforgivable. There was no way he could ever be pardoned for those things.

Sasuke leaned back in his seat and sighed. "Not many in our clan know about Itachi's orders. If they found out, they would have rebelled. They would have foolishly attacked him and demanded that he be disowned from the clan." He heard her sharp intake of breath and took a pause to allow her to absorb the information. "But those who do know, have been wary of Itachi. Instead of attacking or accusing, they fear questioning him. They know that Itachi is more than capable of slaughtering our clan, so they do whatever they can to keep from angering him."

That was horrible! Sakura's eyes were wide as she glanced around the plain, undecorated room, making sure nobody was listening in. They weren't. It was only a small room, one with a single desk that was currently vacant as well as a few chairs, which were occupied by only herself and Sasuke.

"They don't fear Danzo." said Sasuke. "Not now, anyway."

"So they're just going to keep him locked up until he dies of natural causes?"

Even though he couldn't see her, he tilted his head in her direction again, raising an eyebrow. "You think that's all they're going to do?"

The Uchiha were known for their pride, for their honour. But most of all, they were known for their powerful emotions and their arrogance. If they no longer feared Danzo and they wanted to make him pay for trying to annihilate the clan, then…

Her eyes widened again. "They're going to torture him until he dies."

Sasuke nodded once. "It's not an official sentencing. There won't be a trial. The elders of the village don't know that Danzo is here. If they knew, they would try to get him out." Again, he sighed. "My father plans on keeping him locked in one of these interrogation cells, sending only Uchiha to torture him, until he dies from either the pain or from natural causes."

That was messed up. She knew Fugaku was grieving, that he was still secretly agonising over Mikoto's death, but that was still no excuse to become a monster. What was he trying to prove?

Knowing she had absolutely no say in what happened, however, Sakura remained silent. She could see it was bothering Sasuke. He was a member of team seven and had always followed _most_ of Itachi's beliefs. Where was the justice in torturing somebody daily for the rest of their lives? Just kill them and get it over with. That was what he believed. Either way, Danzo was going to die. Why lose yourself for the sake of a warmonger?

She sighed and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Sasuke–kun?"

"Hm?"

Wordlessly, she took his hand in her own, holding it firmly and comfortingly for a moment before speaking. "Don't let them force you into doing anything you don't want to do." she murmured quietly. "Your mom would want you to stand your ground."

He nodded silently.

"Sasuke?"

He sighed. "What?"

"Do you know where the nearest bathroom is? I really need to pee."

It was many hours later when they finally returned and Sakura was on her feet in an instant when she saw the distant look in Kakashi's eye. Before she could say anything to him, he walked straight by her and Sasuke, leaving the building slowly yet without pause.

It stung.

Sure, they'd never really been that close, but they were teammates. Kakashi had been her sensei! Whenever she had needed comforting or a shoulder to cry on while growing up, it was always Kakashi who was there, putting his hand on her shoulder and telling Sakura everything was going to be fine. Why wouldn't he let her do the same for him?

Shisui nodded once to Itachi and left in more or less the same manner as Kakashi.

Once he was gone, Itachi gave his full attention to Sakura and by her side, Sasuke stood up.

"Obito is dead."

What?

_What?_

"Itachi–"

"It was Kakashi–san's decision." he murmured. Despite his quiet voice, his words seemed so very loud, they seemed to echo all around them. "After going through Obito's mind, we discovered that it was his wish. He no longer wanted to be a part of this world after the death of somebody he loved dearly."

She shook her head, horrified tears filling her eyes. "And you just let him make a decision like that? Kakashi–sensei isn't thinking clearly! He–"

"Was putting not only Konoha before himself, but also his childhood friend." Itachi cut her off. "Despite his own feelings, despite wanting to save Obito, Kakashi–san knew that it was for the best."

The tears slipped down her cheeks. "Please don't tell me you let him do it himself."

No answer.

Even Sasuke couldn't help but feel sickened and horrified. "Nii–san."

"He asked for a moment alone with Obito. Kakashi–san wanted to be the one…"

Who murdered his childhood friend.

When Sakura sobbed, Sasuke grabbed her arm and yanked her against him, his features settling into a scowl aimed in the direction Itachi's voice came from.

"H–How…" She shook in his arms, fisting his shirt tightly. "How could…?"

Itachi's eyes lowered to the ground. "Obito had no will to live. He didn't want to live. You saw the state he was in, Sakura. After we removed all thoughts and plans of placing a genjutsu over the world, he had no reason to live. Kakashi–san and Shisui also realised this. It was a joint decision to keep the memory of the real Obito pure."

Once again, Sakura shook with a sob.

"You can't make that decision for somebody–"

He cut Sasuke off firmly, not using the gentle tone that he had with Sakura. "He was just a boy struggling to cope with grief when he was taken advantage of. His mind was twisted and corrupted by the Curse of Hatred. What Kakashi–san did was selfless and the best thing to do. Obito could no longer function and would have had no quality of life."

At the sight of his wife's pain, Itachi continued in a much softer voice. "Sakura, you must remember what the other Kage said: they wanted to be involved in Obito's punishment. The Tsuchikage, perhaps the Raikage, also, would not have taken his past and his reasons into consideration. They would have given him the worst sentencing possible."

"You gave him mercy."

Itachi nodded once.

"But… But Kakashi–sensei i–is g–"

"He has already grieved for Obito's death, just like Shisui has."

After a moment of thinking about it, Sasuke released Sakura, allowing Itachi to step forward and comfort his wife, holding her gently in his arms.

"I know that this isn't what you wanted, Sakura." He sighed, resting his chin on top of her head. "And I know you strongly disagree with what we decided."

She shook her head, trying her best to calm herself down. "I–I'm just being… being emotional. Kakashi–sensei… is one of my precious people. I don't like the thought of him being in pain and I know he won't speak to anyone about it. He's such a… He's such a private man. He's going to bottle it… all up!"

Again, Itachi sighed and shut his eyes, thankful that Sasuke turned his back on them to try and give the couple some privacy. It didn't bother him, really. Having Sasuke around as he comforted Sakura, he meant. Not because his younger brother couldn't see, but because Itachi was comfortable around Sasuke. He didn't have to pretend to be anybody other than himself.

"Right now, the only person who can relate to Kakashi–san will be Shisui." replied Itachi quietly. "And at this moment in time, they both need time alone to think about everything that has happened." Shakily, she nodded against him and her hold tightened. "As you know, Shisui is important to me, Sakura. He is like a brother to me. The things you feel for Kakashi–san, I feel for Shisui. I do not like the thought of him suffering or bottling his pain up. However, I know Shisui well. He needs time alone right now to clear his head." Again, another nod. "I will speak with them both in a few days and until I do, they are both to rest."

She released a deep exhale and tried to stop the quivering of her bottom lip.

Noticing that Sakura had calmed down, Itachi released her, though took her hand in his own.

"Come, Sasuke. We will escort you home."

* * *

**A/N - This was a pain to write _and_ to edit, so please tell me if you find any mistakes!**


	49. It's Time!

**Chapter 48 – It's Time!**

There was no memorial service for Uchiha Obito, since he was already dead to the people of Konoha and nobody knew a single thing about what had transpired. How could they grieve for somebody who was already dead? Sakura envied their ignorance. She wished she could be as blissfully unaware as they all seemed to be.

Kakashi was understandably distant for a while and kept to himself. She didn't see him walking the streets of Konoha with _Icha Icha_ in his hands. She didn't see him at training. There was one place Sakura knew he would be, so she avoided it, giving him the time he needed. In a way, Kakashi was like Sasuke. Push too hard and he would retreat, his walls would shoot up around him. You needed to be patient. Let him come to you.

Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who reached out to the man first and Sakura knew that it was probably because of how similar the two could be at times. He wouldn't tell her anything Kakashi said to him, which was understandable and she didn't push. All Sasuke told her was that Kakashi was torn and in pain.

Next was Shisui. Again, however, Sakura heard nothing of what went on between them.

The next day and she Kakashi walking through the streets of Konoha once more with his precious book in his hand. It was scary how well he could hide his pain.

"Kakashi–sensei!"

He came to a stop before her, though didn't look up from his book. "Sakura."

She paused and looked down at the ground, unsure about what words to use.

When the silence dragged out for too long, Kakashi lowered his book and regarded her for a moment before he sighed, immediately gaining her attention. "Thank you for trying to save him."

Her eyes widened. He was thanking her? "It was the medic side of me." Sakura told him truthfully. "I just… He was still a person who was lost and needed help."

Beneath his mask, he smiled at her. It was a small, painful smile. "Either way, I appreciate it. Not many were on his side in the end. The real Obito was… like Naruto, actually. He was on everybody's side."

It was the first time he'd ever shared even the smallest amount of his past with her, so Sakura absorbed the words eagerly (but didn't show her eagerness just in case Kakashi took it the wrong way). "Itachi thinks I was being hormonal." She scratched the side of her head sheepishly. "I kind of questioned him in front of the other Kage."

This time Kakashi smirked. "That's my girl."

She grinned. It was always nice when Kakashi teased her or joked around with her, because it made her think that there was more to him than what people believed. It made them feel like _equals_ and that she had his respect. More often than not, he told her that she was his favourite student (which she took great advantage of) and even though he hadn't been the greatest sensei, it warmed her heart to hear those words.

The grin slipped away and Sakura sighed. "I hope he finds the person he lost on the other side."

Kakashi tensed, frowning. "Who?"

It was important that she kept her voice low, as Sakura knew that Obito's survival and _real_ death had to be kept highly classified. "Obito. They said… that he lost somebody he loved dearly, which caused the Curse of Hatred. I hope he finds that person on the other side."

Something softened in Kakashi's single eye, surprising her for a moment. "Rin. She was our third teammate and Obito was obsessed with her. Think of Naruto's old crush on you and you'll be about halfway there."

She laughed, her heart warming at the softness in Kakashi's eye. It was the first time she'd ever seen it. The warmth started to leave only seconds later, though. Both of Kakashi's original teammates were dead and she _knew_ for a fact that the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, had been his sensei. That meant he lost so many who were dear to him. It broke her heart and she couldn't even begin to imagine how agonising that must feel. She never wanted to experience that pain.

It was like he knew what she was about to ask, because Kakashi suddenly steered the conversation into a different direction. "How's the pregnancy going?"

It had been a month since Obito's death and it was safe to say that everyone knew about the pregnancy. Sakura just couldn't keep it hidden even if she wanted to. She wanted everyone to know about it! After being told that she may not be able to experience pregnancy for herself, Sakura just wanted to show and tell everyone that she managed to do it. She was going to be a mother.

"Great. I had a bit of morning sickness the other week but it seems to have passed." Sakura told him with a smile. "I have another scan later today."

"Oh? Will Itachi–san be accompanying you?"

"Like anyone or anything could stop him! The elders tried to have a meeting today, but he told them that it can wait until tomorrow. Itachi's determined to be there for the scan."

Kakashi couldn't help but smile at the lovestruck look on her face. "And their eyes?"

There was a pause, mainly because Sakura completely forgot that Kakashi knew about the surgery she had performed a week after returning from the summit. Both Sasuke and Itachi had been nervous, though hid that nervousness well. The only one who hadn't been nervous in the slightest was Shisui.

After _a lot_ of talking about it and trying to get Shisui on board with the idea, he had agreed to having Sasuke's eyes in order to save his sight. They simply couldn't risk one of their best shinobi going blind, especially considering how vulnerable their village was at the moment. In the end, Shisui had Sasuke's eyes, Itachi had Shisui's and Sasuke's had Itachi's. It seemed a little confusing, but it wasn't.

"Much better." replied Sakura. "They were healed up in just a few days and since then, there's been no problems." She paused and frowned up at him. "I just wish there was something we could do about your sharingan."

At her words, he shrugged. "I accepted long ago that I'll eventually be blind in that eye, Sakura."

"I know." she sighed. "I just wish that wasn't the case." He nodded. "I can keep doing what I've been doing for a while now: eradicating all of the built up chakra, which should hold off the inevitable for a while. Only if you want me to, though."

He gave her a smile. "Until Konoha is more stable and I don't have to go out on as many missions, I think that would be for the best. Thank you, Sakura."

They parted soon after the conversation, saying their goodbyes and arranging to have her heal his eye after training the next day. Due to being pregnant now, Sakura couldn't spar with the others and she also couldn't do anything that was risky for her child. That didn't mean she couldn't go through drills, though. She simply had to train alone while they all sparred together. Also, Sakura could not use too much chakra or exhaust herself too greatly.

Like she had told Kakashi: there hadn't been many symptoms of her pregnancy. A small bout of morning sickness that lasted a week at most, but that was all. Well, there was the tendency to feel more hungry than usual and her breasts could be really tender and sensitive at times, but that was all. Sakura was grateful for having such a laid back pregnancy so far, but she found herself wanting to experience more of it.

There also wasn't much of a bump to be seen when she was fully dressed. When she was naked or in just her underwear, however, it was obvious she was definitely with child – a sight both Sakura and Itachi enjoyed seeing.

"_Forehead!"_

Sakura paused in her walking and turned around, waiting for Ino to catch up with her before continuing with her walk in the direction of the Hokage Tower. "What's wrong?"

Ino looked at her with annoyance. "What makes you think there's something wrong?"

"Nothing. You just don't usually run over to me like you're–"

"Yeah… Well, you're pregnant now. I can't expect you to be running around after me, can I?"

It aggravated her, because Ino wasn't the first person to say something along those lines. She was only pregnant, not dying. Even Shizune said those words to one of the medics who told Sakura to take some time off, to lessen her shifts at the hospital. Ridiculous! Like hell she was going to just sit back and be lazy for her entire pregnancy! There was so much that needed to be done.

"But there _is_ a reason you chased after me, right?"

A pause. Ino looked up at the sky, avoiding her eyes. "Well…"

"Who is he?"

The amusement in her voice and eyes stunned Ino for a moment, but she soon smiled down at Sakura, happy that her friend wasn't immediately jumping to different kinds of conclusions. The last time she had gone to the pink haired kunoichi about a new guy, she had told her to be careful and other things such as that. She hadn't looked happy for her.

"Sai."

Sakura's eyes went wide, but then that look Ino had been hoping to see revealed itself: happiness. "I'm really happy for you both." she told the blonde truthfully. "Sai needs a bossy woman and you…"

She gave the other kunoichi a warning look, though it soon melted away into amusement. "Can you believe that he was the one to ask me out?"

No, Sakura seriously couldn't believe it! "How did he ask you?"

"Bluntly, of course." Ino rolled her eyes. The smile on her lips never faltered for a second, though. "It'll be our first date tonight."

"I'd offer to come shopping with you, but–"

"But you have your scan!" The blonde already knew about it. "I just want to make sure you're not doing anything tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Sakura thought about it for a moment and was quite happy when the Hokage Tower came into view. "I'm pretty much free up until the afternoon shift at the hospital."

Ino nodded once and gave her arm a gentle squeeze. "I'll come by in the morning and we'll go shopping. Your clothes are starting to look a bit tight."

With that, she turned away and made her way back to the shops, leaving Sakura to pout at her words as she tugged on her shirt. Did it really look too tight on her? Never before had Sakura ever had that problem. As she walked into the tower, she continued to tug on her shirt and was still tugging on it even as she walked into Itachi's office, earning herself a look of amusement that went unseen.

"Sakura?"

"Ino just said I look fat!"

It didn't take much to keep up his blank look, even though Itachi wanted to chuckle when she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. His wife had yet to leave the hormonal stage, although assured him it should be any time now. "She is wrong."

"No, she's not!" Sakura whined, tugging on her shirt again. "Look! It's too small."

He sighed and gestured for Sakura to walk forward, pulling out his chair from under the desk so that she could sit on his lap when she did. As soon as she was sat on him, she was pressing her forehead into his neck, trying to calm down her rush of hormones and during those shorts few moments, Itachi gently stroked her thigh, his other hand firmly on her back to keep Sakura from falling backwards or off of his lap.

Pressing a kiss to her temple, he told her, "You are not fat, Sakura. In fact, you are quite small for somebody who is in their second or third month of pregnancy."

The dates had yet to be confirmed because of how busy both the hospital and Itachi had been lately. She hadn't wanted a scan until he was able to be there with her, so it took a little longer. "I suppose." Sakura sighed and shut her eyes. "And it's healthy for women to gain weight during pregnancy, right?"

"Of course."

Sakura nodded. "Stupid Ino trying to freak me out."

He hid his smirk in her hair.

"I think I'll take her up on her offer to go shopping tomorrow, though."

* * *

"Okay, let's take a look. The gel will be a little cold."

Shizune smiled as she squirted some of the ultrasound gel onto Sakura's stomach, trying her best not to chuckle at the slight flinch. She had warned her, after all. And as she passed the probe over her skin, she watched the screen beside the bed with a medical eye.

Not once did Sakura take her eyes off Shizune, even when she felt Itachi watching her expression before he also watched the older woman. There was no reaction on her face as she moved the probe here and there, trying to find the best angle to see the unborn child.

And then she smiled warmly once more.

"There they are." she murmured, tilting the screen to the side so that the couple could see it. "Your little miracle baby."

Tears filled Sakura's eyes as she followed Shizune's finger pointing out where the baby was and it took a lot to hold back her sob of happiness. Her little miracle baby. It fit so well that it broke her heart and put it back together again.

"The baby's healthy?" Sakura asked, her throat feeling tight. "Nothing is wrong?"

"Not that I can see, no." replied Shizune as she once again assessed the screen. "So far, your baby is perfect."

Of course he or she was. Her hand reached out and Sakura was so very happy when Itachi accepted her hand, giving hers a gentle squeeze.

"Our little miracle baby." she repeated.

He smiled.

"Going off your last known period and the size of your baby, I can also tell you that your baby will be due around the seventeenth of March. You're nine weeks into your pregnancy, too."

A spring baby like her! Sakura grinned. That meant her little miracle had been conceived in June, she realised a moment later and her eyes once again began to water. It all felt so surreal! She was really going to become a mother. And had Shizune just said _nine_ weeks? Damn. It felt like she was further along than that! Oh God, she just wanted to meet her baby _now_.

Once she found everything that was necessary, Shizune looked over at the couple. "Would you like for me to print a picture of the scan?"

Did she even need to ask?

* * *

"There!"

"I still don't see it!"

Groaning with annoyance, Sakura pointed to the scan picture, pointing out the shape. "_There!_"

It was with a squint that Naruto leaned closer and after a few tense moments, he nodded quickly. "I see it!"

She grinned brightly. "Shizune called it my little miracle baby."

He couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm but as Sakura stepped towards Itachi's desk to speak with him, Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him, muttering, "You still don't see it."

Naruto looked at the Uchiha in distress and was paling dramatically. "I can't tell _her_ that! Sakura–chan gets violent when she's stressed or angry." he hissed right back at him. "Plus she's in a really good mood today – I want her to stay in it."

"Only for your own safety."

"No, it's not!" argued Naruto. "It's nice seeing her smiling again!"

That was true, Sasuke agreed silently and his eyes went back to Sakura as she handed Itachi the scan picture. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she was smiling down at him and it certainly was nice to see her smiling again, to see her _happy_.

"Did you send a copy to your parents?" Itachi asked his wife.

She nodded. "Yeah, they should get it in a few hours since they're not that far from the village. Expect them to come rushing back here and taking control of _everything_."

"Like you'd let that happen, Sakura–chan!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed with a grin and he folded his arms behind his head. "I can see you being a scary mom."

Instead of taking offence, she smiled brightly. That was what she wanted. Not to scare her child, but to scare anyone else who thought they'd be able to harm her baby physically, emotionally or psychologically. Oh God, she was already being overprotective.

It was at that moment that Shisui entered the room and much to his surprise, Sakura dashed over to him, holding up the scan picture with a large smile on her face. Like her teammates, he found it a pleasant change that she was smiling once more. Not the painful, forced smiles that she had often given to people who spoke to her, but a genuine smile that lit up her entire face.

Not smiling back was impossible and he accepted the scan picture, following her finger to see where the baby was.

"He has your eyes, Itachi."

Sakura slapped his arm and pouted. She didn't like being teased. "What makes you think it'll be a boy?"

Itachi merely smirked.

"All children of the head family have been male." Shisui informed her with a smile, easily ignoring the slight throbbing pain in his arm. Handing back the scan picture, he made his way over to the desk. "It's–"

"Itachi's always been different." argued Sakura with a victorious grin. "Our baby is going to be a girl."

As long as the baby was healthy, Itachi didn't care what gender it was. It could be both for all he cared and he would still adore it. Just as long as he or she was healthy and able to have a great quality of life – not that he would love the child any less if they weren't. He simply wouldn't want his son or daughter to suffer or be in pain.

He was enjoying Sakura's emotions more than anything, that was for sure. And as Itachi watched Sakura admiring the scan picture once more, smiling softly at it, he couldn't help but let his eyes soften at the sight of her. Knowing how difficult the past few years had been for her, for _both_ of them… Just hearing that they actually created a child, that they were on their way to starting their own little family, made it all seem so very worth it.

Suddenly, however, both Itachi and Shisui froze as they sensed somebody's chakra rushing towards the office and recognising the chakra easily had dread filling them.

"Sakura–san, move away from the–"

It was slamming open before she could even register the words and seeing everyone's eyes widen in pure horror had him reacting on instinct.

He flickered behind her before any of them could even blink, easily catching the door before it struck her and when it didn't bounce off the wall like the woman had wanted, she popped her head around the door, pouting at him.

"Oi, what are you doing?"

"Mitarashi–san," Itachi's voice was flat, "apologise to my wife."

"_Eh_?" She made it sound like the most outrageous of tasks had been asked of her. "Why should I? I didn't do anything!"

"You almost hit her with the door!" Naruto yelled angrily.

"Well she shouldn't be behind it, then, should she?"

A hand reached around Shisui and yanked Anko forward until her face was only a mere inch away from Sakura's, who was currently glaring viciously at her. "You should enter the Hokage's office respectfully and calmly _after knocking_." she growled. "Now you should thank Shisui–san for reacting quickly enough to stop that door from hitting me."

The woman stared her down coldly. "Or else, what?"

"If that door had hit my wife, Mitarashi–san, our unborn child could have been harmed."

Her eyes widened and snapped over to Itachi's before going back to Sakura's. "Wait, you're pregnant?"

Realising that the woman genuinely hadn't known about the pregnancy and that there was no use trying to get an apology out of someone like Anko, Sakura nodded once and reluctantly released her, going to stand near her husband's desk. As she did, she sent Shisui a grateful look and silently swore to herself to _not_ stand behind any doors.

"Are you here for your mission report?"

Anko shook her head and looked up at Shisui. "On my way back into the village, I saw that Nara kid taking Kurenai to the hospital."

His eyes widened. "What happened?"

"She's gone into labour and asked me to find you. She wants you there with her."

He was gone before any of them could even blink.

Sakura bit her lip, trying to hide her smile but there was no hiding the excitement that was bubbling inside of her. Kurenai was about to give birth to her little baby! Her pregnancy seemed to have flown by and Sakura hoped, hoped, _hoped_ that the same would happen to her.

And seeing Shisui's reaction? Seeing the wide eyed shock on his face before he disappeared? It made her heart warm. How that woman was never moved by his obvious love for her, Sakura would never know. For the first time ever (well, that she'd seen), Shisui showed emotion. He seemed genuinely happy and it was all because of Kurenai.

Sakura turned to Itachi and looked at him expectantly. "Has Shisui–san been taken off mission rota?"

"Of course." he murmured smoothly in return. "However, his leave is only for a month for obvious reasons."

She nodded understandingly. Their village was still in a dire state and even though things were running a little more smoothly thanks to Gaara sending over a few platoons of his shinobi, they were still struggling. "I can help Kurenai–san out whenever she needs assistance." Sakura offered. "I could do with the practice, anyway."

"I'm sure she will be grateful for your offer."

"Since she's a single parent, she'll need help." Anko shrugged and leaned heavily against the doorway. "If you asked me, though, I'd say Asuma got lucky. Having a kid seems like so much unnecessary stress."

There was no controlling the tick in her eyebrow, not since Sakura was only barely managing to stop the shaking of her now clenched fists. She wanted nothing more than to scream at Anko, to demand who the hell she thought she was to say things like that, but Sakura knew better than to get into a debate with her. Mitarashi Anko often said things or did things just to get a rise out of people. It was like her personal mission to piss everyone off – and she _always_ did a great job of it!

Itachi lifted his head a fraction, regarding the older woman with a bored gaze. "If that is all, Mitarashi–san, then please leave."

She muttered under her breath and stood up straight, realising they weren't going to take the bait.

"Also, I advise you to keep comments such as those to yourself." Itachi added. "Not everyone shares your opinion and had Kurenai–san been the one to hear you, she would have been upset."

Anko rolled her eyes and a hand fell to her hip. "Like I would've said it to her! It's obvious she's still not over Asuma, which is why I don't get why your little friend is sniffing around her like a horny dog."

Not a single emotion flickered on Itachi's face or in his eyes, but Sakura knew, _oh she just knew_, that her words angered him. Shisui was one of Itachi's most precious people and having somebody like Anko disrespecting him in such a way? It would be angering him beyond belief, even if he never showed that anger.

Sakura whirled around and glared at Anko. "Just leave, will you? You're really starting to piss me the hell off!"

Unfortunately, she gave Anko the rise she was after and the older woman grinned a wicked grin. "What's the matter, kid?" When Sakura refused to answer, her grin widened. "Anyone would think that you're taking this personally."

"Of course she is!" Naruto snapped angrily. "Shisui's been great to Kurenai–sensei after Asuma–sensei died. He's supported her and given her a place to live and is always helping her!"

"Because he wants to fuck her." she drawled.

"Shut the fuck up, you disrespectful who–" Sakura snarled and would have taken a step forward had it not been for Itachi standing up and catching her wrist, silently reminding his wife that she could not fight.

"Mitarashi, I do not like repeating myself." Itachi's voice was flat, toneless and his eyes were cold and serious. "Do not forget who you are speaking to."

Before she could say anything, Sasuke sighed. "Just leave, Anko."

It was with a vicious glare that Anko turned and left and once more, Sasuke sighed, for he knew that they hadn't heard the last of her. Yes, she had taught him many things in the past and had helped him in growing stronger, but it stopped there. As soon as she had served her purpose, he was done with her and she was done with him. They didn't speak, didn't look at each other. Nothing.

Leaning back against Itachi, Sakura closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. Adrenaline was surging around her body and was making the task almost impossible. There was nothing she wanted more than to continue screaming at Anko. Who the hell did she think she was? Shisui was a good fucking guy!

Five minutes later and Sakura was still angry. She was still ranting. "Why the hell didn't you say anything?" she demanded from Itachi, watching him with annoyance as he calmly sat back down and read through his paperwork. "You said Shisui–san is like a brother to you, so why didn't you defend him?"

He didn't even look at her and instead continued to read the paperwork. "It is because people like Mitarashi Anko are not worth arguing with, Sakura. In the end, you will only become frustrated – like you are now, for example."

"Frustrated?" Sakura repeated, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Did you just say I'm _frustrated_?"

Naruto snickered from his place near the door and nudged Sasuke with his arm. "I think her mood swings have started, you know."

"Sakura has always had mood swings." the youngest Uchiha muttered in response.

A second later and he ducked, easily dodging the stapler that had been flying at his head.

Itachi sighed. He was trying to ignore the faint stinging in his hand. It was hurting because she had ripped the stapler out of his hand due to it being the most easy to throw item closest to her. "I need the stapler, Sakura."

She remained unmoving, her hard eyes fixed on Sasuke's and watching him as he picked up the stapler and stood up straight, tossing the office equipment over to Itachi, who easily caught it and put it to use.

"Are you going to keep acting like a child?" asked Sasuke with narrowed eyes.

Her own narrowed further before Sakura let out a sigh, seeming to deflate. "Sorry. Not being able to train as much as I used to is getting to me."

It was like all of her energy was bubbling. Almost like a pan filled with boiling hot water. It was bubbling and growing higher and higher, eventually spilling over the rim and splashing against the hob. That was how Sakura currently felt – overfilled with energy. Easy to ignore until Anko brought Sakura's anger to the surface, making her feel such rage that her teeth began to grind together.

"That's understandable, I guess." Naruto mumbled and scratched the back of his head. "Isn't there any other way you could get all your aggression out?" And not on him…

Sakura merely sighed. So far, she had found nothing that would help relieve her of her aggression. Only going all out in a spar would do so and it was way too risky for a woman who was with child. Any form of sparring was too dangerous. One wrong move, one misplaced blow, could take away her miracle baby and that just couldn't happen. It couldn't.

Something had to be done, though. Sakura knew that she couldn't go through her entire pregnancy feeling wound up and irritable. It would fray on her nerves until there was nothing left of them! Not to mention it would make her highly unpleasant to be around. No, all she did was focus on happier thoughts, which never failed to put her in a good move.

"Try meditation." Itachi murmured. "Many find it relaxing."

That was true. Meditating was something Sakura hadn't done in a while, now that she was thinking about it. Back when Aiko had died, she had regularly mediated and focused hard on bottling up all of her negative feelings, willing them away during meditation. Instead of bottling them up, however, Sakura knew that this time, she would be focusing on what was causing her to feel that way and how to solve that problem.

It made her pause as Sakura thought back. During the past couple of years, it seemed she had changed almost drastically. Back then, she had bottled everything up and now, she was willing to face those inner demons head on.

Tsunade would be proud of her progress, Sakura thought with a small smile. Battling her inner demons was something her shishou had been in the process of learning, yet never quite completing the process. She had been stuck in the past, never wanting to let go of or forget her precious people. That was wrong, though. Just because she was putting the past behind her and focusing on the present, it didn't mean that she was forgetting her loved ones. It had taken her a while to figure that out, but thanks to Itachi's help, Sakura had gotten there. She had learned what her shishou hadn't been able to.

"That sounds great, actually." stated Sakura thoughtfully before she turned to face her husband, smiling down at him. "Do you want anything in particular for dinner?"

The two behind them stared at Sakura in slack–jawed shock, wondering just how the hell Itachi managed to keep up with her mood swings. All he did was smile up at her in return.

"I'm more or less done for today, so we can pick something up on the way home if you like."

She grinned, nodding quickly. That sounded much better than her original plan of preparing dinner for Itachi. Don't get her wrong, because Sakura loved doing things for him, even things as simple as preparing dinner, but… Well, this way they would be spending much more time together. Due to him being Hokage, it was difficult to have that 'alone time'.

As she waited for Itachi to finish reading his final scroll, Sakura said her goodbyes to Sasuke and Naruto and by the time she was done, he was, too.

They walked in silence, both silently enjoying the hot sun and cloudless blue sky. Despite it being well into the afternoon by now, because it was summer, the sun wouldn't be setting until at least nine in the evening, possibly even later. But Sakura enjoyed the longer days because it always felt like she got so much more done, or that she _could_ get so much more done.

Neither of them needed to confirm where they would be going for takeout, which was something Sakura secretly _adored_ and inwardly squealed about. He knew her so well that Itachi could tell what food she would want most, just by picking up on her mood.

However, when they returned to their small, peaceful home, they both paused at their guest who was sitting on the doorstep.

And then Sakura immediately dropped to her knees, repeating over and over again how cute their guest was.

It was quite large in comparison to others of its kind, Itachi decided and its black fur was wild and untamed, sticking out at the sides of its face and making its tail seem much thicker than it probably was. And as it looked up at him, he realised that the animal had quite stunning yellow–green eyes.

All in all, the animal appeared to be rough and looked as though it belonged on the street, so why his wife was currently acting like it was the most beautiful creature she'd ever set eyes on, Itachi would never know.

"Come, Sakura. Our dinner will grow cold."

She was too busy fussing over the animal, eyes widening with childish happiness as it rolled onto its back for her, purring away.

"Oh!" Sakura giggled, pulling her hand away and setting it on her knee. "I see our guest is a boy."

Itachi held back a sigh. "Sakura."

Again, his reminder about dinner went ignored because the cat was suddenly standing up and demanding more attention from his wife.

"Itachi, can we keep him?" Sakura cooed, stroking the cat's surprisingly soft fur. "I don't think he has a home."

Itachi absolutely refused to pull a face, even though he wanted nothing more than to grimace. The cat looked filthy and no doubt it was crawling with fleas. "You are pregnant, Sakura."

"Yes and this cat is homeless." She sighed before smiling as the large cat headbutted her hand, demanding more fuss. "Please, Itachi? He's obviously an outdoors cat, which means we can let him out whenever he wants to go out and all we really have to do is feed him."

"And keep a litter box." Which would make the house stink if it wasn't regularly changed.

The smile she directed at him was heart warming and so very hopeful, to the point where Itachi felt like an awful person if he refused. And when the cat looked up at him, with eyes that seemed incredibly intelligent for an animal, it was like he was hypnotising Itachi. It was like it was sweet talking him into agreeing with Sakura.

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you say? If it makes your decision any easier, I'll clean up after him and I'll be the one to feed him and whatnot."

There was no use in arguing, was there? Not when Sakura gave him that look. Already she was in love with the cat and she had only known it a minute or so. Itachi sighed. "You can keep him."

In response, Sakura grinned and once again stroked the cat. "Welcome to your new home, Ko."

Stepping around the pair to open the door, while his back was to her, Itachi smiled softly at the name. The name 'Ko' meant 'happiness' and it was something he enjoyed seeing on Sakura's face. There wasn't a chance he would deny her any shred of happiness. If having a cat made her feel that way, then she would have a cat. Just like Itachi had promised Sakura that he would give her children. He would give anything and do anything to make her happy.

The cat was wary as it shot into the home, pausing here and there as he sniffed out his surroundings and without pause, Sakura walked straight into the kitchen and put a small plate of milk onto the ground for him.

"We don't have any cat food just yet, I'm afraid." Sakura sighed, though couldn't help but smile when Ko immediately began to drink the milk. "But I'll definitely get some soon for you!"

"Not until after you have eaten, Sakura."

Pouting, she followed Itachi to the table and ate her dinner at a steady pace, trying to ignore the set of eyes she could feel boring into the back of her head. Itachi seemed to have a much easier time of ignoring Ko, whereas Sakura felt incredibly guilty for not sharing her delicious food with him.

Her eyes darted to the side when she sensed Ko sitting by her feet.

He meowed.

Sakura's eyes snapped to Itachi's, her mouth popping open in a soundless squeal. "Did you hear that?"

"You said it was a male."

"He is!"

Then that was definitely the squeakiest meow he had ever heard – coming from a tom, that is. Half of the meow had been soundless, like Ko had difficulty using his voice box and the rest had been very high. In a way, it sounded as though somebody had just trodden on a squeaky toy.

"That was just adorable." Sakura kept her eyes on her food, keeping a little bit of meat to the side of her plate and once she was done, she picked it up and placed it down in front of Ko, smiling as he wolfed it down happily. "He's purring again."

It sounded like he hadn't stopped. "He must like you as much as you like him."

"You think so?"

He smiled softly once more at the happiness in her eyes. In all the time he had known Sakura, Itachi knew that all she really wanted was to be accepted. It didn't have to a human who accepted her either and that was becoming blatantly obvious.

"I will go to the store for you." Itachi offered as he finished the last of his dinner.

"Are you sure? I can–"

"You need to show Ko around."

Sakura grinned. "Thank you!"

* * *

"I don't like him."

Sakura rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips, watching Sasuke with annoyance as he sat on the sofa. His back was ramrod straight and it looked as though every muscle in his body was tensed – and Ko's was no different as he continued to sit by his side. Didn't the Uchiha know any better? You weren't supposed to show your fear around animals! If you were calm and gave them their space, then they would leave you alone.

That was why she wasn't surprised when Ko began to growl warningly. "Sasuke, you need to move."

"What?" he demanded, though wisely kept his eyes on the cat. "Why should I?"

"Because Ko was there first. It's his spot."

Sasuke shook his head, his pride refusing to allow him to move.

Only a second later and Ko lunged, hissing and spitting and growling. It was because of his training that Sasuke managed to get out of there in time, easily missing the sharp claws aiming straight for his face.

"You're keeping a vicious thing like that in your home?" Naruto demanded from the doorway, not wanting to step any closer.

"Vicious?" Sakura scoffed and sat down beside Ko, who instantly calmed down and sat across her lap (he was too large to sit on it completely). The two men watched in stunned silence as she stroked his thick fur, her fingers seeming to disappear every time she touched him. "He just doesn't like Sasuke–kun."

Which was quite odd, if she really thought about it. Ko was absolutely fine with both her and Itachi and earlier that day when Shisui came to visit them to share the news on Kurenai, Ko had been fine with him, too. If only Naruto would step closer. That way, they would figure out whether it was just Sasuke, or the pair of them.

In the early hours of the morning, after being in labour for so long, Kurenai gave birth to a healthy baby girl and she had named her Mirai. They would be staying in the hospital overnight and for the rest of today, to make sure the pair of them were healthy and once Shizune was that certain they were in the clear, they would be going home!

Her teammates had come over to keep her company, though Sakura knew that it was Naruto's idea more than Sasuke's. According to the blond, if they didn't have their training sessions together then they would all 'drift apart'. She didn't feel like reminding him of the three years he'd spent travelling and training with Jiraiya.

"What makes you think he'll accept your child?" Sasuke drawled, glaring down at the cat. "It's too risky keeping him."

"For once, I agree with him, Sakura–chan!" exclaimed Naruto. "That thing could sit on your baby and make it disappear. He's huge!"

That was true. For a domestic cat (even though it was a stray), Ko was large. Not fat, but definitely big. He was around the size of an average–sized dog. It was partly why Sakura fell in love straight away. He was the biggest cat she had ever seen before and he certainly stood out! Not to mention Ko was so gentle with her. He'd even allowed her to brush his fur for him earlier that day, to try and get rid of the matted fur. There wasn't much success, though and to get rid of them, Itachi told her they would have to cut his fur. It was a shame, because Sakura adored his long, thick coat of dark fur. Sure, it was a little smelly, but all they'd have to do was give him a bath.

"Ko can't help being the size that he is." she replied patiently. "It's in his breed. A Norwegian Forest Cat – I think that's what Itachi said, anyway."

Sasuke nodded, already knowing the breed and not surprised in the least that Itachi knew it, too. The two brothers had studied cats often when they were younger and had done a lot of research before going after them to collect their paw prints. Of course, Ko wasn't the largest cat they'd ever met, but he was definitely in the top ten.

"He could already have a home."

The look she gave Sasuke was blank. "Does he look like he has a home to you?"

Again, Sasuke could not argue. It was as clear as day that the cat belonged on the street, so much so that he couldn't believe Itachi had agreed to keeping him. Yes, his brother cared for animals and he was a gentle person, but even he had his limits. A flea infested, smelly feline would be pushing it.

"It doesn't matter what either of you say." Sakura sighed, cutting Naruto off. "All that matters is that Itachi agreed and has also offered to accompany me in taking Ko to the vets, to make sure he's in good health and also to get some flea treatment." He would also be getting castrated to prevent any bad behaviour or having him creating a load of miniature versions of himself.

So he was right about the fleas, then. Sasuke continued to watch the cat with narrowed eyes and from his seat across Sakura's lap, Ko stared back unblinkingly. The Uchiha could tell that he was making the cat angry by staring him down because its tail was swishing from side to side, showing its agitation. Again, he didn't care. Ko had to be shown that he didn't control what happened in the house or ruled it – the humans did.

A hiss.

Sakura glared up at Sasuke before stroking Ko, shushing him in a soothing manner. "Stop making him angry, Sasuke–kun! He's done nothing wrong to you."

It was obvious that Ko didn't like him, but Sasuke didn't care in the slightest.

He didn't like the stray, either.

* * *

Sakura couldn't help but smile to herself at the sight she woke up to. He was holding her close to him, her back against his chest, but it was where Itachi's hand was resting that had her smiling, had her heart melting. His hand was on her bump, unknowingly holding both her and their unborn child protectively whilst also comfortingly stroking the bump.

She was well into her seventh month of pregnancy now and the past five months had been calm and peaceful. They'd been exactly what Sakura was hoping for. There was a small problem with the Tsuchikage regarding Uchiha Obito, but Itachi had managed to smooth it out with little to no trouble.

Ko came and went as he pleased, though was always home in time for meals and whatnot. She and Itachi made sure to leave one of the windows open for him at night. They weren't worried about thieves or rogue–nin or anything of the sort, because only a fool would attack the Hokage's home, especially while his beloved wife was pregnant with his child.

Oh, her mood swings hadn't improved by much. If anything, Sakura found herself getting grumpier the further she got into her pregnancy, mostly because of not being able to do much and feeling like she was missing out. Pregnancy wasn't all it was made out to be! She got heartburn and certain foods made her feel sick. Also, Sakura found herself having the weirdest cravings in the middle of the night and poor Itachi was the victim every single time.

It warmed her heart how he never complained, though. No, Itachi merely got up, got dressed and went to find that food for her. He also came with her to all of the scans and thankfully, there was nothing wrong with their baby. Completely healthy! They hadn't wanted to know what gender the baby would be, because they wanted to be surprised.

Sakura was hoping she would have a little boy (even though she previously wanted a girl to prove Shisui wrong) and she knew that Itachi wanted a baby girl.

The thought of her growing family had Sakura grinning to herself and she bit her lip in an effort to calm down.

And that was when she felt it.

A kick.

She gasped and in response to the kick, the hand on her stomach shifted, following the small feet beating her. There was a quiet, rushed release of breath against the back of her neck until Itachi sat up, surprising her with the fact that he was awake. She had thought that he was sleeping! He was watching her stomach with warmth in his eyes, smiling down at the movements that were visible and Sakura returned his smile when she met his eyes.

There was nothing she enjoyed more than seeing that love in his eyes. The love Itachi held for her and the love he held for their child. Many said that it was only when a man held his child in his arms that he started to feel like a father, but Sakura knew that that wasn't the case with her husband. The usually stoic Uchiha Itachi was like an open book to her at that moment in time.

"Our child is going to have your strength." Itachi murmured into her neck before pressing a tender kiss there.

The thought excited her. To be able to pass on her chakra control and strength, to teach their child everything Tsunade had taught her, was enough to make her giddy and Sakura knew that she would be getting no more sleep that night.

So instead, she turned to lay on her back, smiling up at Itachi as he also shifted, making sure he could still follow the kicks.

"Maybe he's hungry." Sakura wondered, rubbing her stomach affectionately.

"Are you?"

She shook her head, frowning in thought. "Not for anything warm, anyway."

He slowly sat up, though bent over to kiss her stomach lightly. "I will get you both some food."

* * *

It was all happening so quickly.

She panted through the pain, trying to ignore the hands guiding her out of the bedroom. The baby didn't have its own room. Not yet, anyway. For the first several months, Sakura wanted to keep her miracle baby close _just in case_ and Itachi had no argument whatsoever. He agreed with her need to keep the child close to her. Too much had happened for them not to take a load of precautions.

"The crib–"

"Is set up." Itachi cut her off.

"B–But the–"

"Everything is set up, Sakura." he cut her off again.

For months now they had been setting up the bedroom so that it was safe for a baby. Not only that, but they wanted to make sure that their child would be comfortable. Was it too cold? Too warm? Was the crib big enough? Did they have enough diapers? Where was the cat? He wasn't trying to fit into the crib again, was he? The amount of times Itachi had thrown the cat out of the crib was ridiculous! So they had made a rule that at night, Ko was not allowed to sleep in the same bedroom as the baby. They simply couldn't risk him jumping into the crib while the baby was sleeping or in there, too. Ko was huge to say that he was just a cat, so he would easily squash the baby.

Finally, even if it was unwillingly, Sakura decided to listen to Itachi as she tried to double over and groaned in pain, but he kept her standing straight, trying his best to take her out of their home.

The moment Sakura reached her fourth month into the pregnancy, Itachi had planned on what must be done when she went into labour. Her bag was packed with everything she would need months before it was needed and the bedroom was also set up for their new arrival. After, Itachi spoke with Shizune about what should happen when the contractions started or when her waters broke.

The second she uttered the words "my water just broke" he had summoned his crow and sent it straight to Shizune, who would meet them at the hospital with Ino. They were the ones Sakura wanted there for the birth. It had been rather emotional when she asked them to be there, to deliver her child, because they all knew deep down that Sakura wanted it to be Tsunade who delivered her baby.

Ino had wept silent tears and Shizune smiled softly, silently thanking Sakura for giving her the honour of delivering the child in Tsunade's place.

It took longer than Itachi wanted to get Sakura to the hospital and the entire way, people watched with wide eyes and stunned expressions, which didn't help her in the slightest. He had wanted nothing more than to pick her up and run there, but Itachi knew that it would be incredibly uncomfortable for her and possibly even painful.

And the moment they were in the hospital, Ino was already dressed for the delivery and meeting them in the reception area with a wheelchair, smiling brightly at Sakura.

"It's finally time!"

Despite her pain, she managed to return the smile to her best friend. "Finally."

Itachi followed close behind as Ino took them to the delivery room, but he couldn't help but feel totally inadequate standing there when it was finally time to meet their child, unable to do anything other than hold Sakura's hand. He felt like there was more he should be doing and with every cry of pain, every painful squeeze of his hand, that feeling multiplied until it became close to unbearable.

"Come on, Sakura." Shizune encouraged her. "Just one more push."

Ino's encouragement wasn't far behind. "Come on, Forehead. I want to meet and spoil my godchild already!"

Raising the hand that was tightly squeezing his, Itachi kissed the back of it and brushed the hair from Sakura's forehead, soon kissing there, too. "You're doing well, Sakura."

"I–It hurts…"

"That's because your miracle baby is just as impatient as you can be." the dark haired woman smiled at her teasingly. "They couldn't wait any longer to meet their parents."

The thought had Sakura smiling through the pain but as she felt another contraction hitting her, the smile slipped away and her features scrunched up, her entire face turning red as Sakura let out another shout of agony, her entire body trembling with the effort.

It had Itachi frowning when Ino glanced up at the heart monitor and over to Shizune. "Shizune–senpai, her–"

"It's okay for now." she cut her off, not allowing Ino to worry either of them. "Just as long as it doesn't go any higher."

Itachi's frown deepened and he looked to the monitor, unhappy when he found what Ino had seen. Sakura's heart was beating incredibly fast, going much faster than it should. If it went any faster then he knew there was a risk of her heart giving out on her, or having a heart attack.

"Breathe, Sakura." Shizune advised her. "Don't try to rush it."

Time seemed to go so slowly for Itachi when Sakura continued to push, as he watched her tremble and cry and scream and beg. It caused him so much pain to see her in such agony and the fear of her heart giving out on her made it all so unreal to him. It _terrified_ him. He, Uchiha Itachi, was scared.

And then Sakura pushed for the final time.

He unknowingly held his breath.

"It's a baby girl." Shizune whispered, cradling the baby to her chest.

Ino watched with wide eyes.

Falling back against the lifted upper half of the bed, Sakura panted hard, trying to calm herself down. A girl. Her little miracle baby was a little girl. Oh, she couldn't wait to hold her, to tell her how much she loved her. She–

Belatedly, something that had already occurred to the others finally occurred to Sakura.

"Why isn't she crying?" Sakura breathed heavily and suddenly her eyes went wide, the colour draining from her exhausted features. "Shizune–senpai, why isn't she crying?"

"Calm her down, Itachi–san." Shizune ordered as she and Ino whisked the baby away from Sakura and placed her down, quickly running through the procedures. In the background, the heart monitor attached to Sakura was beating faster and faster by the second, her fear apparent to them all. "We need to keep Sakura's stress levels and heart rate down."

His eyes were stuck on the baby who was not breathing for just a moment until Shizune glared at him from over her shoulder, prompting him to attend to his wife.

"Sakura, look at me." he murmured to her and attempted to tilt her head in his direction, but it did not gain her attention. Her eyes stayed glued to the backs of Ino and Shizune, trying her best to see through them at their daughter. "Sakura–"

"Please." she whispered, tears filling her eyes. "Please don't take her from me, too. _Please_!"

Itachi kissed her forehead, silently begging for the same thing and more. "Nobody will take our daughter from us, Sakura. I promise."

She shook her head, a quivering sob escaping her before she could stop it. "S–She's not breathing… Our m–miracle baby isn't cry–"

And then Sakura heard it and it sounded like the most beautiful sound in the world.

Her baby's cry.


	50. Welcome To Our World

**Chapter 49 – Welcome To Our World**

She was so small and fragile, so soft and pink and so very beautiful to Sakura. Already, she had a head of dark hair and although her eyes were remaining shut, she hoped more than anything that she had Itachi's eyes.

Tiredly, Sakura tried her best to bring the small baby closer, tears filling her eyes at the sight of her.

Her little miracle baby.

"You did well, Sakura." Itachi murmured, kissing the top of her head. "I'm proud of you."

The tears slipped down her cheeks and all pain, despite how extreme it had been, faded in her mind. "She was so worth it."

Itachi simply couldn't get over the beautiful sight before him. His wife, even though she was sweaty and seemed completely exhausted and about to fall asleep, had never looked more stunning in his eyes. And seeing her holding their daughter, seeing the look of unconditional love in her eyes was just breathtaking. It was a sight that would never topped. There was no getting better than this moment.

And as for their daughter… She was so tiny, so fragile. He was almost scared to hold her. What if he made a wrong movement? Just one slip of his hand and she would break. Thankfully, Itachi had had quite a bit of practice with babies growing up due to his parents making him babysit Sasuke more often than not.

"I will take her." Itachi murmured. "You should rest, Sakura."

Holding onto her for a moment longer, Sakura pressed a gentle kiss to her daughter's forehead, smiling softly when Itachi carefully picked her up from her arms, holding the baby against him tenderly.

The sight of his warm eyes as he held their daughter was what she fell asleep to.

* * *

When Sakura woke up next, Itachi was sat in the chair beside her bed with their daughter was still in his arms. It must have been hours since she'd fallen asleep because the sun was starting to disappear. She'd gone into labour in the morning, when it was just barely seven.

"How is she?"

The croaky voice finally tore his attention away from their daughter and he looked up at his wife, offering her a gentle smile. "Shizune–san checked her over while you were sleeping." Itachi kept his voice low and the sound of it was threatening to lull her back to sleep. "Everything is fine."

Sakura nodded and her eyes drifted to the baby in his arms. "Are we still going with the same name?"

"It has meaning."

She smiled again, whispering the meaning of the name, "_Light_."

Shifting the sleeping baby in his arms, Itachi stood up and waited for a moment as Sakura sat up properly before lowering their daughter into her waiting arms.

"Uchiha Hikari." Itachi murmured, looking up from the baby and to Sakura.

"So beautiful."

Just as Sakura looked up at him with her smile still in place, there was a knock on the door, followed by it opening at Sakura's quiet "come in".

It didn't surprise her in the least when three Uchiha men, Naruto, Ino, Hinata, Sai and Kakashi all piled into the room. Part of her wanted to say that they should come back later, when Hikari was actually awake and after she had rested, but… Well, to put it plainly, she wanted to show Hikari off. It was incredibly rare for these people to be in the same room at the same time and like hell she wasn't going to take advantage of that!

"I fed Ko for you." Shisui told them both as he stepped to the side, allowing Fugaku to see his grandchild.

The man's eyes surprisingly softened at the sight of the baby sleeping peacefully in his daughter–in–law's arms and a moment later, his hand reached out, gently touching Hikari's cheek. She didn't stir at the contact as she was much too warm and comfortable in her mother's arms.

"How did it go?" Fugaku asked the couple as he made room for Sasuke to see his niece.

"There were a couple of complications, but we pulled through." Sakura told them all. "Hikari is a fighter, just like her parents."

"Hikari." came Sasuke's quiet murmur and slowly. After looking to Sakura for permission, he took the sleeping child from her arms, bringing her close to his chest. "She's so small."

"Isn't that enough to make your heart melt?" Ino nudged Hinata with her elbow, pointing at Sasuke and Hikari.

In response, the Hyuuga smiled politely, but she couldn't deny that she felt the same thing as Ino when Naruto popped his head over Sasuke's shoulder, grinning down at Hikari. Her heart was melting at the look of adoration on the blond's face and the promise to always protect her in both of their eyes… It almost made Hinata feel giddy with emotion.

They were so gentle with Hikari as Sasuke reluctantly (just barely showing it) passed the baby onto Shisui, who cradled her tenderly and poked her forehead.

"You look like your father."

Fugaku nodded once. "You were just as small, Itachi."

His cheeks threatened to burn, but Itachi was more entranced with how the others reacted to his daughter. They were all pushing aside their prides, they were opening up their hearts and their emotions. It wasn't too surprising with Ino, Hinata and Naruto as they each held Hikari, cooing over how precious she was. But for the others, such as Fugaku, Kakashi, Sai and Sasuke, it meant a lot.

"When do you get to go home, Sakura–san?" Hinata asked softly, not daring to raise her voice any louder in case she woke the baby.

"You need to stay in overnight." Ino stated firmly before Sakura could even think of a response. "You look exhausted! Not only that, but after what happened in the delivery room, Shizune–senpai and I want to keep an eye on you both."

"What happened?"

Fugaku's question sounded more like a demand and as Itachi sighed, telling them what had happened, Sakura tried her best to smile as Naruto and Hinata rushed over to her to stand by her side. Their support was accepted gratefully, though unnecessary. What had happened was scary, sure, but it was in the past now. Hikari was fine and Sakura wouldn't allow anything to happen to her.

"You're both okay, though."

At Sasuke's statement, Sakura nodded up at him, offering her best friend a soft smile. It had been his own way of confirming that they were okay, that they were safe. Like Ino had said: they had to stay in overnight as a precaution, but Sakura could sense that her daughter was in good health. As for herself, there were only a few aches and pains.

When Kakashi brought Hikari back over to her, Sakura held out her arms and accepted her lovingly, kissing her daughter's forehead. Everybody in the room had held her now, each saying their own congratulations in their own ways.

Only five minutes later, when Sakura's eyes began to flutter closed, Itachi took Hikari from her arms and faced the others. "My wife needs to rest."

Understanding that he wouldn't say anymore, they left the room quietly, leaving the new family.

Sakura was smiling tiredly, just barely able to stay awake and even though it caused some discomfort, she shifted on the bed, making some room for Itachi to lay with her for a while, holding Hikari between them. They didn't want to put her down. They wanted to continue holding her close to them, to let her know, without words, that she was already so very dear to them.

"Do you think they'd be proud of us?"

Two faces flashed in his mind and at the thought of the two powerful women, Itachi nodded once. He would have liked for his mother to have met Hikari and to hear her words of praise and joy, but Itachi knew that she would be proud of them. As for Tsunade, she had adored Sakura in her own way and had done everything possible to protect her dear student. There wasn't a chance in hell that Tsunade would not be proud of Sakura for achieving her happy ending, despite the odds being stacked against them.

"I have no doubts that they are."

* * *

"This is your home, Hikari."

Itachi smiled down at his wife as she carried their daughter into their home and showed her around.

It was only temporary. Once the village was in a more stable position and they could afford to spend more money, then Itachi would definitely be buying a bigger home for his family, one where Hikari could run around and play in. Until then, however, they would remain in their one bedroom home. It wouldn't be fair to take advantage of his position while others were still homeless and Sakura agreed wholeheartedly.

They had a roof other their heads and they could feed and clothe their daughter. Luxury items and homes didn't matter.

Following Sakura as she carried Hikari upstairs, he pushed open the door to their bedroom for her, holding it open as she ducked under his arm and walked in.

"And this is our bedroom." Sakura murmured. "We know it's not much but it's much more than what others have, so always be grateful for the small things."

Just as she was about to say more, a large cat jumped in through the bedroom window, landing on the bed that was resting beneath it. Sakura paused as she watched Ko watching Hikari, his head tilting to the side ever so slightly before he warily stepped forward. Realising what he wanted, Sakura met Ko at the bottom of the bed, aware that Itachi was close by just in case the cat reacted badly to the baby.

He meowed at Sakura until she lowered Hikari so that he could see her properly and after sniffing the baby, he walked over to Itachi and sat by his feet with an expectant look.

"He must be hungry." Sakura smirked.

"I suppose he will be." Itachi murmured and leaned down, stroking the cat's head. "Since he reacted so well to Hikari, I suppose he can have some of the meat out of the refrigerator instead of his usual food."

She couldn't help but grin as her husband walked out of the room with Ko following closely behind him. There was no use in denying the fact that she had been worried about how Ko would react to Hikari. Would he like the baby? Would he get territorial and possessive? What would he do? Was he finally going to stop trying to sleep in the crib?

At the thought of Hikari's crib, Sakura glanced down at it, happy to find that the white sheets were still clean and there wasn't a single trace of Ko's thick fur to be found. It seemed he was finally learning that the baby's crib was not somewhere for him to sleep or clean himself.

Some time next week, her parents would be coming to Konoha to see Hikari, so Sakura made a mental note to pick up a tatami mat for them to sleep on as well as extra bedding. The last thing she would need was her mother nagging on about how it was improper to not have such things.

"Are you tired?"

Sakura turned and glared at the two men who entered through the window, watching them with obvious anger. "There's a perfectly good door downstairs, you know!"

"Yeah, well–"

"This is our _bedroom_! We could have been doing _anything_!"

Even though their cheeks flushed pink, they still defended themselves. "You've just had a baby, Sakura–chan. You won't be able to do _that_ for a while."

Her blush was just as dark as theirs, though the colour drained from her features at the sound of rushed footsteps coming towards them. They were much too loud to be Itachi's and that thought was only confirmed when a large, black cat skidded into the bedroom, hissing and growling at the unwelcome guests.

"You still have that thing?"

"Of course we do, Sasuke." Itachi retorted smoothly as he followed Ko in an unhurried pace. "The question is: what do you think you're doing entering our home uninvited?"

Sasuke scowled at his older brother. "We heard you were back."

"And you couldn't use the front door like everybody else?"

Naruto cut Sasuke off just as he was about to reply, pushing by the younger Uchiha to get closer. "We wanted to see Hikari–chan! She's–"

They were all stunned as a set of claws were _dragged_ down Naruto's face.

And as Ko landed on the ground in front of Sakura and Hikari, hissing and spitting and growling in warning, Itachi couldn't help but smirk. It seemed Sakura had been right about him, after all. Even though cats were not loyal animals, it was obvious that Ko was. He had known Hikari for only a handful of moments and already, he was protective of her.

Which was probably why he continuously tried to sleep in her crib! It was clear that any spraying would not be accepted, so instead Ko was covering the crib with his own scent, like he was warding off other animals.

When Sakura came to the same conclusions as Itachi, her heart melted and she smiled down at the cat lovingly. "You're such a good boy, Ko."

"Oi, what about my face!" Naruto howled and held his hands in front of his face, horrified to find he was bleeding. "He nearly ripped it off! How is that being a good boy?"

Sasuke smirked down at the cat. "I suppose he isn't too bad, after all."

"_Eh_!" exclaimed Naruto as he whirled around with wide eyes. "_Teme_! Try having his claws scratching the hell out of _your_ face–"

"That wouldn't happen."

"Because of your stupid sharingan! That's the only reason–"

"Both of you…" Sakura growled as soon as Itachi took a whimpering Hikari from her. "Get the hell out of my house before I pulverise the both of you for upsetting my daughter!"

It was only then that they realised they had been upsetting Hikari with their arguing and as though that was not bad enough, in response to her distress, Ko was standing in front of Hikari and Itachi, looking just as vicious and just as scary as he advanced on them slowly.

Itachi sighed and brought Hikari closer to his chest, smirking down at her as he turned away and began to walk out of the room. She soon stopped whimpering when he held her so closely. "Always remember to choose your battles wisely, Hikari."

The echoing cry of Naruto's pain and Sakura's angered yell of Sasuke to stay still only made his words seem wiser, even though Hikari was much too young to understand or remembering anything that was happening. Still, Itachi knew he would repeat those words as many times as he needed to.

Suddenly there was a loud growl before all went silent. Again, he smirked, that smirk only widening as his wife appeared by his side, smiling up at him innocently.

"They won't be arguing in front of our daughter any time soon."

"If they do, I will deal with them myself."

And anybody else who dared to harm or upset his family.

* * *

**THE END**

* * *

**A/N - Probably not the ending you were all anticipating, but I got really stuck with this chapter and I didn't want to drag it out. So, yeah. I'm sorry that it's so short, but if I were to make it longer, there would have been a load of unnecessary drama and I don't think they deserved that after all they'd been through. You could say that this was just a really short epilogue, I guess.**

**Anyway, thank you all for sticking around for so long! I never imagined this story would be as long as it is. I'd been planning on it being only twenty chapters or so, but then it took on a life of its own and you get the point.**

**Okay, for my next story, what do you all want? There's three you can choose from.**

**1) SasuSaku - Discoveries.**

Prequel to _They Never Knew._ Summary: Before all of the drama and the pain, before all of the confusion and the heartbreak, there had been them. Just them. And they had been happy.

**2) ItaSaku - Who Said Anything About Love?**

Summary: Itachi, however, was unknown. She didn't know a single thing about the man, other than the fact he was Sasuke's older brother and was part of the special forces in the military. Yes, he was intriguing and like every other woman did so, Sakura found him attractive, but he was still, in a way, scary. No, scary was the wrong word to use. More like intimidating. Enough to make her wary around him, like a hesitant animal trying to decide whether or not a new object or other animal was a friend, and not a foe.

**3) ItaSaku - Saviour**

Summary: Her first encounter with him was when she was just twelve years old, on a mission gone wrong. He saved her team. Since then, Sakura had crossed paths with him a handful of times and each time, he seemed to be protecting her. Who was this man? What did he want with her?

**Okay, so just tell me in your review which one you'd like to see next! There's still plenty more, but these three are the ones that have the most already written for them, which would mean quicker updates and less chance of me getting stuck with writer's block.**

**Thanks again!**


	51. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It had been fifteen years since his daughter was born.

Glancing out of the window to his left, Uchiha Itachi watched the birds flying high up in the cloudless blue sky, cawing loudly as they did so. It was a beautiful day and they'd had this type of weather for the past few weeks, but there was something different about today.

And a shinobi never ignored his gut instinct.

Which was why he was carrying more weaponry than usual, though obviously kept it hidden just in case he worried the children sitting before him.

For a year now, Itachi had been teaching at the Academy after stepping down from being Hokage. He had personally trained Uzumaki Naruto, preparing him for the biggest challenge of his life. Being Hokage was no walk in the park, after all. And finally, after fourteen years of sitting behind that desk, Itachi decided that Naruto was ready.

It felt good to step back. Don't get him wrong because it had been strange at first and he still had to attend most council meetings (if not all of them), but it was definitely a good thing. Now, Itachi had more time to spend with his family.

As much as his wife had smiled and waved him off, saying that his busy schedule was fine, he knew different. He could read those apple green eyes better than anyone! Sakura may have calmed down over the years and matured wonderfully with motherhood, but he could still read her like she was an open book.

Speaking of his wife, Sakura was due back soon. She had been placed on a temporary team to complete a mission. The mission was simple and all the team had to do was escort a diplomat out of Fire Country, where he would be met by his own shinobi, but it was because of who was on that team that Sakura had to join them. Well, more like their rank, since they were all genin. No, Sakura was not a sensei, they had just needed somebody to assist and watch over them. They had needed somebody _they knew_ would be capable of protecting them.

The team had been gone for over a week now, though Itachi was not worried. Naruto had already explained to them that they would have to wait for a couple of days at the meeting point. Not only that, but since the diplomat was a civilian, they had to travel on foot.

Spending the week alone with his daughter was both nice and terrifying. Terrifying because Sakura's mood swings had _nothing_ on Hikari's. One moment they could be sitting peacefully side by side, drinking tea and then the next, she could be smashing the cup and swinging for him! Not that Hikari had ever dared to raise her hand to him, but she _did_ enjoy ambushing her father both during training and when he was least expecting it.

The first time it happened, Itachi had been amused by her actions and had even taunted her a little, slipping in a teasing remark here and there about how she was a hundred years away from ever catching up to him. It riled her up, he'd realised a moment too late. Like her mother's, Hikari's anger was not to be underestimated.

Unfortunately for him at that time, Sakura had also taught their daughter how to enhance her strength. The training grounds had been completely obliterated.

Since then, Hikari enjoyed ambushing her father and challenging him, demanding that they sparred until she surpassed him.

He loved his daughter – absolutely adored her – but sometimes, Itachi wished that she was more like himself rather than Sakura. As much as he loved his wife and all of her terrible mood swings, he couldn't have been happier the moment she began calming down, the moment she learned how to rein them all in.

And now his daughter was acting the same way!

With his back to the others, Itachi allowed a small smirk to pull at his lips. Oh well. At least he'd gotten a good ten years worth of peace. Maybe Hikari would learn to mask her emotions quicker than her mother had? He could only hope.

At fifteen years of age, their daughter was at that 'sensitive' age – those were Sakura's words and not his own. The smallest of comments would set her off and she could be incredibly sensitive to the smallest of things. For example, the other week, Sasuke had taken a sip out of her glass and she threw a tantrum over it. For days she absolutely refused to speak or even look at her uncle, saying that he'd contaminated her glass with his germs.

No, there was no illness. No OCD or anything of the sort. Uchiha Hikari was simply the type of girl who _needed_ clean things. She had her own set of cutlery, glasses and dishes. A case for her toothbrush and her own separate toothpaste. It seemed a little extreme and completely unprofessional of a shinobi, but that was just the way their daughter was, so Itachi and Sakura respected her wishes and accepted her.

It was more like they had no choice but to, actually. One time, Sakura had told her daughter to get over her obsession with everything being sparkling clean and to get her point across, Hikari refused to eat or drink. The only things she drank during that time were bottles of water.

At the age of nine (only a year older than himself when he had), his daughter had made him incredibly proud by activating her sharingan. She had worked hard for it, training every single day to make herself stronger, pushing herself to her limits and beyond. Many times, Itachi or Sakura had had to carry Hikari home after she had passed out from exhaustion in one of the training grounds.

Her determination was inspiring, however. As was her strength. And Itachi couldn't have asked for a greater child. She worked hard in everything she did.

There had been no more children after Hikari, meaning she was an only child. It wasn't because they didn't want more children, because once Hikari graduated from the Academy, Sakura had asked him if they could try for a baby. It just didn't happen for them. Like Shee had warned them all those years ago at the summit: Sakura was unable to conceive once more.

Hikari truly was their miracle baby.

"Rokudaime–sama?"

Turning to face the class, Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Why did you let Naruto–sama take over?"

The child was only young – in their first year of the Academy, in fact. Her brown eyes were wide with innocence and the blush on her freckled cheeks was childish. The girls of the class always blushed around him, which was rather unnerving. They had to be only six to eight years old. Surely they didn't develop crushes so young?

Then again, his wife had had a huge crush on his own brother at that age.

"You have asked this question many times, Aki–chan." Itachi held back a sigh, but answered anyway. "Back when I was first selected to become Hokage, the village was in a dire state. Our previous Hokage, Tsunade–sama, was terminally ill at the time and wanted to make sure she wasn't leaving the village without a capable leader. In order to protect our village and to allow her a peaceful death, I promised to take over, but only until Naruto–kun was ready."

"But why did it take so long?" Another child whined. "My mom said he's been talking about being Hokage since he was our age!"

"Naruto–kun was very childish and impulsive." In some ways, he still was. "Not only that, but he knew next to nothing about how to run a village as large as Konoha. It was too risky."

"But you–"

Already knowing where this conversation was turning, for it was the same every single time, Itachi sighed and cut Aki off. "You are supposed to be studying the henge jutsu."

In an instant, they all got back to working.

* * *

In two days' time, the village would be hosting it's second all out brawl festival.

Don't even get him started.

Itachi had tried to talk Naruto out of it, had tried to warn him that it would cause damage to the village. Had he listened? Of course not! No. He merely went onto telling them all about the time Tsunade hosted such an event and how many shinobi took part in it. Even the Godaime Kazekage competed!

Sure, it would be a great way of getting everybody socialising and whatnot, but did they really have to do this?

Apparently, Itachi was the only one to be feeling such a way. The others were all but bouncing off the walls, listing off all of their techniques and the ways they were going to defeat one another. Sadly, even his daughter was amongst that side. The moment she'd heard about the event, she had approached him and said with blank features and an empty voice, _"I'm coming for your crystal first."_

Yes, he had taught his daughter well.

In battle or wherever professionalism was necessary, Hikari could guard her emotions and mask her features perfectly. Almost too perfectly. But outside of those things, like her mother had, she struggled to remain blank. But that was okay, in Itachi's eyes. He wanted to see her emotions, just like he'd enjoyed seeing Sakura's. Their emotions were raw, showing him the women they were on the inside.

Woman.

His daughter was not a woman and in his eyes, would never be one. She would always be a girl, though not in a condescending way.

In all honesty, despite his previous thoughts, Itachi couldn't wait for his daughter's attempt to take his crystal. The event was still childish in his personal opinion and it was a waste of shinobi time and energy, but he couldn't deny that he was looking forward to battling his daughter.

Hikari had some powerful jutsu up her sleeve. It would be ridiculous if she didn't considering who her family were.

She had her father's intellect and ability to naturally pick everything up. She had her mother's perfect chakra control and monstrous strength. She was taught genjutsu by the best genjutsu user alive – Shisui. And he taught her only the best genjutsu he knew, making her incredibly dangerous to her opponents. As though that didn't make her powerful enough, just to add to the mix, she was greatly skilled in the shadow clone jutsu, but not just that.

Her first major jutsu (a–ranked and above), the first one she ever learned, was chidori.

Add the natural Uchiha speed and her sharingan to the mix and you had one extremely lethal kunoichi, one you did not want to piss off.

But like he'd been saying earlier: his daughter wasn't perfect. Lately, it was obvious that something had been bothering her. Hikari's thoughts were scattered and more often than not, Itachi found himself needing to repeat what had been said because she was lost in her thoughts. At his wife's insistence, however, he was allowing Hikari the time to come to him with her problem.

Apparently, it would do no good to push his daughter into telling him what was wrong. So even though it was infuriating and painful watching her internal struggle, Itachi decided to give her that time. Sakura could see the struggle just as greatly as he could, she was just as torn on the inside as he was.

The love Sakura felt for Hikari was magnificent, in his eyes. Whenever they spoke of Hikari, whenever they spoke to her or merely caught sight of her, Itachi always discreetly looked to Sakura, wanting to catch the warmth in her eyes. Unconditional love. And the love was returned just as strongly.

They were best friends and Itachi couldn't be happier with the relationship between mother and daughter. Don't get him wrong, because Sakura could lay down the law and discipline Hikari without batting an eyelash, but they were also friends. If their daughter was suffering, if she was in need of advice or simply wanted to gossip, then Sakura was there. It didn't matter to her if it was the middle of the night or first thing in the morning. If Hikari needed her mother, then Sakura would know and she would be there.

"Hokage–sama!"

Despite stepping down almost a year ago now, the villagers still called him that title.

His rude interruption of Itachi's lesson was forgotten about in a split second and sensing the disturbance, the Uchiha stood up, nodding once to the chunin who had burst into his classroom.

"Are there any teams?"

The chunin nodded once, not surprised in the least when the students wordlessly stood up in an orderly line, allowing their sensei to count them. "Yes, Hokage–sama. Three teams are holding them back. Team six, four and Lee."

The mentioning of his daughter's team almost had Itachi pausing. Almost. He knew his daughter too well to underestimate her. Sure, she wasn't up to his level just yet, but she was definitely strong and was able to hold her own. Just like her mother, Hikari had a fiery determination to protect their village and her loved ones. If they were put in danger nothing would stop her from protecting them, from using every last drop of chakra in her reserves.

His own reserves of chakra weren't too great – that included his stamina. It never had been, really. Itachi had found ways to preserve his chakra, to make sure he was never weakened considerably or enough to put his life in danger. However, over the years, none of those techniques had been necessary because there hadn't been any danger for him to deal with. All threats were taken care of by his shinobi. Not only that, but things had been quiet and peaceful.

That did not mean he was weakened, though.

"How many?"

"I don't have an exact number." The chunin muttered, looking ashamed of himself. "There are several platoons and they're all headed in this direction."

To find him. The words weren't said because they weren't needed to be said. Many attempts had been made on his life by rogue–nin, but never by such a great number of them. Again, his shinobi always dealt with them without his help. As Hokage, it was imperative that he be protected even though the protection was never needed.

But now the children's lives were in danger.

As their Rokudaime Hokage, he would step up and protect them.

"Take them to the shelters." Itachi ordered, turning to face the opened window. It was too nice a day to leave them shut. "I will join the teams."

"But, Hokage–sama, you–"

"Don't underestimate Rokudaime–sama!" the same childish voice from earlier snapped. "He'll beat their asses without lifting a finger!"

As always, Aki came to his defence and overexaggerated his strength, but Itachi found it rather endearing. It was nice to have such strong support from the younger generations.

"Hell yeah!" Another child exclaimed.

However, their language was foul. Not all of his students cursed, but a few of them did and he disliked it greatly. They only swore when they were agitated or excited and couldn't control it. Did that really make it any better, though? Well, at least they listened to him and stopped swearing in every sentence.

Instead of showing any response to the children who were now talking amongst one another, Itachi levelled the chunin standing opposite him with an unwavering stare. "You will take the children to the shelter and you will protect them."

A pause. A small amount of credit was due, for the chunin tried his best to withstand Itachi's intimidating stare, but the second that stare hardened into a glare, he nodded and swallowed hard, motioning for the students to follow him.

Itachi was out of the Academy not even a second later.

* * *

When he arrived, Itachi found that the chunin had been right: teams six, four and Lee were holding back the platoons with everything they had.

It almost made him smirk as he caught sight of his daughter, as he saw her flickering around the area, taunting her enemies. They were growing agitated with her and unnerved, allowing themselves to get riled up. That was one of his daughter's greatest weapons: she was an expert in pissing people off, which meant they attacked without thinking. Doing such a thing lowered their guards and stopped any rational thought, leaving them open and easy to take down.

Not far from her side was her sensei, who was fighting just as hard.

Something Itachi truly appreciated about his daughter's sensei? He _never_ underestimated anybody. If anything, he was more likely to overestimate them, but that was fine by Itachi – to an extent. The man pushed Hikari way beyond her limits, never giving her a breather or allowing her five minutes to relax. No, he pushed her just as hard as he himself had been pushed, even though it wasn't entirely necessary due to her being a prodigy.

Who was the man who became her sensei?

None other than Rock Lee.

It was safe to say that Sakura had been delighted and while Itachi had had his doubts in the beginning, wondering if Rock Lee would be capable of teaching Hikari anything useful… Well, he no longer had those doubts. He was one of the best at taijutsu, boosting that area of skills for his daughter and he made her faster, so much faster, than she ever was naturally.

However…

Itachi's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the battles.

His daughter may have inherited her mother's chakra control, but she took after him in the stamina and reserves department. Like his, Hikari's stamina was not great and while she had an admirable amount of chakra, it was not a great amount.

Noticing the fatigue beginning to show in his daughter's red and black eyes, Itachi intervened, knocking a few of the rogue–nin away from her and taking them on himself. There was a pause in the battle when the others noticed his entrance, but it didn't last long.

The rogue–nin were a lot more powerful than he'd thought they would be, so Itachi was quick to dispatch of them, incinerating their bodies with Amaterasu. And once he was done, he discreetly watched his daughter's battle, watched how she easily countered the water jutsu with a fire jutsu.

His daughter was such a magnificent creature.

She looked a little like his own mother, though her dark hair was wilder, like Sakura's had been when she was a genin, when it was long. She didn't wear her forehead protector like Sakura had, though. No, she had it around her waist, just as Yamanaka Ino had. As well as this, she also wore a short, dark skirt and heeled boots that reached her thighs.

Oh, he hadn't approved of her outfit in the slightest. Itachi would rather his daughter dressed respectfully, but… Well, he may be her father, but he refused to control everything in her life. If Hikari wanted to dress that way, then so be it. If she wanted to train with Rock Lee, or Shisui or even Sasuke, then she could. There was a healthy amount of control over his daughter's life, and then there was an extreme amount. He refused to become the overprotective, overbearing father that she would eventually grow to despise.

He refused to allow her to feel the same way he had whilst growing up.

All thoughts stopped as one of the rogue–nin appeared behind her, raising his katana.

Much to their surprise, however, just as she turned and the katana was about to slam into Hikari's chest, a set of feet landed on it delicately. They didn't even need to look to see who it was because the moment the katana hit the ground, it snapped in half and the ground was quaking. Thankfully it didn't rupture or split completely. Of course, his wife would be way too cautious about causing such damage with their daughter so close.

"Don't even think about laying your filthy hands on my daughter!" Sakura spat through clenched teeth a second before her fist was flying forward much too fast for the enemy to see. _"Shannaro!"_

Hikari smirked proudly and followed her mother's movements, using her enhanced strength to deal with the rest of the rogue–nin. He himself also had a proud smirk on his lips. His wife was home and not only was she home, but she was in her protective mother mode.

It fortunately didn't take all that long for the platoons to be dealt with and once they were, Sakura settled a serious glare on Hikari just as Itachi made his way over to them.

"What have I told you about using your chakra recklessly?" demanded Sakura, her eyes narrowing. "Look at you, Hikari! You're shaking." The anger left her as she raised her hand, gently cupping Hikari's delicate face. "How are your reserves?"

Dark green eyes dropped to the ground in defeat. "Close to empty."

Sakura sighed as she set about healing the small amount of damage dealt to their daughter. It only took a couple of minutes, if that. "You've weakened yourself, Hikari." she told her quietly. "Wasting your chakra like that made you sluggish and if I hadn't arrived when I had…" Pain flitted across her face. "He was aiming for your heart! You couldn't block it and–"

"I was here, Sakura." Itachi cut her off calmly, placing his hand on his wife's shoulder. "I would not allow anything to happen to our daughter."

"I know, I know." She sighed again. "It's just… Seeing that! My heart's _still_ racing and look!" She raised her hands to them. "I'm shaking, too!"

Of course she was, Itachi inwardly sighed. The thought of anything happening to their miracle baby _petrified_ Sakura, which was why she fought so hard to help Hikari master perfecting her chakra control, which was why she taught their daughter how to heal with her chakra. And Itachi had to admit that seeing that katana being aimed straight for their daughter had scared him, also.

Hikari wouldn't have blocked or dodged it in time. He wouldn't have made it in time. Rock Lee and the others had been too absorbed in their own battles, in protecting the Academy and the children.

If it hadn't been for Sakura's sudden arrival, they could have lost their miracle child.

Sakura suddenly pulled Hikari against her, releasing a shaky breath as she slowly managed to calm herself. Feeling her daughter, knowing that she was in her arms and safe, soothed her greatly and it comforted her, too, when Hikari wrapped her arms around her in return, holding her just as tightly.

"I'm sorry." whispered Hikari.

She shook her head quickly. "Just please don't be so reckless, Hikari. You mean more to me than my own life. Nothing could ever change that."

Something seemed to flash in their daughter's eyes at her words, making Itachi frown slightly. "Is something wrong, Hikari?"

She froze and those dark green eyes snapped up to his, widening. "I…"

There was that internal struggle again. He made sure to soften his voice, so that nobody other than the two women before him could hear him. "Would you like some tea?"

Hikari smiled weakly and nodded, still not releasing her mother. That was how her father always dealt with things, with a nice cup of tea. If they needed to talk about something serious, about something personal, they did it over tea. If her mother needed calming down, he offered her tea. It always went down to tea with him and it was something that never failed to amuse her.

* * *

Only ten minutes later and they were sitting together at the table in their home.

They'd lived there since Hikari was two years old, only moving out of their one bedroom apartment once the village was in a more stable position and everybody in the village had homes.

It was a beautiful home, mostly due to Sakura's hard work on decorating it _just so_. Every room was different, yet somewhat traditional, making it peaceful and calming and comforting. It truly felt like home thanks to his wife's gentle touch.

As Sakura went about making the tea, Itachi regarded his daughter silently, but she gave nothing away. Why was Hikari looking as though she was about to go into battle with them? Had he or Sakura done something to upset her? Was she about to confront them?

Only when Sakura set three cups of hot tea down onto the table did Hikari finally speak up. She held onto her cup with both hands, yet never broke eye contact with them for a second. Whatever she had to say, was obviously serious, Itachi realised with building dread. He hoped it wasn't anything too serious.

"I wasn't planning on telling you both today." Hikari began quietly and very faintly, her eyebrows began to knit together. "But… That katana… If it had hit me, I know I would have never gotten the chance to tell either of you."

"Don't say that." chided Sakura, her voice just as quiet.

"But it's the truth, Sakura." Itachi argued and his eyes didn't leave Hikari's. "What is it that you want to tell us, Hikari?"

She swallowed hard and her calm, blank expression cracked. A second later and Hikari's eyes were dropping to the cup in front of her, torturing her parents when they saw the faint shaking of her hands. Why was she scared? Why was she so worried?

"I…" Hikari shut her eyes, willing the twisting feeling of her stomach to go away. "I like girls."

Itachi deadpanned, immediately catching on.

Sakura frowned softly and tilted her head to the side. "You mean as friends?"

Their daughter swallowed hard and shook her head, once more opening her eyes to see their expressions. "I like boys, but I like girls, too."

"Oh…" Sakura gasped, suddenly understanding. "You mean you're bisexual?"

"Yeah…"

Itachi took a deep breath before nodding once. "Okay."

"Okay? That's it?"

Sakura frowned up at her husband, who was sitting by her side. "What else are we supposed to say?"

"You…" Hikari frowned in confusion. "You accept it? Me?"

"Of course we do." he smiled down at her. "Your sexual orientation does not change how we view you, Hikari."

"You're our daughter!" She laughed warmly, taking her hand from across the table. "No matter what you do or who you fall in love with, we'll always love you!"

"…Oh."

Itachi's smiled warmed, easily noticing that Hikari was overwhelmed by their acceptance. Had she really been so worried about telling them? "We noticed your internal struggle, Hikari, we just couldn't understand what your were struggling about, so decided to give you the time you needed to come to us."

She nodded slowly, giving them a small smile. "Thank you."

"Now," Sakura stood up and stretched, "I'm going to start dinner."

"I'll help." Hikari offered, following her mother.

* * *

"Back when I was still a genin, I remember our Godaime Hokage, Tsunade–baa–can, hosting an event just like this one. I remember fighting _so hard_ to gain as many crystals as I possibly could!" He was grinning down at the gathered crowd below his Hokage Tower, unable to hide his excitement. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of people gathered! "And I wanted to bring back the event, even if it's only just this one time, for one very simple reason.

"It brought us all together. Sure, we were fighting, but that's how most of us communicate. I know it's how _I_ communicate with my former team! And just seeing everybody getting involved, even people from different villages… It made me feel like I was a part of something great. I'm made me feel like I was finally a part of something that involved pretty much the entire village!"

He then laughed, looking incredibly proud of himself. "That and it sure was fun beating up my former sensei, Hatake Kakashi."

From behind him, said shinobi sighed, mumbling under his breath that that wasn't what happened.

"So I want to wish all of you who are participating good luck! Those who've gained the most crystals will be put through to the next stage, which will be a tournament. Like Tsunade–baa–chan's prize: the winner gets to create _one rule_ that we _all_ have to follow it!"

Many eyes gleamed with determination.

"Let the all out brawl," Naruto smirked wickedly down at his villagers, "_begin!"_

* * *

It was about time!

Hikari watched as her mother exchanged a single glance with her lifelong rival, Yamanaka Ino, before they were both charging at one another, jumping straight into battle with huge grins on their faces.

_"It's about time we had a rematch, don't you think, Forehead?"_

_"Bring it on, Ino–Pig!"_

Her uncle Sasuke immediately sought out Kakashi.

As for herself…

She had somewhat patiently followed her father in the direction of the training grounds. To battle with him in the middle of the village would no doubt cause way too much destruction and he wouldn't focus fully on their battle, meaning it wouldn't be fair. She wanted to beat him when he was at his best, when he seemed so unbeatable ridiculously powerful. That was all that mattered to her. Not some stupid new rule thing, but surpassing her father. He was so powerful that it was insane and she would do anything to earn his respect, to surpass him.

And as they came to a stop, standing with a fairly large amount of distance between them both, Hikari arrogantly placed a hand on her hip and gave him her most determined expression, yet one that also screamed she wasn't intimidated in the least. It reminded him so much of Sakura.

"You ready, father?"

Itachi returned Hikari's smirk and shot forward to meet her halfway, drawing back his fist when she did.

* * *

**THE END**

* * *

**A/N – It is definitely the end now! People kept asking for an epilogue or a sequel, but honestly, I'm done with this story. I enjoyed writing it and I enjoyed the feedback (except for those who always complained about Sakura being too emotional). However, please keep in mind that I'm experimenting. I like to try new things with my favourite characters and you also have to remember that Sakura _is_ emotional. Perhaps not to the extent that I made her in this story, but she also suffered quite a few losses in this story, whereas she never really lost anyone who meant a great deal to her in the anime/manga - that I can remember, anyway.**

**This was only written in like ten minutes, so please excuse any errors.**

**Thank you!**


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Naruto, Angst, Romance