Author's note: Thank you so much for the reviews so far! I agree, the idea of Sakura losing her green eyes seems depressing, but fear not! I've in store a remedy for that! I would never let Sakura lose one of her best physical assets!

I hope everyone stays interested in the story!

Enjoy!

(By the way, if you're interested, I have another story called Then and Now going on, it's Saku/Kaka pairing, check it out if you'd like!)

&.&.&.&.&.&.&

"Are you sure you'll be okay with this, Sakura? This isn't something you can just back out of. This is ..."

"What are you trying to insinuate, Shishou? When have I ever backed out of anything?" Sakura questioned, her emerald eyes blazing.

Tsunade sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "That's not what I mean, Sakura, and you know it." Sakura shook her head and sat back in her chair, emerald and ember clashing.

"I'm just worried, that's all. This is a big deal, this is huge. Once this happens, it will open a can of worms we cannot recan. This isn't something you'll be observing from the outside in. You will be the one being observed, as well as observing." Tsunade watched Sakura as she shifted in her seat and looked out the window.

"Shishou, do you remember when you first met me?" Sakura asked softly.

"Ah."

"I was pathetic. I was in love with a boy that would never see me. I was seeking validation from a sensei who didn't even acknowledge my existence... and I was chasing ghosts. I was always 50 steps behind. No matter how far I got.. I was knocked back. I could never catch up. I could never compare.

"But then you found me. You saw in me what no one else bothered to. You were there for me when no one else would care to even try." Sakura's voice wavered, it was the first time in years that she'd shone any sort of emotion and it caught Tsunade by surprise.

"When my mom passed... and when my dad left..." Sakura's gasped softly, "You were the only one who saw the ghosts in my eyes. The only one who stood beside me and watched my father leave the gates. Even Naruto.." Sakura looked at Tsunade sharply, "Even Naruto left. Even fucking Naruto abandoned me. Everyone left and the only people that was there to help me pick up the pieces were you, Ino, and Shizune.

"I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of, but seeking out strength will never be one of those things. I volunteered for this because I know what this could mean for an entire clan, for our village, and for your name. You'll be the Hokage that cured the sharingan blindness.." Sakura smiled, "And I'll get to witness it. Even if it means.." Her words came to a stop as Tsunade raised her hand.

"I'm not the one who is finding anything. This is mostly you. I am the one who is merely helping. Come then, Kagami is waiting for our answer." Tsunade stood abruptly and walked towards the door of her office, gesturing for Sakura to follow her. Sakura got from her chair, giving her Shishou one last soft look then hardened back up to her usual vacant looking poker face.

&.&.&.&.&.&.

"Ok, that's enough. Wake the hell up, Sakura!" Tsunade growled, earning a groan from the groggy pink haired kunoichi. "Don't groan at me. I'll give you something to groan about. Get the fuck up."

"I'm sure the Devil himself would give me back to you if it would mean you shutting your loud trap, Shishou." Sighed Sakura, opening two aching eyes.

Tsunade rolled her ember eyes and started shining a light into her apprentice's eyes. "Interesting." She murmured. "Can you see anything?"

Sakura blinked a few times, at first things were a little blurry, but now everything was in sharp contrast. She could see the little flickers of light in Tsunade's eyes, deep shadows that looked like canyons and boarders. "Yes." Came Sakura's voice, drenched in awe. Little had the pinkett realized, the sharingan had activated the moment she opened her eyes.

"Can you turn it off?" Tsunade asked softly.

"I can try." Sakura muttered. In moments, she could see the difference. Her sight had dulled a bit, back to what she could only assume was 20/20.

Sakura hummed a bit and looked to Tsunade only to be assured that she had indeed switched back to regular eyes. Tsunade raised a delicate eyebrow.

"What?" Sakura questioned, now a bit concerned.

"...one of your eyes is green and the other is black.." Tsunade observed, "Can't tell if they're trying to both turn green or both trying to turn black... or if they're just going to stay that way. Guess we'll have to see. How are you feeling other than that?"

Sakura shrugged a bit, "Fine, I guess. My head hurts a bit and it feels like there's a bit of pressure behind my eyes.. but other than that, I'm good."

Tsunade nodded and smiled some, "That's to be expected. "

"How is Kagami doing?" Sakura questioned, concern etching her face. Sakura didn't show emotion very much now days, so when she did, it was not a secret that it was indeed genuine.

"She's fine. She's in the recovery ward upstairs, a few clan members have come and gone, checking in on the both of you.."

"And?"

"And Itachi came by a few times, as well. Hatake came by as often as one who hates hospitals would.. which surprisingly was more than once." Tsunade mused. Sakura nodded to herself. It was odd to her that both Kakashi and Itachi would come by and see her. She knew Itachi would come see Kagami, that's his cousin.. but her? Sakura had only met Itachi a handful of times, mainly when she was younger and a member of team 7.

"Hn." Sakura looked over at the door, she felt a Chakra flair and knew who was coming in. Sakura smiled slightly, she wondered when she'd see her.

"You're awake!" Ino cheered, the blonde smiling as her blue hues took in the disheveled sight of the pinkett. Sakura nodded some and watched as the blonde busied herself cleaning up some flowers that filled the room and replaced them with freshly cut flowers. Sakura felt a bit silly for just noticing the several vases of flowers taking up the room.

Ino blushed when she felt the Pinkett's eyes on her. "I may have.. gotten a little carried away. But, in my defense, those are from Choji, Shikamaru and myself. The ones by the window are from Garaa and his siblings, Naruto and Hinata sent those on your night stand, and.. the clan sent the ones on the other table. They all came to me to order them, though."

Interesting.

Tsunade smiled at the flustered blonde and excused herself to give the two friends some time alone.

"How are Shikamaru and Choji?" Asked Sakura as Ino sat on the hospital bed next to her.

"They're fine. Shikamaru and Temari are an item, finally. Choji is dating some girl name Kata... or something. I don't know, I've only met her a few times." Sakura smiled at Ino's ramblings. She could always count on Ino to make her feel as if things were normal.

A few hours passed as the two girls continued to talk, a few visitors came and went, Kakashi showed up for about a half hour or so, only to leave when Shizune made everyone leave so she could run some tests on Sakura.

"Thank you, Shizune." Sakura whispered. She was tired and it was starting to show through. Shizune nodded and smiled softly at the pinkett.

"No.. thank you, for everything." Sakura murmured, her eyes growing heavy. "You, you're one of the only people who have made sure I never crossed that line of insanity. You.." Her voice broke, "You helped me pick up the pieces even at the risk of cutting your own hands.." She whispered.

Shizune stood in shock, watching as tears spilled from tired eyes. "Thank you. I know I've never said it.. and I'm sorry.. but thank you." Shizune could do nothing but nod and watch as Sakura fell into a deep slumber. Shizune could only imagine the nightmares that plagued the pink haired woman that lie before her.

&.&.&.&.&.&.

It was the sound of a door opening and the flaring of an unfamiliar Chakra signature that stirred Sakura. It wasn't entirely unfamiliar, but it was certainly a bit overwhelming. Eyes fluttered opened to see a sea of raven hair and onyx eyes standing above her. Those onyx eyes turned into crimson as they stared at her intensely.

"It's rude to stare." She said softly. Itachi switched back to his onyx and gave a slight nod. "My apologies. I was just.. curious." Sakura nodded at his response, she couldn't blame it. She could only be surprised that it was just Itachi there and not the entire clan.

"So did you win the lottery?" Sakura mused softly.

Itachi looked at her quizzically then caught on to what she meant. "Ah." He responded taking a seat in a chair next to Sakura's bed.

Sakura smirked, "Did your brother learn that from you?" She asked.

"Learned what?"

" "Hn". That would be the only response Naruto and I could really get out of him." Sakura answered. Itachi smirked a bit himself.

"It's a possibility. "

The two sat in silent for a while as nurses busied in and out, taking her vitals and checking on her over all health.

"Your eyes. They're..."

"Two different colors? Yeah.. Shishou told me." Sakura mused.

"No."

"No?"

"No. They're both green now." Itachi confirmed. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting." Sakura murmured to herself. She was taking mental notes of everything people mentioned to her and this was definitely something to take note of. The two continued to remain silent, watching each other intently.

"Why don't you guys just make love, you're staring at each other hard enough." Kakashi quipped with a sly smirk underneath his mask. Sakura shot the man a look as he entered through her window.

"Kakashi. Don't make me send you back out that window."

"Is that anyway to welcome your ex-sensei?" Kakashi asked, playing wounded. Sakura gave him another pointed looked before asking what it was that he had come all the way there for.

"Well, I'm heading out on a mission now that Itachi-san is back. Wanted to see how you were before I left." Kakashi answered truthfully. Sakura nodded, and wished him luck on his mission.

Tsunade walked in as Kakashi left and smiled brightly at the sight of her apprentice and the Uchiha heir. "Ah, you're both here! Oh! Sakura, your eyes are both green!" Sakura nodded and flashed a smile. "Mmm, okay then. Anyway, we're going to be releasing you tonight, Sakura. You will be released to Itachi-san's care for the first few weeks of healing. After that, we will begin on tests and such. In the mean time, as you both know, Itachi-san will be making sure you get along with your new abilities." Sakura and Itachi nodded.

Turning to Itachi, Tsunade concluded, "Your clan has cleaned out and renovated a space for you and Sakura to reside in. Kagami will be living with her parents and adjusting to her life without the sharingan. I know it may feel a bit odd for two strangers to have to live together, but both the clan and I felt that too many people being around maybe overwhelming, especially during the first few weeks with her adjusting." Itachi nodded once more, "Of course, Hokage-sama. I'm sure it will be just fine."

Sakura gave a short vocal agreement and Tsunade smiled brightly once more. "Very well. Okay then, I'll make sure you're all good to go and then.. well, you know the rest."

&.&.&.&.&.

The two walked in silence, they would have been there by now had they gone via rooftops, but Sakura asked if they could walk through the village. She was always in a rush getting places.. that, and she didn't really want to go to the Uchiha compound - it was pretty depressing there and she always felt off around the Uchiha clan. She knew they approved of her, that had been one of the stipulations of the whole project - they had a choice between Sakura and two other candidates and when Sakura volunteered, they all voted on her hands down and refused to even consider anyone else. Kagami was more willing but Sakura knew that wasn't going to happen.

As they walked, Itachi kept taking side glances at Sakura, taking in bits and pieces of her appearance. She had pink hair that reached her collar bone, her ivory skin was golden brown due to training long hours in the sun (he was sure of this because he'd seen her plenty of times training), her green eyes were bright and shining like emeralds in the high sun. Her lips were a dark pink when she liked them but a lighter pink when she didn't. Her body was lean, her muscles flexing graciously when she moved. She had curves in all the right places and her hips swayed as she walked - nothing like some women who exaggerated when they walked - she was more confident and sure of herself, more comfortable in her skin. It was natural.

"I don't eat much." She said randomly as they passed a few stalls selling food. Itachi looked over at her now, her eyes focusing on nothing in specific.

"Neither do I." Answered the raven haired male. "Do you like sweets?"

"I used to." Sakura answered honestly, "Some times I indulge, but not often. Special occasions. "

"What do you consider a special occasion?" Itachi asked, he couldn't seem to help himself, this was the first time she'd spoken more than sentence to him at a time.

"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." Sakura smirked and stuck out her tongue out. Itachi smirked himself a bit, maybe he hadn't had her pegged out just yet.

"My father can be a bit blunt. He can be brash. He means well, but some times it doesn't come out that way. My mother is a huge teddy bear, or so my brother said. My grandmother respects women who stick up for themselves and don't take things seriously.."

Sakura was surprised he was giving her a heads up. "What about you?" Sakura couldn't help but ask.

Itachi looked at her questioning. "You're father is cut throat, your mother's a sweet heart and your grandmother is a bad ass. What about you? How would someone describe you to me?" Itachi stopped walking then stared at her for a long time, "As Saskue's intimidating older brother. The Uchiha heir. The prodigy. "

Sakura hummed then nodded, "Well, I don't find you intimidating. But what would you describe yourself as?" Sakura questioned. Itachi began walking again and remained silent for a long time before answering, "I am me." Sakura nodded once more, "I like that." Itachi looked over at her and smirked to himself once more.

He definitely hadn't pegged her just yet.

&.&..&.&.

Author's note: Hope ya all enjoyed this chapter! Between this and my two other stories, I will try to update as much as possible so please be patient! I tend to have so much coming through my mind at once it comes out jumbled if I don't take my time. Anyway hope you all enjoy and thank you all for the reviews, keep them coming! Give me feedback, suggestions, anything you feel like! I appreciate it all!

Much love!