Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

A/N: Hi, guys! Thanks so much to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. I can't tell you how much it helps my self-confidence when it comes to writing. I hope to make the next few chapters a bit more eventful for you while also incorporating bits of backstory along the way. I feel really weird about not switching up the setting (LOL). Like, they're still at Itachi's house on the same day and everything. The truth is, I don't know what I'm doing (I'm writing out of my ass)! But we're gonna make it work somehow!

Subnote: If you don't mind AMVs, I would recommend watching this one about Itachi. Even though my story is non-mass, I go back to this video whenever I want to get a feel for his personality. Also, because it's beautiful and provides a very accurate reflection of everything Itachi has going on internally (all of OD's AMVs are amazing, really. Me big fan! :uglysmile:). If you're interested, you can find it by typing in "Cruel World 2 - Itachi Uchiha" into the youtube search bar (It's posted by ObitosDespair).

¹Kocchi - "This way!" or "Over here!"


It took Itachi over thirty minutes to scrub the dark brown tea stain from the tatami flooring. The rice straw at its core had a tendency to grow moldy and soak in unpleasant odors if not properly cleaned, so he usually took his time with the vinegar solution, going over the spot three, sometimes even four times, just to be safe. The whole process of spraying, scrubbing, drying, and repeating was a lengthy one that might have annoyed him if he wasn't already so restless from inactivity, but he actually found it to be quite soothing. Menial activities like cooking, dusting, and folding laundry were things he could do to pass the time productively, but he still wasn't entirely acclimated to being so idle and bored all the time. Luckily, he didn't have much of a problem when it came to patience and self-control or he might have gone stir-crazy a long time ago. The only thing he did succumb to every now and then was his hovering tendencies. The more he ran out of things to do, the more irritating the urges were to check and clean, so for Sakura's privacy he made a conscious effort to avoid the bedroom and keep himself as busy as possible around the house until she woke up.

When he did eventually succumb to checking on her, it was three and a half hours later, and it was because he figured it wise to perform a quick check-up just in case her condition did ever start to deteriorate. While he was by no means a medic, there were still aspects of medical ninjutsu that he managed to retain from missions and personal experience. One of those things included the practice of establishing a baseline level of health. If she was doing fine now - simple chakra exhaustion produces little to no symptoms except for dizziness and fatigue - then he would know exactly where to start if she happened to take a turn for the worst. He didn't think to do it earlier, but she'd been asleep for an unusually long time for someone with such large chakra reserves. He paused at the door, hesitant to open it in case she was awake and somehow indecent, but there was no sound coming from inside, so he popped it open slowly and allowed his eyes to settle on her sleeping form before entering.

She'd curled up into a ball in the same spot he'd placed her when she fell (it was by sheer luck alone that he managed to catch her in time), swirls of short pink hair fanned out over his pillow in messy tendrils. He tilted his head curiously at the way her hands formed fists in her sleep as it seemed to match her personality almost too perfectly. If there were any superficial indications that she was getting any worse, he couldn't see them. Coal eyes traced over the white circle printed on the back of her top, slinking discretely over her chest to observe her respiratory pattern before quickly moving away.

Nothing odd there either.

He closed his eyes, a slight scowl beginning to form at his brows in frustration. He hadn't looked at her for much longer than a second, and yet he felt odd. Mentally and physically… In the back of his head where his headache usually was, her chakra was floating around in an airy pocket, growing more and more active the closer in proximity he was to her. Though it did seem to relieve some of the pressure in his head and behind his eyes which he was grateful for, the warming lightness of it felt as foreign to him as she had standing awkwardly at his door. And now, tangled in his sheets… If he were to be honest with himself, he wasn't prepared for her at all. Yet despite his hesitance and mistrust of strangers, he'd still allowed her do whatever she wanted with him in his own house.

Why?

It used to be his favorite question as a child not long before the war thrust him into the life of a shinobi, its horrors shredding at his innocence as early as age five.

Why are we having steak for dinner? Why am I having a little brother? Why do I have to join the academy?

Father, what have I done?

Why did that man try to kill me?

Why am I still alive?

He took a steady breath, dispelling the negative thoughts from his mind as he opened his eyes, trailing them over her porcelain skin. The last thing he wanted to check was her temperature and chakra levels. Placing a hand on her forehead, he closed his eyes again and attempted to push his own energy through her. Without the sharingan, he couldn't read the movement of her chakra, but he could get a general feel of her level of exhaustion if he focused well enough.

Her forehead felt warm to the touch, but the temperature of it was the same as the rest of her skin, so he didn't take that to be particularly abnormal. He flipped his palm over, feeling her again with the back of his hand when she started to stir.

"Sasuke-kun.." she murmured, brows flexing in a scowl, fists twitching against the bedsheets.

His eyes widened, coal eyes flicking back over her face in a mix of curiosity and wonder as a few strands of pink hair fell against his hand. Whatever dream she was having, it was causing her chakra and energy levels to quiver erratically, spiking and dipping in opposing extremes. He suspected that it had something to do with the reason why she was taking so long to recover, but there wasn't much he could do about it except wake her up.

She grunted as if she were in pain, scowl deepening as she curled her body tighter against the mattress.

Sasuke's face somehow made it's way into the forefront of his mind as well as he combed his fingers through her scalp absent-mindedly, fixing the stray hairs back in place. To his surprise (and amusement, he'll admit), she seemed to relax in response to the gesture, so he tried it a second time, tucking the curtain of hair laying over her cheek back behind her ear to expose her neck.

Regardless of how different they were, they probably had a lot in common in regards to their shared feelings for Sasuke. It appeared as if Sakura loved him a lot more than she let on, which didn't differ all that much from him. Growing up, and even now, the only way Itachi really knew how to express himself to his brother was through gestures. In his ANBU days it was taking the time to train him, chaperoning for him when he wanted to go on extra missions, and of course, poking his forehead. Despite his inherent distaste for war, he even managed to enjoy himself fighting alongside Sasuke in the fourth ninja world war, but nowadays he spent most of his time away from the village, travelling the world and exploring. Too far away to have dinner with or have long talks with atop the sixth hokage's head as the sun set over them, but far enough away to entrust him with the safety of his pregnant fiancee living nextdoor. It was a challenge sometimes to keep up with her needs, but she was a nice girl and being the only man around, he tried his best to give as much as he could when Sasuke couldn't.

His eyes softened as Sakura's face sank into total relaxation, hopefully escaping into a dream that wasn't so painful.

The problem was, he felt for her. On a level that would be impossible for him to express, it bothered him to some degree to see that she'd been heartbroken by Sasuke's decision to move forward with someone else. As his former teammate, there was no telling how attached she'd grown to him over the years. Even though it wasn't smart, he couldn't blame her. Anyone with feelings that deep would have problems letting go, including him.

His gaze lingered on her thick eyelashes, trailing down her cheek to the base of her neck, deep in thought. He left the room more troubled than he had come, the warmth of her chakra still tickling him internally, fading incrementally with enough distance. For the second time so far today, he took another concoction of pills to keep himself running and collapsed onto the couch, finding his own slumber.

.

.

.

Konoha. 1 year earlier. (1 year post-war).

"Naruto-kun!"

"Sakura-chan! Kocchi, Kocchi¹!"

The autumn wind swept across the newly rebuilt Ichiraku stand, wafting through ends of her short hair as she ground to a stop in the middle of the dirt street. Standing there under the shiny new awning flaps, dressed in his vivid black and orange uniform, was the familiar warm-hearted, cheesy-whiskered grin of the future nanadaime. The sight of him waving there stretched forth a feeling she couldn't quite place, but she ran and clobbered him in a hug before the sting of cold tears managed to reach her eyes.

"Where were you?!" she shouted into the fabric of his jacket. "I didn't know where to send my letters!"

Before he could still himself from the force of the hug, he paled, stabbed through the forehead by an imaginary arrow as a look of exasperation came over his face.

"Eheh, about that Sakura-chan-" he said, resorting to his usual default grin as he scratched at the back of his head. If only he were more accustomed to being on the receiving end of physical affection from her - affection that didn't involve being pummeled into the ground…

Please don't kill me, Sakura-chan!

"I didn't think I'd be gone that long, ya see," he explained.

'Liar,' Kurama's voice rumbled against the back of his skull, offset by the ever-present grin that was starting to exhaust his cheek muscles.

Sakura couldn't help but blink at him in obvious distrust. The grown man standing before her may be set to become the next hokage, but he was still the same Naruto at heart - maybe a bit less energetic, but still just as stubborn, careless, and impulsive as she knew him to be when they were pre-teens.

"You went to see Gaara again, didn't you?"

He pinched his eyes and lips together in a stiff nod that told her everything she needed to know.

"Thought so," she laughed. Glancing down at her feet, she noticed the strap of her sandal was loose and bent down to fix it. "Well, how was it?"

His eyes were focused curiously on her, but as he folded his arms behind his head, they rolled up towards the sky as if he were searching through his memories. He couldn't help but wonder what she'd been doing as well, but he decided not to go there. Sakura was always overprotective of her true feelings, and something told him she'd only feed him a bunch of half-truths that he wasn't allowed to elaborate on without causing a fight.

"It was just like last time," he shrugged. "There's not much else to do with the Kazekage other than tour the city and sign paperwork."

Though it was easy for him to make light of his experiences, hidden in his tone was a certain warmth that seemed to always be there when he spoke about Gaara. Not much had been able to hinder their friendship over the past few years, especially once it was decided that Naruto was to inherit the hokage seat. After that, it became much harder to keep him away from the Land of Wind where he could live in Gaara's shadow under the excuse of "learning how to hokage" without Tsunade, and to a lesser degree Kakashi, breathing down his neck in Konoha.

"Eh?" Sakura tilted her head. "Then why are you back so soon?"

He seemed preoccupied with the sky, but almost as soon as she said that, he shot her a look of worried confusion from the other side of his elbow.

"Waddaya mean, Sakura-chan?" he muttered. His arms dropped, and he looked at her seriously. "Are you joking around again?"

She hopped in place, surprised, the tails of her pink hair fanning out against the curve of her neck as she wagged her palms at him. "N-No!" she sputtered nervously. "I mean, not that you should leave! That's not what I-"

It was her turn now to scramble for an answer - he was squinting at her suspiciously, trying to read her - but she was promptly cut off by the shifting gravel under his sandals as he took a step towards her. They locked eyes, and she slowly lowered her arms, unable to look away or say anything as she tried over the next few seconds to piece together the reason why he was staring through her so intensely.

She tried to speak, but she found herself at a loss for words, which he seemed to pick up on. What was happening here?

"N-Naruto-" she stammered.

His eyes leveled from her gently. A second gust of wind sped past them as his hands found their way into his pockets; neither of them seemed to be able to speak.

"Don't tell me, Sakura-chan," he finally said. "If he changed his mind again, don't tell me. I don't want to know."

Everything in her stilled, mirroring his posture as the tips of her fingers floated up to press against her lips in attempts to hide her slack jaw since she'd lost the energy to close it herself. Before she knew it, she was shaking.

If he changed his mind? If who…?

"I don't understand," she lied, features pressing gently into a scowl, resting her gaze on the same cluster of gravel rocks he was looking at. He was starting to space out, and the blood was beginning to rush to her head faster than she could stop it.

"Naruto!" she shouted. "What is going on?!"

Maybe she could fool her mind into thinking she didn't know what he was talking about, but the way her upper body trembled, threatening to release the tears welling up in her eyes spoke volumes to Naruto who, despite his dull moments, always seemed to be able to read between the lines.

"Sakura-chan!" He found his own eyes widening in shock at the sight of her. He quickly closed the gap between them, rushing to gather her in a big bear hug, but she cut him off. "I thought you knew," he stammered, clearly just as surprised as she was. "It's just - you sounded like - I thought they told you not to tell me!"

"Tell you what?!" she shouted. It was too late to stop the tears. She didn't even bother wiping them as they started pouring down her cheeks.

She already knew what he was going to say, but she needed to hear him say it.

Naruto closed his mouth, eyes still wide open in shock as realization slowly washed over him, wiping the relief from his face and replacing it with an unreadable expression - something like worry mixed with hesitation. Sakura obviously didn't know that Sasuke was on his way back; If he was going to be the one to tell her that, he was also going to be the one to have to break the bad news.

He didn't want to do that.

He really, really, didn't want to do that.

His right arm lifted, reaching back to scratch at his head, brows scrunching together nervously as he grasped for the most gentle way of going about it. There was a reason why he was never tasked with things like this. It was because he sucked at it, and he always ended up getting beat up as a result.

"Uh, S-Sakura-chan," he mumbled, voice lowering to a near whisper. "-Promise you won't hit me."

By now, her eyes were pleading. She'd definitely picked up on the fact that something was wrong. There was something else she didn't know. Whatever it was, she almost didn't want to know.

He held off for an answer as long as he could, hoping to draw the moment out in case Kakashi were to somehow jump out and rescue him, but that clearly wasn't going to happen.

A few moments passed, and he simply sighed. "Sasuke's on his way back," he said, predicting the way her eyes would light up, which is exactly what happened.

Now, she was going to break into a million tiny pieces.

"He's on his way back," he mumbled. "- with his fiancee."

.

.

.

Konoha. Present Time. (2 years post-war).

Sakura winced as the pads of her feet came into contact with the cold floor. When she woke up, she found herself nestled inbetween two layers, a sheet and a duvet, with a soft mattress pressed comfortably against her back. Each layer together had helped to create a vacuum of warmth around her body that made venturing outside colder and more uncomfortable than she remembered before, but she powered through it, holding her arms to her chest protectively as she slid from the bed and took a quick look around.

There was nothing inherently special about the room itself aside from the roasted chestnut color of the matching furniture pieces. The head and baseboards of the bed matched both drawers and the closet door as well. Apart from that, it was like any other ordinary bedroom that she wouldn't want to mess up. She made sure to make the bed back up before she left, even if it likely wasn't up to Itachi's wrinkleless standards. She hadn't seen what it looked like before she woke up in it, so she didn't know.

A pretend arrow suddenly flew into her forehead, knocking her back in instant, cold realization.

He carried her back there. After she fell.

She gasped, jade eyes widening in mortification. She'd spilled tea all over his nice floors, didn't she? Forgetting all about the cold, she hurried down the hall into the main room where she remembered dropping the tea.

Nothing.

The mortification only worsened when she noticed the cleaning supplies were still on the table. She'd made the sick man clean up her mess and then take care of her to the point where he'd passed out from exhaustion. She went pale at the sight of him stretched out on the couch, only barely fitting his entire body on it without having to break his neck to get comfortable.

And now she'd woken him up in the process of freaking out. Though he looked as if he were still sleeping, she could tell he wasn't by the sudden flare of his chakra signature.

She hung her head dramatically. "I'm so sorry. I'm a terrible medic."

He glanced at her then, eyes darkened and half-lidded from sleep. "You pushed yourself too hard," he said, covertly disagreeing with her previous statement.

It wasn't an observation she needed to be reminded of. She knew exactly what she was doing when she did it. With the hundred seals, she had enough chakra at her disposal to heal an army, but she chose not to activate it for what seemed like such a small task. It was a risk she took that obviously backfired. Now, because of her, half a day's worth of work was turning into a full day's worth. At the rate they were going, she was probably going to have to come back for another session.

"Is my chakra still there at least?"

"Yes," he replied. He left out the part about how responsive it was being right now to her presence, its warmth caressing the back of his head as if it were her own hands.

She visibly relaxed, wiping over her forehead with the back of her hand. "Thank the gods. I didn't want to have to deal with that again."

He simply blinked at her, arms crossed comfortably behind his head. He held back on saying it, but he wouldn't have let her try that again anyway. It was too much for her to handle at one time, and though he had been there for her earlier when she needed him, he no longer considered himself to be someone that others could rely on anymore. Not when he could scarcely take care of himself…

A moment passed by wordlessly as she glanced away. He turned away as well, but he wasn't sure why.

"I meant to say thank you, actually," she said, sucking in her lower lip to bite on it. "So before I forget, thank you. For.. you know."

The grey of his shirt was the only thing in his line of vision as he nodded. Perhaps she wouldn't be as thankful to him if she'd woken up earlier while he was still in the room. If anything, his actions might have infuriated her, so he kept that bit of information to himself as well. He'd made sure she was okay, and that was the only thing that mattered in the end. Right?

He jolted lightly in surprise as she dropped to a sitting position on her knees beside the couch, her face not far away from the arms he had crossed behind his head.

"Now," she said, reaching for him. "Let's get started!"

Reacting by reflex alone, the tomoe of his sharingan began spinning as he moved to catch her wrist in his hand, but the searing pain that followed made him instantly release her and clutch his head in his hands, shielding his eye sockets from the light.

"Itachi-san!" Sakura instantly recoiled, eyes widening in surprise as she rushed to the light switch, smacking it off. His grunts of pain were almost inaudible, but she heard them loud and clear.

"Let me," she urged as she repositioned herself next to him. "please!"

When he neglected to respond she activated her healing chakra and hesitantly pushed his hands away, pressing her palm to his eyes, which seemed to have an immediate, soothing effect. "Why are you fighting me all of a sudden?" she mumbled, trying her best to steady him with her body, but he outweighed her by several pounds.

She wished she hadn't predicted this earlier, as it had to have jinxed her. How many more interruptions could they afford to have in one day?

He wasn't answering her, which she took as an indication of pain, so she settled herself close to him and began connecting her external chakra to the chakra she infused in him earlier. "Just relax," she reminded him as the seconds on the clock behind them continued to tick.

It was going to be a very long day.