Itachi wasn't used to such talkative company and it was starting to take a toll on him. They had been back on the road for a couple of days now and would reach Toyeiki by the end of the day, at least.

Yamato and Sachi chattered incessantly, bickering back and forth, asking him questions – the most common of which was are we there yet? in a cadence that Itachi had come to loathe like a song that played too often on the radio.

In some ways, he enjoyed their company. They were bright children, smart and always asking questions. Sachi had grown quite obviously fond of Itachi and spent the majority of her time cajoling him into carrying her, or slipping her tiny hand into his while they walked side by side. Yamato seemed to regard him as some type of hero, a reverence in his eyes when he looked at him. The irony was not lost on Itachi.

He was almost sad to think about leaving them soon. Of course Itachi was in no position to be taking care of children, and he couldn't even say for sure that he would be good at it. He'd be lying to himself if he thought he never wanted to have children. Before the massacre, Itachi was heir. It was his responsibility to have children. He'd always looked at Sasuke as a kind of practice for that, and now…

Well, now Yamato and Sachi were the closest he would ever get to that.

"Quit pinching me!"

Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced over at the shrieking children. He was certain he had never fought so much with Sasuke. Sasuke was much too fond of his elder brother to ever have caused trouble the way Sachi sometimes did for Yamato. She was currently sinking her teeth deep into the delicate skin of Yamato's wrist.

"Alright, why don't we take a break?" Itachi suggested.

"I'm hungry, Itachi-san," Sachi said, running over to tug on his sleeve. Apparently her brother's arm wasn't quite filling enough. Itachi pulled a couple of protein bars from his pouch and handed one to each child.

They plopped themselves down in the grass, munching happily, quietly, Itachi noted with relief. He sat down next to them and let his eyes fall shut.

It would be bittersweet, he thought, being rid of the children. He wouldn't miss the bickering and the whining. Or cleaning urine out of bed sheets.

A rustle of leaves in the distance perked up Itachi's ears. The wind was too light to have made the sound. He strained his ears, listening for voices that would identify them as civilians, or a noise that an animal might make.

But there was nothing. Which meant he was being watched. Itachi cursed.

Sachi gasped, "Itachi-san said a bad word!"

Itachi shushed the girl and quickly scooped her up just as a kunai whizzed past his head. Itachi knew that there were people out there who hurt children – who wanted to hurt children, that is. But he couldn't fathom anyone wanting to harm these particular children, especially since they obviously had a guardian with them. Even most bad guys had a heart – he was somewhat proof of that.

"Wait," Itachi said to the attacker, though it was hardly audible, the sound catching in his throat. He spun around, pinwheel eyes spinning dangerously.

But he wasn't prepared for the sight of a pink-haired waif of a girl, twirling a kunai around her long fingers like she was the deadliest kunoichi in existence. Itachi could have laughed if he had not been struck by a cold shock of fear that reached all the way down to his toes.

He knew this girl. This was Sasuke's teammate, the kyuubi's teammate. She was a medic-nin, he heard. She had killed Sasori, which he had found quite impressive upon hearing the news. She was the Hokage's apprentice.

Oh, this was very bad.

"Sakura Haruno," he said, his voice smooth, not indicative at all of the swirl of fear that raged inside him.

Her face was hard, much too hard for the delicate body, the feminine hair, he thought. She was like a peacock, strutting about with colorful feathers. He could easily kill her. He could incapacitate her with his Tsukiyomi. He could possibly even outrun her, but that would be difficult to do with the children. Not to mention, he would have to run further away from Toyeiki in order to lose her.

It's better to wait, he thought, to see what her plan was. Surely she knew she couldn't kill him on her own. He certainly didn't want to have to kill her.

"Step away from the children," she said, her tone low, authoritative in a way he hadn't expected from someone so pink. It reminded him of his mother.

Ah, he thought, she must have some stellar motherly instincts to try to stand up to one of the most feared men in Konoha to save some children she didn't know.

"Itachi-san, is she an enemy?" Yamato asked, peeking around Itachi's legs to get a better look at this mysterious pink-haired woman.

"Is she going to hurt us?" Sachi asked, her voice so small that he felt himself pulling her closer against his chest to comfort her.

"No." Itachi said. He didn't know whether he was speaking to Sakura or the children, but it didn't matter. The answer was the same.

Sakura's brow furrowed in confusion, and Itachi almost berated her for letting her face show so much about what she was thinking. It wasn't what a good shinobi would do.

"What are you doing with them?" she asked, and her voice was trembling now. She was afraid and confused, he could tell. She should be, he thought. But that didn't quell the sudden urge to calm her down that bubbled up in his stomach. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had no desire to hurt her, but he couldn't tell her that.

"They are orphans," he said slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on her, "I'm taking them to an orphanage in Toyeiki."

She swallowed hard and Itachi forced himself not to let his eyes linger on her incredibly pale throat. "Toyeiki is… it's in shambles. Everyone is sick. You can't take them there," she said.

He had heard, obviously, that Toyeiki was a kind of safe-haven for those who had been infected by a highly contagious disease that had been ravaging the southern parts of Fire and River country for over a month now.

But it was his only option.

"Where did you find them?"

He let his eyes narrow at her, aware of the terrifying effect it seemed to have on most people. Predictably, she withered under his gaze.

"It's none of your concern," he answered coolly.

Sachi began crying in his shoulder, her tears hotly soaking into his cloak, making it stick to his skin. Absently, he reached up and stroked her hair soothingly. He wondered too late whether the image of him soothing a crying little girl would sully the fear and discomfort he had worked so diligently to instill in the pink-haired woman several meters away.

Next to him, Yamato reached into Itachi's pouch and pulled out a kunai. Itachi huffed in amusement.

"Don't worry, Itachi-san," he said, his voice determined, "I got this."

He charged toward Sakura, who watched with bemusement until he was close enough for her to catch his wrist and twist it back behind his back.

"Ow, ow," he screeched, "Itachi-san, she's hurting me! Help!"

Itachi's eyes flicked to hers, noting that there was a hint of mirth there. She crouched down to his eye level and released his arm.

"Looks like you need some more practice," she told him, handing him back Itachi's kunai, "Or maybe you just need a better teacher."

Itachi couldn't help the quirk of his brows at the quip. He hadn't expected her to say something so brazen about him while he was standing right there. Maybe the image of him soothing a crying little girl did sully the fear and discomfort he had worked so diligently to instill in her.

It appeared that she no longer feared him enough to keep her eyes trained on him, which Itachi thought was a stupid mistake on her part. But watching her ruffle Yamato's hair with affection was distracting him from what he should be doing – which was coming up with an escape plan.

"Itachi-san is the best ninja in the whole world!" Yamato exclaimed, defending his teacher's honor.

"Yes, that might be true," Sakura agreed, raising her eyes up to meet Itachi's. He was transfixed for a second by the brightness of her eyes. They were so green, so wide. He thought with an unfamiliar jealousy that Sakura would nearly always have the tactical advantage of people underestimating her. He didn't know why that bothered him so much.

"It is true," Yamato insisted, "And he's gonna kill you for hurting me."

"No," Itachi said, startling them both, "I'm not."

Sakura's eyes widened, if that were even possible, and she locked onto his eyes again. Uncomfortable with the prolonged eye contact, Itachi looked down at Yamato.

"Get behind me," he said.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Sakura said, taking a tone that clearly indicated that she was offended, "I wouldn't hurt a child."

"I'd expect nothing less from a Konoha-nin," he replied.

She narrowed her eyes at him, no doubt letting her thoughts about what rights he had to speak about Konoha spin out of control. He could see the outrage plain on her face, curling her fists into tight balls at her sides. Once again, he thought she could benefit from learning to hide her emotions better, but more than that he wished he had just kept his mouth shut.

"If it's alright with you," Itachi began, "I'd like to continue on my way."

It was the easiest way out he could think of, and probably the most peaceful. There wasn't much she could do to stop him unless she engaged him in a fight, which he hoped she was smart enough not to do.

He didn't wait for her to answer before taking Yamato's hand in his and brushing past her. He was careful not to get too close to her.

She moved toward him, quickly, aggressively, but not like an attack. Itachi thanked whatever gods might be listening that he had the Sharingan because he could see that she meant to stop him with a firm hand to his chest. If he had been anyone else – if he had not had the Sharingan at his disposal, he would have had no choice but to attack her.

But if she thought he was going to let her touch him, she was dead wrong. Even he knew what a medic-nin could do with a single touch. He was no fool.

Dropping Sachi into her brother, Itachi moved with incredible speed and pushed Sakura against the trunk of a nearby tree. He pinned her arms above her head with one hand and squeezed her hip tightly in his other, pushing her torso into the tree. From the way she winced he could tell it must have been painful.

She trembled against him and he could see her pulse beating wildly underneath the thin skin of her neck – the second time he caught himself staring at her throat.

"Don't make me kill you," he threatened, and he really did not like the way his voice sounded – so dangerous, so low.

He really didn't want to have to kill her, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like the best option. If he let her live, she would certainly send word to the Hokage that a rogue Akatsuki member was traipsing about southern River Country with random kids – one of which was wearing what was obviously his shirt.

"Get her, Itachi-san!" Yamato cheered behind him.

And then a wave of dizziness washed over him. He felt… woozy? Was that the right word? He felt nauseous in a way his autoimmune disease had never made him feel and he had a feeling that the pills in his pocket would do nothing to help this time.

He looked at Sakura, searching her face to see if it would give him any indication of what she had just done to him. He could have sworn that she wouldn't be able to perform any kind of jutsu without the use of her hands.

To his surprise, she looked just as shocked as he felt, and then her face changed, shifted to something more – eager? Well, that couldn't be good.

And then his vision began to blur. In an effort to dispel the blurriness, he deactivated his Sharingan – something he really didn't want to have to do while he held a woman prisoner with his bare hands, but the sensations swirling around in his head and stomach were almost too much to bear. He felt as though any second he would lose the strength to stand and topple over.

"Are you dizzy?" Sakura asked, and luckily for Itachi, his hearing was just as fine as ever – he heard the unmistakable tone of a doctor in her voice, clinical, no-nonsense.

He released her hands, but kept his grip tight on her hip, digging his fingers into her hipbone in a tacit warning. As soon as he released them they were on his chest, lit with a glowing green chakra.

This was really, really not good. If she found out about his disease (and why the hell wouldn't the famed number one medic-nin in the world find an obvious disease?) would she tell Sasuke? Would that even matter? He was completely at her mercy now. Her hands were on his chest.

His vision was now nearly gone, the world nothing but a swirl of color, of pink, predominantly. He felt her ease him to the ground and lay his body in the grass. It was much too gentle for someone who was supposed to be his enemy.

"No!" he heard Yamato yell, "Don't kill him!" Sachi had begun to cry again, loudly this time, and the sound made his chest tighten painfully.

"I'm not going to kill him," Sakura said. He felt her chakra sink into him and it was a strange, but not unpleasant sensation. He wished he could see her clearly, as if maybe he could see in her face why she wouldn't want to kill a man that had caused her and her teammates so much grief and had killed his entire family and had aligned himself with a terrorist organization after abandoning his home.

But the ball of nausea in his stomach was churning like a raging sea and his head was suddenly pounding. He found himself craving the cooling sensation of Sakura's chakra, hoping it would invade more of him and relieve him of all this discomfort.

And that was when everything went black.

.

When Itachi came to he was surprised to find that he was still lying in the grass, which meant that he couldn't have been out for too long. He blinked his eyes blearily against the setting sun and decided to keep them closed when another wave of nausea washed over him.

He could hear Sachi giggling nearby, punctuated by an occasional loud, snapping sound.

"Now do this one," he heard Yamato say, "You'll never be able to break it. It's so big!"

Groggily, Itachi forced himself to sit up and blinked his eyes open just in time to see Sakura holding a massive tree branch – easily two feet wide and nearly as tall as she was – and snapping it in half.

"Amazing!" Yamato said, clapping. Sachi burst into another bout of giggles, looking up at Sakura with awe.

Itachi attempted to stand up, but it seemed his dizziness had not yet faded and he groaned against the sensation of falling and swimming and tilting. Sakura was at his side in a second, her hands green with chakra again, pressing them against his chest. He made no attempt to stop her this time.

"Be careful, Uchiha-san," she said and his brow furrowed immediately in confusion. She was watching him with her clinical eyes, running chakra through his body. He could feel it everywhere in him this time, like his veins were flowing with it.

"It's purely diagnostic," she said, noticing his alarm, "I'm just checking to see if everything is alright."

He knocked her hands away and pushed himself up against the tree behind him – the same one he had restrained Sakura against – and let his back fall roughly against it.

They stared at one another for a moment, both unsure of what to do next. The silence was tense, but Itachi could tell that Sakura was tempering her behavior, waiting to see what he would do next.

"Uchiha-san?" Itachi asked, his voice raspier than he would have liked.

Sakura blushed a deep red that clashed horribly with her hair and ducked her head. "I'm sorry, I don't really know how I should address you. I was erring on the side of caution."

In spite of the situation, Itachi was amused – charmed, even – by her change in demeanor. "Do you always address your enemies so formally?" he asked.

If she understood that he was teasing her, she didn't let on.

"I want to make a deal with you."

He stopped himself from raising his brows in question and kept his gaze squarely on her. He was surprised, to say the least, and wondered what she could possibly want from someone like him.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Yamato and Sachi nearby. He had half expected them to be bickering, but it seemed that they were both waiting to hear what Itachi would say.

"Go on," he said.

He watched Sakura take deep breath as if steeling herself against an anticipated resistance.

"I'm sure you've realized that you're sick," she began, "I mean not with – you're sick with the same infection that the rest of Toyeiki is plagued by."

Ah, so she had realized that he had an autoimmune disease.

"I'm currently on a medical mission to find a cure for it," she continued, "and I've been having quite a lot of trouble so far."

That news certainly surprised him. It was his understanding that Toyeiki was where people came to get healed. What made it such a safe-haven if they were all coming here to die?

"I think you can help me find a cure."

Itachi huffed and fixed her with a pointed look, "I don't know anything about curing infections."

"No, that's not what I meant," she said, "You've been recently infected. So far, every person I've treated has been sick for at least a week. I need to study the early stages of the infection to get a better idea of how to deal with it. You're the first person I've seen that I would be able to study it from."

The sudden implications of what was surely about to happen caught Itachi off guard. He knew the infection was fatal if left untreated. The children's mother had died from it, and their father would have as well had he and Kisame not intervened.

He already had to worry about his autoimmune disease – an infection on top of that would definitely be fatal. He couldn't imagine a scenario where he survived it. He felt a surge of panic catch in his throat like a burning lump.

Sasuke.

He'd never get to see his brother again – never get to let him get the revenge he deserved.

"You're also the only person I've seen infected that is able to use chakra," Sakura added, obvious to his inner turmoil, "But I think that might be due to your pre-existing condition."

The words barely registered to Itachi, who felt himself gasping for air and then coughing violently. His lungs – he couldn't get enough air in them. He felt hot – too hot to be natural, and he felt beads of sweat forming along his brow.

Sakura knelt down next to him and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. "Calm down," she said, "Try to take deep breaths."

He felt her cooling chakra flood into his system again and he was beginning to familiarize himself with the sensation – welcome it, even.

"My medicine," he choked out, "In my pocket."

Sakura blinked at him in surprise, probably not expecting him to have shared something so personal with her, but it was necessary, he figured. He could die here under a tree with a pink-haired medic hovering over him, or he could trust that she could help him.

She reached into his pocket and pulled out the orange pill bottle. She shook a single pill out into his hand and watched as he swallowed it dry.

"Are you okay, Itachi-san?" Yamato asked. The children had both clustered near him under the tree, one on each side of Sakura.

Itachi felt overwhelmed, claustrophobic with the three of them so close.

But then Sachi leaned over and curled herself into his lap, looking at him with wide worried eyes that reminded him of Sasuke's. He placed his palm over her head and smoothed her hair, waiting for the burning in his lungs to pass.

If Sakura had not been there, he would have closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. He knew his time with the children was coming to an end, and if he was honest with himself, he would miss Sachi the most for the way she was so physically affectionate.

"Maybe we should give him some space," Sakura suggested.

"The deal," Itachi said before she stood up, "What are the conditions?"

He watched her look down at Sachi in his lap and then at Yamato before meeting his gaze again, "I need to study blood samples from you. If you agree to help me find a cure for this infection, I will heal you completely – I can even fix your autoimmune disease."

The shock must have been evident on his face.

"I'm very good at what I do, Uchiha-san," she said with a cocky grin, "I realize others might have told you that it's untreatable, but I assure you that I'm capable of fixing it."

Itachi chose not to comment on that. He didn't quite believe her, but if she could get rid of the infection, that would be enough for him.

"Is that all?" he asked.

Her face dropped for a second before he saw a cautious expression dawn on her features. "One more thing," she said, "If you promise not to hurt me or anyone else in Toyeiki, I will take Yamato and Sachi back to Konoha with me when I'm done here. Yamato wants to be a ninja and is old enough to join the Academy."

If Itachi had been the expressive type, he would have grinned. He had never planned on hurting her anyway. This solved his problem perfectly. He could be sure that the children would be safe with Sakura, and if everything worked out like she was suggesting, he would leave here a perfectly healthy man.

Except he still had the pesky issue of needing to be back in Rain, like now.

"How long would this take?" he asked, still holding Sachi close to his chest, "I have somewhere that I need to be."

Sakura blanched, but made no comment about where it is he might need to be – specifically whether or not it involved either of her teammates.

"I've got a partner re-joining me soon – probably within the next week, so I'd like to have you gone by then," she said, "It would be hard to explain your presence, obviously."

He nodded in response, but said nothing else.

"So, do we have a deal, Uchiha-san?"

"We have a deal."

She stuck her hand out him and he took it with a firm shake.

.

Sakura led her new companions back to Toyeiki, insisting that they take the long way around so she could get a little bit of fresh air.

Itachi had never been a medic-nin and had no idea what usually went on during missions like her current one, but he imagined that she had been confined mostly to where the sick people were. It didn't sound enjoyable at all so he didn't protest too much when she decided to meander about before going back.

He kept up the rear, never letting his eye wander too far from Sakura. They might have come to a sort of truce, but she was still an enemy. She had fallen in step with Yamato, who had taken a liking to her. She was talking to him, laughing at the silly things he told her, but Itachi knew that she was keeping a close eye on him as well – or rather, a listening ear instead.

Logistically, Itachi wasn't sure how he could possibly handle this situation without lending a certain amount of trust to Sakura. He would be almost entirely at her mercy – a position he certainly didn't want to be in.

But if he was truly as sick as she claimed (and he had no reason not to believe her), then he would need her help.

In spite of himself, he felt comforted by the fact that Sakura seemed to be fond of the children. She would see their needs met – he wouldn't expect anything less from her.

So it seemed like trusting her was the best option.

"Alright," Sakura said to Yamato, using a tone that reminded Itachi of his mother once again, "Now we're almost to Toyeiki. When we get there, I'm going to lay down some ground rules for you. But first, you and your sister need a bath. And when was the last time you had a proper meal? You've been on the road for some time, I imagine. You're both looking a little thin."

"I'm not thin!" Yamato said with a pout, "I'm big and strong like Itachi-san."

Sakura tilted her head back and laughed, "Don't be silly!" she said, "Itachi-san" – Itachi winced at her mocking inflection – "is big and strong because he trains hard. You need to train hard too, if you want to be like him. But first, you need a good wash behind the ears and a bowl of ramen."

Itachi was careful to avoid eye contact with her, which was easy enough to do while walking behind her. If their conversation continued in the direction of how big and strong he was he would have to put an end to it.

"Ramen! That's my favorite!" Yamato exclaimed.

"Is it, now?" Sakura asked, and Itachi could tell from her voice that she was smiling, "It's one of my favorites, too."

Sakura paused and turned back to face Itachi, who was carrying Sachi on his back, "What about you, Sachi-chan?" She asked, "What's your favorite food?"

Sachi merely buried her face into the back of Itachi's neck, ignoring the question completely. Itachi didn't want to admit it – even to himself – but he was the tiniest bit happy to know that Sachi hadn't quite warmed up to Sakura yet.

Yamato, on the other hand, was smitten. "Don't worry, Sakura-san," he said, sliding his small hand into hers, "She's just shy."

Sakura glanced back at Itachi, catching his eye briefly before she turned back toward Toyeiki.