Hey, all! Sorry for the wait (again) - I'm really bad with this, aren't I? Well, I promise for my next fic, I'll write it all before posting...
Anyhoozle (ain't that word just awesome?)...
Thank you to everyone for reviewing; I really appreciate it! Oh right - before I start, here's the disclaimer:
Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do not own Naruto or any characters in the show (including Akatsuki...sniff); they belong to Masashi Kishimoto-san.
Now...to the fic:
Recap:
"How about…you forget about the question and do me a favor. In return, I will not harm you."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. Itachi Uchiha promising not to hurt her? Either she did not know the real Itachi very well or he was just being weird.
"What's the favor?" she inquired suspiciously.
"Heal my eyes."
He said it rather abruptly; Itachi knew his request came off a little too blunt, asking her straight out — "Heal my eyes" — like it was an order, rather than a request.
The kunoichi, Sakura, clearly felt the same: her eyes widened and she looked surprised that he would ever say such a thing. She was also visibly nervous; Itachi knew his presence made her feel that way. She kept running her fingers agitatedly through her nearly elbow-length pink hair A/N: Let's say Sakura decided to grow her hair again during/after Shippuden. A bead of sweat appeared on her temple.
Itachi sighed, nearly imperceptibly. "People are too easy to read," he thought. They were much like a book: everything was set out plainly for anyone to see.
He suspected she wanted to refuse his request, and she had very good reasons to: not only was he a dangerous S-classed criminal/terrorist, but he had also — for lack of better words — screwed up his younger brother (and Itachi knew that Sasuke and Sakura had been close…sometimes he wondered whether they were more than just friends and teammates…not like it mattered to him).
Still…it would be a shame to have to harm her. She was rather pretty…
"Itachi?"
His eyes moved to look at her.
"Where can I have a look at your eyes?" she asked him.
That was interesting, though not entirely unexpected, that she had obliged. He thought for a moment, and then decided his room was the best location, as everyone left him alone most of the time. Sakura's room, he knew, would be intruded frequently.
Itachi gestured to her to follow, and led her to his room.
When Sakura realized where the elder Uchiha was leading her, she was disgusted and slightly afraid of what he would do to her in his bedroom. But, thinking it through, she figured Itachi probably didn't want her in that way anyways…
Still…
She timidly followed him into his room and he closed the door behind them, He turned to face her.
"W-w-what?" she stammered; he was staring at her.
"Where would you like to examine my eyes?" he asked plainly.
Sakura felt herself blush slightly. She had nearly forgotten that was the reason for coming to his room in the first place.
"Er…" She looked around. The bed looked like the only place where they could both sit —
No WAY! She thought.
Aw, why not? Protested Inner Sakura. You know, he's such a hottie!
Sakura blushed deeper. He's a terrorist! He killed his family and scarred Sasuke for life!
And I bet he looked damn sexy doing it!
Inner
Sakura furiously turned to Itachi, who was eyeing her with a slight, nearly undetectable look that said, "Okay…"
Great. Now he thinks I'm a weirdo.
She sighed. "Um…how about we sit on the floor…?" she suggested.
Wordlessly, Itachi sat down. Sakura sat across from him.
"Um…Itachi?"
He looked at her.
"I…uh, need you to…undo your Sharingan."
He closed his eyes and a moment later, opened them. Black eyes, so similar to his brother's gazed back at her.
Oh my God, Sakura gasped in her mind. He looks like Sasuke!
Though much hotter and sexier, I must say, remarked Inner Sakura.
"What are you staring at?" Itachi asked her. It was hard to tell, but he seemed mildly irritated.
Sakura blinked. "Er — nothing. You…just — um — look like your…brother, that's all."
"I take it you know him well."
"We —" Momentarily, her voice faltered. A lump had come to her throat. She cleared it and continued, "We were teammates as Genin."
"Anything…more?"
She raised her eyebrows. "I don't know," she muttered, but her blush gave it all away.
"Did you go out?"
"Why are you so interested in Sasuke's love life?!"
"No reason," he replied evenly, his face betraying nothing.
Sakura sighed again. "Well…I — uh — guess you want me to…check your eyes, huh?"
"I didn't call you here to socialize."
She rolled her eyes and told him, "You can close your eyes if you want."
Obediently, he shut them.
She tentatively placed her hands over his eyes and closed her own as well. She sent chakra out, trying to find what was wrong.
Then — she saw it.
Itachi's eyes were taking on more strain than he let on. If he went on the way he was…
"Itachi," said Sakura softly, her eyes still closed. "You're gonna go completely blind within the next month or so."
He was silent, but she knew he was frustrated and angry with himself.
She continued looking around and examining.
Finally, she lowered her hands. She opened her eyes and told the elder Uchiha he could do the same.
He looked at her, though she knew he could hardly see her.
Sakura exhaled. I guess I should tell him the rest of the news, she thought. Though he's not gonna like it…
"Well, Itachi…using that special Sharingan's been putting a lot of strain on your eyes and that's why…you — er — are going…blind."
"And what of the regular Sharingan?"
"Well…that's been adding a little, but…the…er, special one is really ruining your eyesight."
There was a pause.
"But…I think I can heal you, though it'll take a hell of a lot of chakra — I don't even know if I'll be able to do it and live."
"If I gave you some chakra could you heal me now?"
Sakura swallowed. "I… I could try, but you might not be able to see for a week or so after, you know, so they can fully heal. And I also want to find a way to make it so the Sharingan — any Sharingan — doesn't put any strain on your eyes…so you won't have this…problem again."
All this trouble for an Akatsuki member, she thought, half-ashamed at herself for everything she was planning to do to help him. Especially since said member's Itachi Uchiha!
"The healing process cannot be made shorter?"
Sakura considered it. "If you lent me a bit more chakra…I might be able to just make it an overnight healing process…"
"Very well."
He's much more agreeable than Sasuke, Sakura thought, as she told him to close his eyes again and to put his hand on top of hers (which she placed over his eyes again). She then instructed him to send some of his chakra into her hands so she could begin healing. He must really be upset about going blind…though I don't blame him…
Sakura knew that healing Itachi's eyes would be a lengthy process, but when she had finally finished healing and preventing the blindness from returning, she found herself so stiff she could hardly move.
Painfully, she lowered her hands and opened her eyes. Though the room was dimly lit, the light temporarily blinded her.
"Itachi…" her voice came out in a croak. "I'm done"
She was about to say more when fatigue overcame her and fell to the floor. Her eyelids drooped as she let sleep overcome her. But before she drifted off, warm breath tickled her ear as a quiet, familiar voice murmured, "Thank you."
A/N: Flashbacks of Sasuke, anyone? Right before he leaves Konoha and Sakura tries to stop him?
Then all went black.
He could see. He did not need the Sharingan anymore to help him see ordinary things — he, Itachi Uchiha, could actually see again.
He looked at the clock (that he could now see clearly without the Sharingan) and was surprised to see it read midnight.
We sat there for five hours, he realized.
Itachi looked down at Sakura; she was sleeping peacefully on the floor of his room. He picked her up, lightly surprised at how little she weighed, and quietly carried her across the hall to her bedroom. He put her into bed and stared at her for a few minutes.
She was undeniably pretty, and although her taijutsu was not very strong, he was impressed by her healing abilities. And her control over chakra was amazing, he had to admit…
Sakura rolled over slightly and her hand happened to brush against his.
Itachi blinked. Slowly, he sat down at the edge of her bed and began brushing her hair away from her face with his hand. Her hair was a strange color; he had never seen anyone with hair like hers before, but he liked it. It suited her, it matched her name; her hair was the precise color of cherry blossoms…
It was a shame, really, that she had met Sasuke first. Sakura's perceptions of the Uchiha clan — or what was left of it — were probably not very accurate. She most likely thought that they were annoying, whiny, emo crybabies.
Again, Itachi wondered how Sakura felt about his foolish little brother…and how she felt towards him…
He looked down and noticed that he was stroking her hair. He felt his cheeks turn red and he hastily stood up and left.
"Will Sakura-san be okay?"
"Shut up! You asked that a million times already!"
"But — but Tobi is worried!"
"Well, it's annoying, so just shut the hell up!"
"But —"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP, ALL OF YOU!"
Sakura stirred. She wanted to tell the voices to shut up already, but she was so tired…
…She opened her eyes. All the Akatsuki members were in her rrom, some sting, some standing, all clearly waiting for her to wake up.
"Um…why are all you guys here?" she asked, sitting up.
"Sakura-san!" cried Tobi and hugged her tightly. "Tobi was so worried!"
Sakura raised her eyebrows. "I wasn't going to die, Tobi…I just…used up a lot of chakra."
Deidara moved next to her. "Is it true you were in Itachi's room when you passed out, yeah?"
Her eyes narrowed. "It's not what you think."
"So the rumor's true, un!"
She rolled her eyes.
Eventually, one by one, the Akatsuki members left. Soon, Itachi was the only one left with Sakura.
"I…I want to properly thank you, Sakura, for…healing my eyes," he said.
The world has come to a stop. An Uchiha is actually acknowledging us!
"Oh! Um…it was nothing…"
Itachi raised his eyebrows. "You have been unconscious for five days."
Sakura laughed weakly. "Okay…it wasn't nothing, but…well…I'm glad I could help.
What did I just say?!
Itachi seemed to be thinking along the same lines as her.
"I killed nearly my entire family — your former teammate's family — and I could kill you. And yet you are glad you could heal my eyes?"
She leaned closer to him. "Between you and me, Itachi, no offense, but Sasuke's an ass. He didn't notice m — uh, I mean…the village — you know, he thought nothing — or no one — mattered to him 'cuz he's an avenger.
"As for killing your family…I never understood why you did that, and I personally don't agree…but even though you committed that terrible crime and then betrayed the village…my job is to heal people. I don't care if they're terrorists or not, if someone's…injured, I heal them."
She paused for a moment before continuing. "But I don't think you're such a bad guy, Itachi, even after everything you've done. Actually…as long as you're not threatening me, you're actually a pretty decent guy."
She could have sworn he blushed.
Score! Inner Sakura cried. We made an Uchiha blush!
Sakura tried to get out of bed, but suddenly, her head began spinning violently, and she almost fell to the ground but Itachi grabbed onto her shoulders.
"Sakura," he said, staring into her eyes. His face was very close to hers…was that concern on his face?!
"Sorry…I'm just…dizzy from the lack of chakra."
She put her hands to her temples, trying to stop the spinning in her head. Meanwhile, Inner Sakura was squealing in delight about how good the elder Uchiha smelled.
"You should rest," he told her.
Sakura sighed and lay back down, knowing he was right.
Itachi leaned over her. "Leader wants me to train you," he added.
"When does the training start?" she wondered, beginning to worry; Itachi could kill her in a million different ways in a fight!
"As soon as you…recover."
There was a pause.
"So…what are you gonna train me in?"
"Taijutsu, obviously, as well as some ninjutsu…and I might throw in some genjutsu."
Her blood ran cold. Itachi was a master of genjutsu.
He must have noticed her fear for he told her, "I will not kill you, Sakura. You are a member of Akatsuki and are too valuable to be killed."
"T-too valuable?" she stuttered and looked into his onyx black orbs, her own eyes wide.
"A blossom as…beautiful as you should not go to waste," he told her, his voice barely louder than a murmur. He ran his fingers though her hair, while bringing her head close to his simultaneously. Gently — softly than Sakura thought possible for an Uchiha — he pressed his lips to hers.
Inner Sakura might have had a heart attack. He's kissing us! She yelled. An Uchiha's kissing us! Our first kiss is from a damn sexy Uchiha!
And he was a good kisser, too.
Shyly, Sakura put her arms around his neck and tenderly kissed him back. But just as she was about to push him to go further, he pulled back.
For a moment, Itachi just gazed into her eyes, still holding her. His breathing was slightly heavier than usual.
"I…I will meet you outside of this room tomorrow morning at six o' clock," he informed her, and then moved away.
Sakura's hands fell to her sides.
Itachi gazed at her intensely for a few moments longer, and then he turned away and walked out the door.
Okay...that was a lot longer than usual; I'll probably make the other chappies shorter...
So...tell me what you thought! Ja ne!