Sakura stifled a shriek at seeing the bloody and mangled body of her lover as he sat on her already red couch. The last thing she was worried about at the moment, however, was stains. She jumped across the room, and immediately started by checking his pulse. His heart rate was unhealthily low, but she knew he would live. Itachi cracked his exhausted eyes open at feeling Sakura's cool touch.
How he had escaped, he still did not know, but Pein was not dead. The battle had been fierce, and he had nearly lost his life with it. It was amazing that he had gotten out of the base fast enough to preform a teleportation jutsu. Pein was impossibly strong, and it was clear that Itachi could not defeat him on his own, not when Pein revealed himself to be several different identities.
Though he had managed to escape Akatsuki, he had still sustained vital injuries, ones that he could never dream of letting heal on their own. Without a second thought, he went to the best medic he knew of, Sakura. He had not wanted to go to her yet, with Akatsuki still possibly on his tail, but if he did not receive medical attention, he was intelligent enough to figure out his chances of survival. If he was lucky, the Akatsuki would end their pursuit with the day, believing him to die from his injuries. They did not know of his connections to a very talented medic, after all.
Sakura gave a shaky sigh, not liking the sight of all Itachi's blood. Carefully, as to not tear his injuries further, she unbuttoned his cloak, and then helped him take it off. It seemed that he did not like not being able to control his muscles enough to take off his clothes, but he let her do as necessary anyway. Slowly, Sakura dragged his shirt up over his head to show the extent of damage done to his body. Conjuring a sizable amount of healing chakra to her hand. She gently lay it to his chest to further implore how fatal his injuries were.
Besides the visible, wide gashes he had on his stomach and back, she sensed multiple broken ribs, which had caused a punctured lung. She sighed, his situation was grave indeed, but it was something she could heal, which she was thankful for. After making a final inspection with her chakra, and finding only minor cuts and bruises, she lifted her hand from his chest.
Itachi looked at her through lidded eyes, and she could guess the question he had for her before he could form words to ask it. "I can heal it, Itachi." She whispered, giving him a quick kiss. He tasted like blood, sweat and dirt, and she did not like that. Not being strong enough to move him to her bedroom for the operation, Sakura moved Itachi on the couch so he was laying on his back.
Itachi watched her calm, trained expression as she kneeled down next to him, and then pressed two glowing hands on his chest. He grunted in pain at the sensation of her healing chakra invading him, but said nothing. Sakura began with the still-bleeding lesions, closing them up so he could not lose any more precious blood.
Satisfied with the light pink scarred tissue on his stomach and sides, Sakura moved her hands to his chest. These wounds were the most serious, she knew, and she hoped that she had enough chakra to fix them all in one session. She had to be more cautious when it came to using her chakra, if she used too much, it could be dangerous for the fetus slowly growing inside of her.
Pressing her delicate hands into his chest firmly, Sakura listened to Itachi groan in pain. In the time it had taken to heal the injuries to his sides and abdomen, he had begun to cough up blood, which had worried her. With mechanical speed, she started setting the broken ribs, holding the fractured pieces together by surrounding them with a chakra barrier. This only caused the pieces to maintain their original state, however, and did not actually mend them.
Instantly, Sakura went to his most vital wound, the punctured lung. With all the fractured bone pieces in place, she did not have to worry about building the cellular structures up around obstacles, and could move straight to the gaps of flesh in his lung. Rebuilding the tissue of Itachi's lung was tedious work, and she knew that it was unbearably painful, but Itachi did not let himself slip into unconsciousness. He stayed awake for the entire session, until he was stable, and his lungs were reconstructed completely.
When Sakura had gone to finally mend his ribs, it was too painful to sleep though. He looked into her face though, gaining some reassurance there. He knew he was going to live, at least through the night. There was no telling what could happen when Akatsuki discovered he was still alive.
When she had found Itachi on her red couch, it had been some time shortly after noon. When Sakura finished repairing his bones, she looked at the clock to see the time was four. She healed his small cuts easily by just running a chakra-covered finger along them. Once she had gotten all of his cuts on his torso, Sakura inched his standard shinobi pants down to get the rest.
Fully healthy again, with not so much as a bruise on him, Itachi slipped into slumber, and Sakura followed soon after, but not before curling up with him on the couch, despite the lack of room. Instinctively, Itachi wrapped a strong arm around her, and they both got the rest they needed.
Sakura opened her eyes, and stared straight ahead to the television set in front of her. She glared at it for a second, wondering why she had fallen asleep on the couch, when the two arms she had not noticed around her gave a slight squeeze. Memories of finding Itachi almost dead on her red couch flew through her head, and she twisted in his hold. They looked at each other for a moment, both of them having something rather important to say, but neither of them knowing how to word it delicately.
Itachi sighed, and then spoke. "I left Akatsuki. The leader was not particularly pleased." Sakura listened to his rough voice, and figured he must have been dehydrated after sleeping and the intense healing session. She slipped out of his relaxed hold and went to the kitchen to get him some water. When she returned, he was sitting upright, and she was unsurprised by this. Laying down would have felt weak for someone like him.
He gulped down the entire glass as she sat next to him. "Was that why you got into a fight? Did you win and get away?"
Itachi shook his head. "I lost in epic proportions. Pein had told Kisame and I to continue on our joint mission in capturing the kyuubi, and said to take hostage. I had already been planning on breaching the matter of my resignation, but when he mentioned you as someone to barter with, I knew I could not wait any longer." He said, a slightly shaky hand going through his hair. Sakura rested her head on his broad shoulder, and then took his hand, lacing it with hers.
He took this as a sign to continue. "When I told him of my intentions, he proclaimed that once joining Akatsuki, there was no leaving, but he is unaware of my true reasons for entering that organization. A battle commenced, right in the center of his office, and it was not until halfway through that I realized it was impossible to win. Pein, the leader, has several different identities of his own, all which I must assume are connected, and under the control of some other being behind the curtain."
"It was a fluke that I escaped, and nothing more. He had been distracted by something, and seeing how the battle was going, I took the opportunity to run. Half of Akatsuki chased after me, but when I preformed the teleportation jutsu, it was impossible to follow me further. It felt cowardly to run as I did, but I could not allow him to defeat me in all entirety."
Sakura understood, and was glad he was comfortable enough with her to open up as he just had. Most of the time, he had difficulty speaking even whole sentences, but now she had him telling more than ever. It made her happy that she was the one he could talk to.
Then she sighed, knowing it was her turn to speak, and that what she had to say was not going to make him happy. It had to be said though; she could not hide something so important from him. "Tsunade found out about my pregnancy, and ultimately, you." Sakura started. Itachi's eyes widened fractionally, but he said nothing to interrupt her.
"I had forgotten about my seasonal health check, and that turned out to be today. I was so nervous in that sitting room, I was sure I would throw up, because I knew she would notice it as soon as the inspection began. When she did discover the fetus, she... she had suggested I have an abortion. I refused, of course, and then she had asked who the father was. I could not lie, it would only backfire in the future. I do not know what she did when she found out, I ran away as soon as I had said your name, but I know she was not pleased. If I know Tsunade, then she probably sent ANBU."
Sakura shifted slightly in his warm hold, cinching closer into his chest. "Do you feel all right?" He asked, breathing in her addictive strawberry scent.
"I feel fine, but I am sort of curious how the ANBU have not found me. My apartment should have been the first place to look, but they have not come yet." She muttered back, placing a careful hand on his bare chest. She looked up at his face for permission, which he granted, and she seeped her healing chakra into his chest. After seeing he was, thankfully, uninjured, she lifted her hand away.
"I place a genjutsu on your apartment when I came, In case Akatsuki followed. It is strong enough to hold up even ANBU for a few hours. I simply adjusted it so you could slip through it easily."
"It has been a few hours, Itachi. That means-
As if on cue, there was a deafening thud against her front door, and a second later, it threw open. Three masked operatives entered the establishment, their glares burning behind blank, animal-faced guises. Just as Itachi had said, it would take a while for them to get through, but ANBU always found a way. If anyone in that room understood this, it was Itachi himself, with what he had done for Konoha as an ANBU operative.
"Haruno Sakura, you are to be brought to the hokage for questioning, and the Uchiha will come as well. Any resistance to this will lead to chakra restraints. If you have anything for your defense, get it now, or you will face judgement with nothing in your favor." The man hiding behind the porcelain hawk barked with authority. She stumbled to her feet, shocked at how dire the situation was. Itachi, having predicted such a circumstance to arise eventually, stood up next to her with grace that Sakura could not believe he possess in such a distressing affair.
"Did you keep the scroll I asked you to get?" Itachi smoothly whispered into her ear. She nodded, understanding that this was the only chance she would ever have to prove his innocence to Tsunade. If she did not get it, Itachi would be sentenced to death, and her to a life of imprisonment. As an inmate, their child would be aborted, and everything that mattered would be gone. Everything was riding on that scroll.
She disappeared momentarily to her bedroom, instantly going to her tidy desk to retrieve the mission orders Itachi had been given by Konoha's elders nearly ten years previous. During her absence, the ANBU all looked at him warily, knowing his high rank as a shinobi. Itachi smirked to himself, wondering if he had worked with any of the three that stood before him.
Sakura returned with a hopeful smile, then handed Itachi his old mission order. He glanced at her, overflowing with pride. He was originally uncertain if she would know where the key went to, but she clearly had, because she had made it to his locker without any apparent trouble. He was going to have to ask for his key back later.
The scroll felt heavy in his hand, but he kept it despite that. That simple piece of paper with its candid demands, it kept secret his dark past, and was the solution to his future. He followed Sakura and the ANBU out of the apartment, grabbing his shirt on his way. Itachi slipped it over his head while walking though the door, and slowed his stride to Sakura's pace.
She was scared of what could happen, with Tsunade's infamously bad attitude, and Itachi could see this much. As a silent comforter, Itachi fished for her hand, and having caught it, he smoothed little circles into the sensitive skin with a thumb. She looked up at him, and though the smile she gave him was bright, he could see it was being pulled down with concern.
"Relax yourself, Sakura. Being stressed cannot be beneficial for the baby." Itachi muttered so that only she could hear. She blushed at how he had said baby in such a caring, soft tone.
"I know that, Itachi. I am the medic, remember?" She grumbled back. The ANBU leading turned back at them, ordering silence from the duo.
It was strange for Itachi to be walking through Konoha without any sort of disguise or illusion hiding his identity, and he felt the weight of stares as he continued on, Sakura's hand in securely his. Sakura felt the same burden on her, though with how she walked along Itachi, she could tell that everyone who saw her felt betrayal. She would never forget Ino's facial expression at seeing them together.
It was Tsunade's expression that topped the cake though, when she saw the two lovers hand in hand. Sakura stared straight into her teacher's face, prepared for anything that she may say. The hokage's jaw hardened in anger, and her eyes thinned at the unlikely couple.
"Haruno Sakura, you are here for the fraternization with Akatsuki's Uchiha Itachi, an S-class criminal and missing-nin of Konohagakure. Do you accept the charges made against you?" Tsunade said, an edge cutting into her tone harshly. Sakura saw that this was no longer her lovable, rarely sober instructor and mother figure, but instead the leader of Konoha, and protecter of her village that was speaking.
"I will not deny the nature of our relationship, Hokage-sama." Sakura murmured back, her voice subdued. Itachi frowned, not liking the saddened look on Sakura's face. Without a moment to waste, he tossed Tsunade the scroll he had been given as a boy of thirteen. She glowered at his impatience.
"I am not ready to deal with you, Uchiha brat. Do not interrupt me." She spat at him, then looking at what she had easily caught. It was sealed by the Third, and her first mentor. "What the hell is this?" She asked.
"Redemption." Itachi replied, his voice velvet. Tsunade glared at him for his self-righteousness, but opened it nonetheless. This was the moment of truth, Sakura knew, watching as her leader and trainer read the once-hidden document. Tsunade read it through several times, and when she finally put the scroll down, her face was red with fury.
"Shizune! Get me Danzo and those idiotic geezers immediately!" She shouted, drawing confusion to everyone in the room besides Sakura and Itachi. Sakura laughed with relief, and jumped into Itachi's arms joyously. He chuckled at her excitement, and held her fast. He was sorely tempted to spin her about the room, his newly found freedom invigorating, but he thought better of it.
Danzo entered the room with a decided pride, and his focus instantly went to the seemingly rogue Uchiha, who, when sensing his presence, had turned to openly glare at him. Danzo went to look at Tsunade, who had joined Itachi in glaring at the menace.
"You spoke of it." He growled at Itachi, his entire body shaking with wrath. Itachi said nothing in response, but turned to the Hokage to see what Danzo's charges would be.
"Danzo! You are a sick, twisted bastard; no better than the likes of Orochimaru. You will rot in a jain cell for this despicable crime, with your conspirators right next to you." She barked at him, demanding his attention. He frowned. Everything that had happened, he had ordered for the village's safety.
"You do not have the power to lock me up, Tsunade-hime, not with root as my defense." He shot back confidently. She laughed coldly at his proclamation.
"Hokage's word is law." Tsunade growled, turning to the ANBU who stood on either side of Danzo, and gave them a sharp nod. There was no need for words; Tsunade was not known for her lenience when it came to those who were guilty. If someone did something she deemed unacceptable, then they would pay for it. The fact that she had sent ANBU after Sakura, when a few chunin would have been enough to prove this point.
"I will not allow this, Tsunade-hime! Root will put an end to your reign, and this village will be brought back to its former glory! I will be hokage, if it is the last thing I do!" He shouted at them in fury. The ANBU hawk, who was put out with the irate mongrel's antics, gave his hokage a pleading look, which she replied with a smirk. The irritated ANBU jabbed two fingers into a pressure point of his neck, and Danzo went limp. Rather pleased, the two operatives dragged the man off.
Hokage Tsunade turned to the unlikely pair, her eyes softening measurably. On the inside, where she was only a woman, and not a prestigious medic or a fearsome leader, Tsunade was one to fall for a good romance story. The fact that her own apprentice had unraveled the mystery behind the Uchiha Massacre gave her a certain sense of pride, though she still did not approve of Sakura being a mother while still so young.
Having Uchiha Itachi back on their side of things would have several advantages, one of them being that he had so much inside information on the Akatsuki, after spending almost a decade with them. Another benefit, though only in the point of view as a hokage, was that the Uchiha clan could finally be rebuilt, and strength would return to the village. As the mother figure in Sakura's life, however, she was still skeptical of the pregnancy. She hoped that the silent man had every intention of caring for both his child and the woman who bared it, or he would have to face her.
"Uchiha, I hope you do not object to rejoining Konoha as a loyal shinobi. We are in need of a good captain around here." She said, watching curiously as the seemingly emotionless man held his lover possessively. It was apparent that all assumptions they had made of him were wrong, if she based his character on what she was seeing. He looked as caring as any other honest man.
"I would like nothing more in the world, Hokage-sama. As long as I am welcome here, I will stay." Itachi bowed respectfully, pleased with being able to pronounce where his allegiances truly lay. He had always hated being looked at as if he were the scum of the earth, merely because the pretenses of his duty. In his heart, he had always been a konoha shinobi, even when the world did not see it as such. Sakura, the woman standing next to him, the woman that was carrying his child, had been the first to really see him for who he was, and not for what he had done.
"Good. Of course, if you do not wish to return to the field immediately, I have every intention in replacing Homura and Koharu today, after seeing their involvement. Those corrupt bastards." Tsunade muttered her last comment under her breath. Itachi, with his superior hearing, heard her anyway. He smirked, and stood up straight again.
"I am afraid that is not something I could ever do. My opinion of the council is rather biased, and so I would prefer to remain uninvolved with that circle as much as possible." He replied in earnest. If he ever did become advisor to the hokage, he doubted that he would be able to last long, with the council's generally immoral attitude. He did not believe that an Uchiha would ever be allowed into the council anyway, with the silent feud between his clan and the Senju. He himself did not care about a person's heritage so much, but the Senju would not be so accepting.
"Very well. After you go through the interrogation process with Ibiki, I shall reinstate you as your previous rank; ANBU captain. Do you accept this offer?" Tsunade grumbled. Replacing the council was not something she wanted to do, the members would always be the same greedy, nefarious sort of characters, and she hated putting up with them at all. The only thing they were useful for was starting an argument, considering her foul temper. Perhaps she would not replace the old coots when she locked them up for treason.
"I will serve my village and my hokage to the best of my ability." Itachi affirmed. Tsunade figured this was his cryptic way of accepting the position. She sighed, knowing that the entire situation was going to turn into nothing but a terrifying pile of paperwork, but she always had Shikamaru to do it. There was Sakura now as well, seeing she was not going on any missions in the immediate future.
The door opened, revealing Koharu and Homura, both of them donning ordinate robes that swished around their frail, old frames. "You summoned us, Tsunade-hime?" The elderly woman asked first, her voice trembling from too many years of use. Tsunade turned from Itachi, her somewhat soft, understanding expression lost. Her eyes thinned into two dangerous slits, showing she was beyond furious with the advisors.
Homura looked around the room when noticing they were not alone, and tensed at seeing who exactly was standing there. Uchiha Itachi was not the child of thirteen he had been last time Homura had seen him, but instead a powerful young man. He frowned at seeing the Uchiha in the presence of Tsunade, until it struck him why they were there.
"Tsunade-hime, whatever decisions made by Konohagakure's council has always been in the village's best interest. The safety of our community is of the upmost importance, and so drastic measures needed to be taken. If that betraying clan had not been killed off, then Konoha would have been dragged into a civil uprising, and there could have easily been a fourth ninja war. Thousands of innocent people would have been killed for that corrupt clan's agenda, and so we chose a few hundred lives as the lesser of two evils. You cannot blame us for our decision." Homura said smoothly, only glancing at Itachi for a moment. Everyone in the room knew that his words were empty, and only said as an attempt to appease Tsunade, resulting in the man's freedom.
Itachi tensed at hearing what the elder had to say, his jaw clenching angrily. Sakura felt his hand tighten around hers slightly, giving him away for his fury. She looked up at him in concern, but knew there was nothing she could say to relax him. They spoke of his clan as if it were lowly filth, and though the Uchiha clan's desperation for power was undeniable, he knew it had only been caused by their being sheltered, and shut off from the rest of konoha. That had only been decided by an anxious council of ignorant elders, most of them prejudice because of their family history as Senju.
"She may not be able to, but I can blame you for the underhanded destruction of my clan." Itachi whispered more to himself than anyone else. Sakura leaned into him, trying to give some sort of comfort. For him to have said anything at all was proof enough of his discomfort. He let out a long, slightly shaky sigh, and closed his eyes. It was unlike him to interrupt a conversation when it was not in his place, but it had been impossible to hold it back. Years of pent-up anger had reappeared, when he had forgotten about this feeling of distraught so long ago.
"You have no right to patronize me, Uchiha. You were the one who ratted out your own clan, and then killed them off when you were ordered to."
Sakura spoke before anyone else could. "Itachi only did his duty as a shinobi, you damn prune." The room looked at the girl in amazement, knowing Sakura was not one to say anything at all during this sort of meeting. Usually, she remained silent and simply observed. Itachi smirked down at his lover in appreciation.
"I deem Itachi innocent. He followed his orders, and sacrificed himself for this village. For that, he is more than welcome in this village." Tsunade said, coming out of her pensive state. Itachi did not like how he sounded like some sick, skewed hero, but he could accept this.
The room remained quiet, the weight of her words echoing on the walls. Sakura smiled, pleased with the new opinion her teacher had for Itachi. It was much more accepting than what it had been before.
Koharu broke the silence. "We will not fight you this time, Tsunade-hime. We are to weak to continue battling with you, and we would not last long in imprisonment. We shall leave this village, and we will watch from afar when it crumbles to the ground. With the undermining rule you have here, it will not take long for that to happen. When it does, you will wish we were here to fix your mistakes."
The proud woman turned and left, blatantly forgetting to bow in respect. Homura sighed, but knew his fellow advisor was right. Konoha was going to fall, and he did not want to be there when it did. In his old age, he wanted to die peacefully. That did not look possible in konoha anymore. He left as well.
"Hokage-sama, if it is at all feasible, I wish to convey this to Sasuke myself." Itachi murmured thoughtfully.
"He is under your jurisdiction now, as you are the new Uchiha head. I will not intervene with your clan problems." She muttered. Tsunade made a quick check that Shizune was not near, and sensing that she was not, she snuck her hidden bottle of sake out, feeling too on edge.
Itachi contemplated over what she had said. Years ago, as the Uchiha heir, he had never wanted to become head of the clan, always hating the politics and backstabbing that went with it. Now, however, the clan was drastically smaller, and if he so wished, he could rebuild it in any way he wanted. Peace for his restless, broken clan could be created, and he believed it was something he might just be able to achieve it.
AN: Wow, that was a fast update. I officially have no life. Please comment, it will make up for my anti-socialness, and my ability to get another chapter out so soon. Do not count on this to happen every time though. LOL.
