Title: Help

Author: kimbo-smarties

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. If it did, ItaSaku would be canon, babes.

Genre: General

Fandom: Naruto

Ship: Sasuke/Sakura

Summary: Itachi seeks the help of Sasuke and Sakura, and offers them a life-changing opportunity.

Author's Note: Ah, the begining of a story arc and, le gasp, PLOT. Well, somewhat. Clearly, there's been a significant time jump between this one and the previous drabbles, but, hey, this crap was never in order to start with. It's part of it's charm. XD


"So let me get this straight, your Sharingan has been bothering you for a year, and you're just now coming to me for help?"

"Hn," he grumbled.

There was a scoff from the man leaning against the doorframe.

Sakura ignored him, focusing on Itachi's deteriorating eyes. She was standing over the elder Uchiha, who was sitting on the edge of his back porch with an expression that could only be described as a pout.

"Turn your Sharingan off." She ordered. He did. She watched the change in the chakra channels in his eyes. "Turn it on, and then turn on Mangekyo after a second or two."

He did as she instructed, turning on his normal Sharingan. Sakura looked into the three tomoes, though she was seeing far passed them. He turned on the higher form of the Sharingan that he had achieved on his own.

"Now turn it all off." She said after a moment.

When his eyes were onyx again, she moved back, jotting down some notes in the notebook sitting beside him.

"You need to leave it off more." She diagnosed. "Prolonged use of it is killing the chakra channels in your eyes. Especially when you use Mangekyo." Sticking the pencil behind her ear, she moved back in front of him. "I can heal it for now, but every mission you use Mangekyo, I'll need to heal them again."

He nodded and closed his eyes as she began to work.

Sasuke watched from the door. He was thankful that his girlfriend was the best medic in the shinobi world, second only to her mother, so that she could stop his brother from going blind.

Only recently, Itachi began complaining about his eyesight. Sasuke had joked that he was just getting old. When his brother actually walked into Sakura's office at the hospital looking for her help, he knew that it was serious. Itachi Uchiha hated hospitals.

Which was why they all were at the Uchiha compound. Sakura was well aware of Itachi's feelings of hospitals, everyone close to him was, so, to have him relaxed for the exam, she offered to do it at his home.

"You don't have to stay and watch, Sasuke." She said it softly since she was right in front of Itachi. The last thing Konoha needed was its best ninja going deaf on top of being blind, and all because of her big mouth.

He shrugged. "Hn."

"It's going to take a while. But that's not my fault; somebody waited until they were half-blind before saying anything."

Itachi ignored her remark. "How long is 'a while'?"

"Maybe an hour. I have to go slow since it's your eyes I'm working on. They're very delicate muscles, so I can't put too much chakra in at one time." She explained. Her face twisted into a smirk. "Why, you got a hot date?"

"Do I? No. But if you're talking to Father, yes."

Sakura laughed. "I can't believe you haven't wiggled your way out of that yet."

Itachi pursed his lips, saying nothing. This was an annoying subject for him; he shouldn't have even brought it up.

It was widely known- well, widely to Itachi, in all actuality only the Uchiha clan and his close friends knew- that Fugaku was ready to turn the clan over to his twenty-five year old son. But, the only way to do that was if Itachi was married or was in the process of getting married. Which he was not.

Itachi was no stranger of women, far from it. He was quite the ladies' man. Though he hadn't found a woman he deemed "acceptable" enough to marry. That, and being swamped by missions all the time had kind of killed his ability to have a long-lasting relationship.

For weeks now, he'd been trying to come up with a way to get out of getting married, but so far, he'd gotten nothing. And the fact that he didn't have a plan annoyed him more than the prospect of getting married did.

"Why don't you just find someone and pretend like you're going to marry her long enough to inherit the clan, and then break up with her?" Sakura posed.

Itachi's eyes flicked open. Sakura's hands moved away as he swayed from the sudden bit of vertigo.

"You shouldn't have done that." She chastised. "Adjusting to the difference will make you dizzy enough, popping your eyes open like that isn't helping."

He ignored her, instead staring at her with wide eyes. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Of what?"

"What you said, that idea."

"About pretending to get married?"

He nodded. "Sakura, will you marry me?"

Sasuke, who had been quiet throughout this whole conversation, suddenly jumped up, enthralled in what they were saying. "Go find your own woman. That one's taken."

Sakura thought his possessive side was cute.

Itachi frowned. "I know no other woman who I would trust enough to do this."

Sakura sighed. "Itachi, were I not dating Sasuke, I'd help you out no problem. But as it is, every one in your clan knows about Sasuke and me. There's no way anyone would actually believe that I'd leave Sasuke for his brother."

Sasuke grunted in agreement.

Itachi sighed. "You are right."

"I'm sure there's someone else that would be willing to help you out." Sakura said, trying to be the voice of optimism. "If not, you could always grab one of your fangirls."

Both Uchihas shivered at the word.

Sakura grabbed Itachi's temples, moving him back in front of her. Green healing chakra gathered back into her fingertips. "Think on it while I finish up."

There was a long, silent pause. "I could just turn the clan over to Sasuke." Itachi said after a moment.

Sakura faltered slightly, but she caught herself before she sent chakra to a very wrong spot in his eye.

Sasuke scoffed again, moving from the door to the porch. He leaned back against a beam, slinging one leg over the edge. "Like Father would allow that. He's been grooming you for head of the clan since you were a baby."

"You could do it just as easily as I could. Besides, since the clan is mine to inherit, I can do with it what I wish. If I wish to make you the head, it will be done."

Sakura pulled her fingers away, looking between the two of them. Both had their eyes close, a looked of passive indifference on their handsome faces despite the serious conversation.

"Don't start talking about it like you're actually going to do it, Itachi." She exclaimed.

Sasuke cracked one eye open. "You're serious about this?"

Itachi's right shoulder moved up and down in a short, quick motion. "If I cannot find a wife, it seems to be the only option."

Sasuke sat up, "And what if I don't want the clan?"

Itachi exhaled through his nose quickly, a small smirk gracing his lips. "Who would not want to be the head of such a successful clan as ours?"

"Apparently you!" Sakura exclaimed. "Look, I'll reconsider pretending for you if you'll stop this nonsense talk."

He shook his head. "No, asking you to do that was foolish. You have a reputation to uphold."

"Reputation be damned!" She yelled.

"And brother," Sasuke jumped in, the wheels in his mind spinning on turbo, "giving me the clan would have to make me get married."

Sakura paused. She met Sasuke's eyes, a tinge of a blush on both of their cheeks.

Itachi looked between them slowly. "Will that be a problem?"

Sasuke raised a brow, still looking at Sakura. "Will it?"

Recoiling, Sakura placed her arms akimbo. "Oh no you don't. This is Uchiha family business," turning around, she pointed to her clan crest on her back. "Do I have a fan on my back? No, I don't, so it's not my problem. Don't drag me into this. I'm just here to fix his eyes."

Itachi fought the urge to roll said eyes. "Sakura, whether you like this or not, you're a part of this. If I do give the clan to Sasuke, he'd marry you, so you'd be the matriarch of the clan."

Sakura shook her head, waving her hands in front of her face. "Wait, wait, wait. One thing at a time. First of all, are you serious about turning the clan over to Sasuke?"

Itachi looked over at his brother. "If he'll take it."

Sasuke fell back against the brace pole, running a hand through his hair. "Let's give it a week." He muttered after a pregnant pause. "If everybody still feels the same one week from today, I'll take over the clan."