A/N: this chapter is somehow a very close continuation of the last one...

Thank you so much to everyone for your reviews, they were so heart-warming! I can't even begin to explain how grateful I feel! I really appreciate the time you took to leave me a comment! And for Kanata Uchiha: yo no hablo español pero entiendo! Muy gracias por la opinión :)


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CHAPTER 9 – HANDSOME

During the following days, Sakura's spirits recovered completely. She was back to her usual self and, after she thanked Itachi one more time, neither of them brought the subject up again.

The two young shinobi she had healed weren't angry at Sakura for the loss of their child. Instead, they thanked her for saving them with tears of gratefulness. They were shinobi, and were aware that things don't always turn out well. They were sad for the loss of their baby, but were incredibly happy to still have each other. And for that, Sakura was the one who deserved their thanks.

With the capture of the rogue ninja that had attacked, the incident in Konoha could be considered concluded.

Or, at least, that was what Sakura and most people in Konoha thought.

For the interrogation unit, the work had just begun. It turned out that the ones who had attacked were unyielding. Completely unyielding. They just wouldn't talk. So extreme measures had to be taken. By using those extreme measures, the Konoha Council found out that the rogue ninja were not, as they had originally thought, a group of ninja who wanted to attack a newly built village because its people mostly retired from being ninja. No, they had been hired by the lord of a very far land, in order to catch the Uchiha and the Senju off guard and capture a few members of each Clan, to later study and then extract their abilities. How it had found out these informations, the Council didn't say; but the people of the village were informed of the ongoing threat against them.

That evening, it was Sakura's turn to cook in the Senju-Uchiha house. Her skills had improved a great deal, and she could now prepare a complete, delicious meal. She hummed to herself as she took out the freshly baked bread and apple pie from the oven and put them on the table. She heard the front door open and close and knew her husband was back. As she heard his footsteps approach, she turned around to greet him with a smile.

But the look on his face made her smile fade in a second.

Itachi's expression was dark and haunted. He wouldn't meet her eyes completely.

Sakura rushed forward. She put her hands on his arms, then on his face, forcing him to look at her.

"Itachi, what happened?" she murmured. He didn't answer. His expression didn't change. It was empty.

Sakura didn't waver. She grasped his hand and dragged him to the living room, where she made him sit down on one of the couches. She sat down next to him, and again put a hand on his cheek.

"Itachi, tell me what's wrong."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then another.

At last, he opened his eyes and, staring directly into hers, he murmured, "I had to torture the rogue ninja that attacked Konoha."

She held her breath. So he was the 'extreme measures' the Council had had to use. But she didn't think about that right then. The expression in Itachi's eyes was what scared Sakura. It was haunted and, at the same time, oddly blank. But she wouldn't let her fear show. He needed her now, whether her knew it or not, and she would be strong for him.

She asked, "Why you? Couldn't someone else…"

"My skills with the Sharingan are superior to anyone else's in my Clan," he replied, still with the same expression and avoiding her gaze. "But it has always been like this," he continued, surprising her. She didn't think he would offer more informations.

Sakura thought quickly, trying to understand what he meant. And then it clicked. Very carefully, she tried, "You mean, when you were a child…?"

"Yes," Itachi answered, closing his eyes again. "I have always been trained since I was little. When I was six, I was already thrown into battle because my skills were superior to my relatives'. I had to participate in the war so early that I don't think I even remember what childhood is. And that," his voice had a harsh edge, "just because I had the better skills for it. When it comes to abilities, what matters is only how to use them to your advantage…" A bitter laugh escaped him. "It seems I have a talent at being the most useful tool for everyone."

Sakura couldn't reply immediately. Almost unconsciously, she brought her hands to his cheeks and began caressing them. He seemed to lose a bit of his harshness and calmed down a little. Before she could say anything, he opened his eyes and looked at her with deep distress.

"The voices of those men, when they begged me to stop…!"

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She put her hands around Itachi's shoulders and pulled him to her in a tight embrace. He didn't resist her. In fact, he pressed himself closer, holding onto her for dear life.

He didn't cry. He was stronger than that and wouldn't allow himself to. But he finally let his grief and sorrow out, clutching onto Sakura as if she was the only one who could keep him sane. She held him close to her, allowing him to bury his face in her neck and not letting him go.

Itachi suffered deeply at inflicting real pain. He had been forced to be a part of the war since he was six years old. He had seen the cruellest side of life. For that reason, even if he was one of the most skilled shinobi in the world, his only objective was peace. He was aware of the impossibility of having it completely, therefore he put all his efforts in protecting as many people as he could and getting as close to it as possible. He was a true pacifist at heart. But, for the sake of the same village he was protecting, he had had to use those skills of his, to interrogate the rogue ninja that had attacked. He knew that using the torturing technique was the only way to make them talk.

But he couldn't help being emotionally scarred at witnessing their agony.

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Itachi didn't know how long he remained in his wife's arms, but when he looked up again, the sun was beginning to rise. Sakura was asleep under him, still holding him. His face was still resting in her neck. When he tried to slowly get up, he inadvertently breathed in her scent.

And he froze on the spot.

She had a wonderful scent. It made him completely forget everything else.

He decided he could stay in her arms for a little longer.

...

...

When he woke up again, Sakura awoke as well. She regarded him carefully, with a hint of uncertainty in her still bleary eyes. She caressed his cheek with her hand, observing him.

Itachi disentangled himself from her, so that he wouldn't crush her, and got up. He extended his hand to her. She accepted it and he helped her up.

As soon as she was standing, he embraced her. Head resting on hers, he quietly murmured, "Thank you, Sakura. I'm sorry for my emotional breakdown."

After a shocked second, she returned his embrace. "It means you trusted me enough to tell me," she replied, referring to her own mental turmoil of some days before and his analogous reply to her.

They ended the embrace. It was then that the raven-haired man noticed the apron she was wearing, and the faint scent of a pie coming from the kitchen.

Thinking of scents was bad, because his mind immediately went back to Sakura's neck. She truly had a unique scent… He forcefully put those thoughts aside.

He realized his wife must have cooked the evening before, when he had suddenly come home and fallen asleep with her on the couch. He felt guilty.

But before he could apologize, Sakura, completely unaware of his thoughts, said, "Come, let's have some breakfast. There is some fresh bread that we can warm, and an apple pie."

Her husband smiled a little. She was such a kind woman.

Sakura was pleased to finally see a smile on Itachi's handsome face.

Wait a second. Had she just thought that he was handsome?

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