So, before I start this chapter, I want to address a very popular question I keep getting in reviews. It is: "When is Itachi going to talk to Sasuke?"/"Is Sasuke going to be appearing anytime soon?" I'm tired of answering this question in reviews, so I'll just say it here: Yes, Sasuke will be appearing later in the story. You can guess and predict whether or not Itachi will talk to him or not, but yes, eventually Sasuke will appear. I'm not going to tell you when- it could be this chapter, it could be next chapter, it could be five chapters from now, it could be ten chapters from now. I'm going to be tight-lipped on that. But, so I don't have to answer this question anymore, yes, eventually Sasuke will appear. You'll just have to wait and see when he does :)

One other issue I want to address before I begin is Yamato. If anyone has noticed, I've mentioned Sai, Kakashi, Sasuke... All of Team Seven has made an appearance or has been mentioned (I can't remember if Sai has made an appearance yet or not lol) except Yamato. I've purposely kept his status vague and his character out of this story simply because it's unknown if he's going to survive the Fourth War or not. He's been captured and he's being used as like tree fodder, or something. I don't really have high hopes for the guy, honestly, of surviving. That's why he's not really going to be mentioned in this story. You can decide if he's alive and just chilling around the village somewhere; he's dead; or he's on some long ass mission. I don't care. But I just thought I'd clear that up, too :D

All right, now, onwards to the chapter!


Chapter Eleven: At the Top


During the three day period of Itachi's first mission, Sakura had been so worried she could barely do her duties at the hospital. Only when she was lost in the world of healing did she forget about her Uchiha roommate. The days had been tense, and every night she spent alone seemed worrisome. Sakura couldn't believe how fast she had adapted to his presence in her home, despite the fact that he had not lived (well, alive lived) with her for a week. With every small inflection in her body from when he used his chakra, and the farther and farther he traveled from her, the more worried she became.

When he made it home, Naruto and Neji trailing at his heels, she had been immensely relieved. Surprising herself, she had thrown herself in his arms, sighing in solace that he had returned to her in one piece. He was shocked, too, at her sudden hug, but played it off, acting like Arata should.

From there, it was a steady incline of missions for him. Eventually, after the seventh mission or so, Sakura had lost that restless feeling. She expected his presence to be off and on in her home. Over the weeks and eventual months the two lived together, it was rare when they were both home at the same time. Sakura's fluctuating hours at the hospital, and Itachi's never-ending stream of missions led to them barely seeing one-another. Usually, Sakura had enough time to see him in-between missions, giving him a check-up, and able to make a fast conversation with him.

He had been living with her for a month when he was accepted into ANBU. It was less than a month after being accepted that he was promoted to the rank of captain. Once he was at the top ranks in the village, Itachi was gone more than ever. Surprisingly, though, it didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. He was adapting quickly back into the Konoha lifestyle, gaining plenty of respect as he rose through the ranks and his name was spread around.

Itachi- Arata- had even seemed to make some friends in his wake. Besides herself, he seemed to have oddly befriended Naruto, had a gentle-kindness friendship with Hinata, somewhat of a tolerance-friendship with Sai, seemed to have some sort of mutual respect for Neji, and an odd shogi related friendship with Shikamaru. He was pleasant to all, though, and despite the endless comparisons between Arata and Itachi, most people generally seemed to agree that Arata was nice and kind and seemed to be nothing like the serious and reclusive Itachi Uchiha. Sakura could only roll her eyes at everyone, but she was secretly proud of how Itachi had made a bit of an effort to spend time with some people.

Of course, Sakura admitted, the few times that they both had time together, Naruto tended to drag him out with her. Along with Naruto would be Sai or Hinata. It was only a matter of time before Itachi befriended the people he tended to spend the most time with. More so, Sakura noted that Itachi was usually sent out on missions with Naruto (well, whenever he did team missions. Often, it seemed he was sent out on solo missions) or Neji (at least for the harder missions). Besides those two, Sakura noticed that he seemed to shift through teams, fitting with team that was most fitting for the mission.

It had been three months since he had been brought back to life. It was funny to think that it had been so long, too, Sakura mused. She had expected that within the first week, Tsunade would call her in and confront her about Arata's true identity. But Tsunade had never mentioned anything about it, so Sakura could only assume that Tsunade hadn't realized who Arata really was, or decided that Itachi was no harm to the village. Either way, it worked for Sakura. And it was a good call, considering how efficient Itachi was at missions. Ever since he had gotten rid of his disease, gotten new eyes, and his normal standards of stamina and speed had returned, he had become an unnatural force to be reckoned with. Sakura had heard the rumors of him- the man wearing the black cat mask was said to be the representation of death.

Black cat mask... Sakura still giggled at his mask choice. He had wanted a crow or raven, feeling it was more like him (he also said that was what his original mask was when he was younger) but they both agreed that would be too obvious. Sakura had suggested a weasel mask, to fit with his true name's meaning, but he had merely glared at her, quickly shaking his head. Eventually, Sakura came up with the idea of the cat (with black stripes instead of red, she had told him) because it just seemed to work for him, since the black cat tended to be linked with superstition and bad luck. Admittedly, she told him, she had always wanted to use the idea if she were ever to join ANBU, but since she had no plans to ever try for it, she figured he could steal her idea. Besides, it would never work with her pink hair.

Sakura had been worried when he was snatched up into ANBU. But he was doing so good- there didn't seem to be any flaws with her jutsu- that she had tried to let her fear die out. It finally had, but she still couldn't deny how relieved she felt every time he came home in one piece. Rarely did he have injuries. Oftentimes, he would come home to find her sprawled on the couch, too tired to make it up to bed (Sakura had finally realized that she tended to exhaust herself at the hospital when he was on missions; probably her own defense mechanism- by focusing so much on something else, she could forget that Itachi was gone. It wasn't healthy, she knew). Much like the first time he had found her on the couch, he always carried her upstairs and deposited her on the bed (if he wasn't too tired, he would wash her and change her clothes too).

The first time he had done that, and Sakura had woken up and realized what had happened, she was mortified. She had apologized and thanked him endlessly, until he finally explained that it wasn't a bother to him to help her after she had helped him so much and for so long. After the third or fourth time he had brought her upstairs, she had gotten over her embarrassment. It was just easier to feel grateful for what he was doing, instead of ashamed of her weakness.

They had become good friends, Sakura would say. If she named the most important people to her, he would easily make the top five. And she had the strangest feeling that she was the most important person to him at the moment, at least if she ignored Sasuke. But he had hardly ever mentioned his little brother, especially never once expressing any interest to visit him. She could only imagine that he was still upset at the way Sasuke had turned out, so he had no desire to see his brother. She couldn't say for sure, though, as she never knew what was running through Itachi's mind.

Still, he was good enough a friend to celebrate her twenty-second birthday with her and her friends. That had surprised her; he agreed to come with her when Naruto and Ino dragged her away to celebrate at some type of bar-restaurant place. Even more surprising was how many people came to celebrate, besides Naruto, Hinata, Sai, Ino, and Itachi. They had managed to drag Kakashi along, convinced Tsunade and Shizune to stop by for an hour or two, and managed to get most of Rookie Eleven to come too. It was a great party, until too much sake was passed around. Naruto, Lee, and Kiba all got drunk and Sakura had to put her foot down (literally) to stop the three. Besides that, though, her birthday was fun. Itachi had even been kind enough to buy her a beautiful set of kunai that were specially made for being used in conjunction with poison. He had even had small cherry blossom flowers engraved into each handle. They were beautiful and Sakura was looking forward to testing them out at some point.

Of course, with the lack of missions flowing her way, Sakura wasn't sure when she'd be able to try them. Tsunade seemed to have her permanently restricted to hospital duty. It was a sad existence with nothing to fill her days but the hospital.

Sakura let out a long, frustrated sigh, stretching her body out on the couch. Itachi lowered his book slightly, looking over at the pinkette. This was one of the rare times that they were both home together, relaxing. Itachi didn't have another mission (yet) and Sakura was off her shift from the hospital at a relatively decent hour. Both had eaten and were resting comfortably at their favorite place- Sakura's couch.

"What's wrong?" Itachi asked mildly, his eyes flickering back down to his book. Sakura let out another groan, letting her head fall back against the couch.

"It's been months since I've had a mission anywhere. The last time I was out of the village was months ago; to rescue a team of our ninjas and get them back to the hospital. That was before you were even alive."

"Have you requested any missions?" She huffed, looking up towards the ceiling.

"No, but I'd feel bad for requesting missions. I mean, I know my place is really at the hospital. Tsunade-sama is the Hokage, so she can't run it; Shizune is her assistant and she covers for me on my days off... I would feel bad to take a mission, I guess. What if something happens and they need me here? They have plenty of able-bodied kunoichis already, so unless a mission specifically needs my talents, I feel like I'd be doing wrong by not being where I'm really needed." Sakura sighed again. "Still, I feel claustrophobic for being stuck in the same place for so long. I want to escape into the outdoors and have a taste of adventure." Itachi gave her an amused glance, though he opted not to respond.

Sakura stretched across the couch, so that her head was nearly touching Itachi's thigh. She looked up at him, her mouth set in a strangely solemn line. He ignored her, continuing to read. It was a few moments before she began to talk, trying to gather up her courage and thoughts to pose her questions in the appropriate manner.

Hopefully he won't get upset.

"Hey, Itachi-san...?" Itachi's eyes flickered down, looking to meet her pale jade irises, which fluttered away upon making the contact with his. "May I ask you something?" Her voice had lowered considerably. Itachi instantly knew that the conversation was not something that was going to be comfortable for either of them. "I've... I've thought about this for a long time. Ever since I revived you. Would you be willing to tell me everything? I mean... about the Massacre and... and Akatsuki... and stuff..." her voice trailed away. She knew she was broaching on extremely personal subjects for him, but she couldn't help but wonder. Itachi had been close-lipped about anything relating to family, Akatasuki, or practically anything in his past. Granted, Sakura hadn't asked too much about it, figuring it was too personal for him.

He stared away from her for a few minutes, his blue eyes focusing intently on the window. Sakura waited, knowing he was going to respond soon enough. His voice came a few minutes after she had asked her question, as she had expected.

"I will tell you... eventually." He said no more, and Sakura noticed from the way his lips were pressed together in the subtlest way, that he was confirming that he would speak nothing more on the subject. Sakura nodded, fighting back her urge to sigh.

"Thank you." She laid there a few more minutes, while Itachi had started to read again. Sakura was contemplating taking a short nap or getting out her medical book on herbs to study, when Itachi spoke up.

"What about you?" he asked, lowering his book a few inches to look at her. "Your family," he clarified. Sakura nodded, comprehending his question. While she did have several pictures of her parents and family along her walls, not once had she mentioned them to him, nor had she brought them over to meet him in the three months he had lived there. Sakura sighed, closing her eyes.

"My parents are alive, if that's what you're wondering. We just... don't really interact all that much anymore. I moved out when I was eighteen, though to be fair, we really hadn't communicated much since I had graduated the Academy, despite still living in their home. My father was a ninja at some point in his career... He never rose past the ranks of chuunin, and even then, he barely scraped by being a chuunin. There was nothing remarkable about him- his abilities were mediocre at best. He was decently intelligent, able to do basic skills with ninjutsu and taijutsu, but he was usually put on the mundane jobs around the village. My mother was a civilian, from an unremarkable family, at that. She worked in tea houses and cooked a lot." Sakura frowned, her mouth twitching into some mixture between displeasure and mocking amusement.

"They were regular people, really. Everything about them is... average. Once I was born and expressed interest in being a kunoichi, they both sort of shrugged and let me do whatever, I guess. They were decent and kind to me; I was never unhappy with them, I suppose. I mean, I love my parents; they've always been kind to me. But my dad retired from being a shinobi shortly after my birth and just focused on living life with my mom. I think we just sort of... felt like we lived in two separate worlds, especially once I became Tsunade-shishou's pupil. I wasn't a regular kunoichi and they were just regular people. They never really understood and, I can honestly say, they never attempted to. They didn't resent me or anything, but it was never... we were never close." Sakura sighed. "I've never introduced you to them because they left Konoha as soon as I moved out. They had wanted to leave right after Pain's attack, but I refused to move with them. So they waited until I moved out and then left within the same month. I... haven't seen them since. We still write letters to one another, but that's the only way we stay in contact."

"I understand," he replied, though both felt like the atmosphere had become nearly tense and awkward. Sakura, not liking it, offered a smile up to him, her mind rushing through several different things she could say to ease the atmosphere.

She blurted the first thing that popped into her mind: "When you were in Akatsuki, did you actually have to sit down and paint your nails? I just can't imagine a whole group of S-class criminals chillin' in their rooms, painting their fingernails and toenails." Itachi's blank look slowly turned to incredulity at her question. He had to repeat it several times to make sure he had understood the question correctly.

"I-" he began, Sakura's eager eyes gazing up at him. He wasn't even sure how to explain. "...What?" he finally asked, completely bewildered at her asinine question.

"Did you actually use like a bottle of nail polish and sit down and paint your nails... like... like girls do? Or was it some type of jutsu or ink or something special?" He shook his head, finally feeling amusement in her question.

"It was..." Itachi wasn't even sure how to explain the nail polish that all the members wore. It had been so long, he could barely remember why they had to wear it. "Yes, I did paint my nails." Sakura's eyes were clearly waiting for him to elaborate, but Itachi didn't honestly feel comfortable explaining that he would sit in inn rooms, taking out the black bottle, carefully painting each nail. It was just something they did. It didn't mean... Why was she even asking such a question?

"Do you want to borrow some of my nail polish?" she asked slyly, looking up at him through her lashes. He shook his head, mutely, glaring.

"I didn't enjoy it, Sakura. It was just something we had to do." Her eyebrows quirked and he could tell from the still sly grin that she was not completely convinced. But before she could respond further, both turned towards her door, feeling the unmistakable surge of chakra. Someone had just appeared at her doorstep. He glanced back at the reclining girl and nodded. "I'll get it," he told her, knowing that it could easily be for either of them- him for a new mission, or her for a hospital emergency.

"Genji-san," the ANBU member greeted when Itachi opened the door. "Hokage-sama requires both you and Haruno-san in her office immediately. She said for you to be in uniform, and Haruno-san," the ANBU directed towards the woman who had appeared at Itachi's side, "she wants you to dress in all black. Do hurry, this is an emergency." With that, the ANBU poofed away, leaving Sakura and Itachi standing at the door. Both said nothing as they closed the door, rushing upstairs to change.

Itachi was, of course, dressed and ready before Sakura. He had his mask titled up, so that it wasn't covering his face yet. Sakura had changed into black capris, her typical black boots, and a black shirt that came down to her elbows. She was pulling on her gloves as she came down the stairs, and then tying up her hair with a black ribbon. Taking one look at her ANBU clad partner, she frowned, though didn't say anything until they were dashing across rooftops towards the Hokage Tower.

"What do you think she wants with both of us, this late at night?" Itachi glanced over at her, his mask securely in place so she could not see his face. "It's not often she tells me to dress in black, so I think we're going out into the field. If I were going to the hospital, I wouldn't have to report to her."

"I do not know," he finally replied to her first question. Sakura frowned again, knowing that his short answer was a way to shut her up. She let out a small huff of air, but said nothing else.


When the ANBU member had said that there was some type of emergency, Sakura had never expected what an... understatement that was. Three different platoons of ninja had been injured in the same area, all three converging to help one another deal with a particularly ferocious group of rogue ninja. It had escalated out of control and now Sakura was left with healing about fifteen different ninjas on the battlefield, while Itachi and three other ANBU members dealt with the rest of the ninja attacking them.

It was... terrifying, really. Sakura knew the rogues were aiming for her and more than once, she had to turn around and send a few swift punches to the nins to get them away from her. Itachi was doing his best to protect her, but it was overwhelming. He was easily the strongest ANBU member there, so they tended to want him towards the front so that he could get rid of the enemy nins.

Sakura bit back a groan when a kunai grazed her arm, not stopping her flow of chakra to the young genin beneath her. That was the most horrible part of this entire situation- two of the squads had been genin teams with their jounin sensei. The third team had been comprised of only chuunin. None of the teams were prepared to deal with the rogue nins, who were easily jounin level or higher.

It had left a mess behind for her to clean up. There was only one chuunin who had managed to make it back to Konoha to request back-up for the teams. All six genins were in critical condition, but they couldn't move them back to Konoha until stabilizing them. The team of five chuunins was nearly as bad off as the genins. Only the fifth chuunin, the one that had made it back to the village, wasn't ready to die at any moment- and that was because he was in the Konoha Hospital by now. The two jounin had stayed behind to protect the genin and the other four chuunin, and while they were able to hold back the rogue ninjas long enough for the ANBU and Sakura to get there, they had taken heavy damage.

She pressed her hands back to the second genin's chest, trying to stem the blood flow. Another kunai whizzed dangerously past her ear. Her eyes narrowed as she continued to sew up the boy's chest with her chakra. There were only seven enemies still alive when they had gotten there. Sakura wasn't sure how many were left, but the forces had to be cut in half by now.

She moved to the next genin, seeing the nasty head wound lining the boy's forehead. Her hand pressed against his forehead, letting her chakra ease the wound close. Sakura was immensely surprised to see the boy's eyes flutter open as his wound closed.

"Lady Sakura..." he mumbled, closing his eyes again. "We're saved..." She gave a small smile, liking that the genin believed that since she was here, they would live. It made her want to work that much harder for them. They had so much faith in her- it was almost overwhelming.

"Go ahead and rest," she told him. "I'll get you home safely," she promised.

"I know... you... will." He fell unconscious again, and Sakura let her hand trail across his forehead, brushing back a strand of his curly brown hair. She couldn't let herself become distracted, though, so she stood back up, rushing over to the next body.

"Sakura!" Itachi's warning made her stop mid-step. With horror, she watched as one of the remaining three ninjas broke through the ANBU lines, rushing straight towards her.

Does he think I'm some push-over?

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face, drawing chakra to her fist. She may only be a jounin but she was strong enough to beat a few nins back. The ninja didn't even know what hit him. Her fist was blinding, shattering his ribcage and rupturing his lungs upon impact.

His eyes widened in horror as he got a look at her face.

"Th-the Hokage's... You're..." He coughed once, twice, and the light faded from his eyes, as he slumped down. Sakura smirked, rushing back to her fallen comrades.

"That's right," she whispered, "I'm the legacy of the Fifth Hokage." They enemy hadn't been able to recognize her, due to the lack of light. After all, only her hair and bright eyes were her only distinguishing features. Without those, no one could recognize her. So of course they thought she was just a regular medic-nin. She almost felt bad for them.

At least until she looked down at the genin girl, seeing her bloody face. Sakura's anger returned and she almost paused in her healing to rip the rest of the enemy nins to shreds. How could they do such damage to a twelve year old girl?

"Haruno-san, we have finished here." One of the ANBU members, wearing a tiger mask, told her after several more minutes. She nodded, still looking down at the chuunin she was now healing. "We will leave Black Cat behind to protect you, and we'll take those that are able to be moved back to the hospital."

"No," Sakura told them, looking up. "The Black Cat is the fastest ANBU here. He also has incredible stamina. Therefore, he would be able to travel the fastest back and forth between here and the village. I wish for all four of you to take those that are stabilized back with you." Sakura looked over at Itachi (or Black Cat, as his code name was), who's eyes narrowed at her.

"You cannot be left here alone, unprotected," he told her.

"I can protect myself and those around me," she responded, feeling indignant at their obvious hesitation. "I am the Fifth Hokage's pupil! One hit from me can shatter bones!"

"If someone sneaks up on you, you'll be defenseless." Her eyes flashed with fury.

"I'm not so incompetent to be assassinated on the battlefield. My duty is to protect these shinobi, and the best way for them to be safe is back in Konoha. Many of them need to be in the hospital now. I've stabilized them, but it's not enough!" Sakura's eyes flashed down to the six genin, who were still pale from the loss of blood. "They... they need to be in a hospital. They need to have their wounds sterilized, and many of their bones are broken... I can't... They could die from complications if they aren't rushed there now!" Her voice had lowered to a hiss and her fist clenched as she glared at the four ANBU. "I have to heal the jounins and three more chuunin. The genins are all ready to be transported. I also have one more chuunin ready to go. I'm not going to waste anymore time talking- just get them to the hospital, now." Sakura whirled away, rushing over to another chuunin.

She wasn't sure who stayed behind or what the ANBU decided, but after healing the chuunin, Sakura realized she was left alone in the field. All six of the genin were gone, as was the healed chuunin. It was a bit eerie to be left alone, especially considering how dark the forest was. The only light given to the area was from the moon, and Sakura realized that the light was rather pathetic and creepy. She had never been afraid of the dark before, and she wouldn't start now, but there was no denying that her nerves were set on edge.

Sakura went to the next chuunin, healing the wound in his side. The battlefield was covered in blood, most from their side, and not too much from the enemies. All of the ninja she had healed were suffering from chronic blood loss. At least none of them had been poisoned- she wasn't sure how she had gotten so lucky, but she had.

She was healing the last chuunin when she felt pinprick sensations on her neck. Maybe she was paranoid, but as a shinobi, she had been trained to trust her instincts. And her instincts were telling her she was being watched. Sakura didn't falter in her healing, but remained highly alert, waiting for when the person would strike.

Almost unconsciously, she felt for Itachi's chakra and where he was at. He was quickly approaching, which she was immensely thankful for. At least she was correct when she said he was the fastest of the ANBU.

Her hand stalled when she heard the faintest sound of a twig cracking. Someone was definitely here. The owls had stopped hooting, as if to emphasize her belief that it was unnaturally quiet. Sakura glanced down at the female chuunin, finishing her work as she sealed up the chest of the ninja.

Sakura waited a few more seconds, trying not to tense her body in anticipation. She knew whoever was watching her was going to attack at any moment. Sakura stood up, stretching and cracking her bones. She tried her best to walk normally to the nearest jounin.

She leaned down, her fingers tingling with medical chakra. She heard the trees rustle and knew that was the only sign she had that the ninja had moved. Sakura waited, counting down mentally. At three seconds, she whirled around, expectant that her chakra-surged fist would meet the chest of her target.

But it didn't. There was no one there. Feeling very embarrassed and even more on edge, Sakura nervously smoothed down her hair, turning around to heal the jounin. Itachi would be back soon, and she was determined to have everyone healed so she didn't have to stay behind again. Feeling hyper-aware of everything going on around her, Sakura continued to heal the jounin. She tried not to, but at the slightest sound, her muscles would tense.

Calm down. She repeated it like a mantra, trying to flood out her paranoia by reciting how she could logically survive an ambush situation and still protect her patients. The tactic worked to calm down her panic, and soon enough, Sakura had finished healing the jounin. She made her way over to the last patient, surprised to see that the man was still hanging on to some consciousness.

"We'll be back in Konoha before you know it," she told him, offering a small smile. He didn't immediately focus on her, and she realized his eyes were glazed over, probably from pain and exhaustion. He was the last one of the original team to still be fighting once the ANBU had arrived. Sakura had to admire the man's determination- all his comrades had been knocked out and were dying, but he was still fighting to protect them, and to hold off all the other nins.

She placed both her hands on his stomach, healing the wound and letting her chakra filter in and heal his ripped liver. "You took some heavy damage," she murmured. Finally, he seemed to focus on her, as the pain was slowly ebbing away.

"There were eight enemies left when you got here." Sakura didn't immediately understand what he meant, and only nodded vaguely, continuing to mend his liver. Once her mind processed his odd statement, she stopped healing, too aghast to keep the steady stream of chakra going.

"Eight?" she repeated. There had only been seven enemies they had fought when they had arrived. The man said nothing in response, but it didn't matter. Sakura bit her lip and could only hope that the enemy ninja wouldn't attack her. Sakura couldn't help but realize her chakra was quite low. Healing so many ninjas had taken her toll on her body, even though she still didn't feel exhausted.

Just a few more bursts of her medical chakra, and she had finished healing the man. "There, I've-" She heard the sudden shift in wind and the sound of feet hitting the ground. Her eyes widened as the jounin opened his eyes and mumbled something. Her ears strained to register what he said, but when it did, she felt her blood go cold.

Behind you.

Sakura spun around, barely fast enough to keep the katana from piercing her throat. The enemy nin grit his teeth as the blade cut through her arm guards and entered her skin, but didn't kill her.

"I wondered when you'd show up," she hissed, staring intently at the masked ninja.

"You almost got me before," Sakura was thrown back a bit, realizing the nin she had assumed was male was actually a female. "No one ever senses me." Sakura grinned, licking her lips almost nervously, as she stared into the kunoichi's icy black eyes.

"Well, I guess I'm one of a kind, huh?" Sakura's eyes narrowed and she forced chakra through her arms, throwing the woman away from her. "Please, let me show you why, though." Sakura slammed her fist in the ground, thrilled upon seeing the ground crack and splinter as it split towards the woman. The kunoichi hissed, jumping up to avoid the blast. But she was no where near as fast as Itachi, and Sakura was immensely grateful for the regular sparring sessions she still continued with her roommate. Even if she had never managed to defeat Itachi, she had assuredly improved leaps and bounds by training with him.

Sakura was on top of the woman before she even knew what had happened. Sakura's punch skimmed the woman's side, as she perilously twisted mid-air to avoid Sakura. It was enough force, though, to crack a few ribs.

"You must have been the strongest out of your friends, huh?" Sakura asked, cracking her knuckles as both women faced off with each other. Sakura could see the smirk even through the black material that masked her face.

"I was, yes," she assented. "And it'll take more than a few cracked ribs to stop me from killing you, Sakura Haruno." Sakura smirked. There were no more words as both women charged at one another, exchanging punches and kicks. The woman sent a ferocious combo of kicks that made contact to Sakura's back; Sakura retaliated by flipping her body and propelling herself off the ground with her arms, letting her feet slam into the woman's chest.

They were back on the ground, Sakura's hands slashing with chakra, while the woman had two long kunai retaliating. At some point, Sakura managed to grab the mask and rip it off the woman, before the kunoichi sent a chakra-laden foot into Sakura's stomach, making her fly backwards. They stood up, Sakura panting and glaring, while the woman was starting to cough up blood from their encounters. Sakura felt smug realizing that her chakra blades had managed to sever some of her internal organs during their combat.

"You're really pretty," Sakura remarked, as the light from the moon hit the woman and gave Sakura a clear look at her appearance. She had long auburn hair, and the hair clips that had been holding it up on the top of her head fell out, letting it tumble into soft waves down the woman's back. Her eyes were black, but they were framed by long lashes and covered with thick black make-up. The woman was almost noble-looking- Sakura figured she could have easily been some type of model or something with her good looks.

The compliment made the woman sneer and she charged at Sakura, spitting out venomously, "Just because I am a woman does not mean I will fall for your flattery!" Sakura huffed, dodging the fist the woman threw at her, and responding with a sharp elbow to the woman's back.

"It was just a compliment, geez," Sakura told her, continuing her combo by kneeing the woman in the stomach and then kicking her away. However, she could understand the woman's offense. Sakura would have likely taken offense to the compliment if the situations had been reversed. Kunoichi were always looked down upon by others, and the fact that the strongest member of an already strong team had been a woman was something she would have wanted to hide because of the resentment from her teammates, likely. Especially because she was beautiful- they would have tried to treat her crudely, Sakura was sure.

A tingling sensation through her body alerted her that Itachi was quickly enclosing on the location. Sakura let out a breath of air, walking over to the woman. She was still conscious, but considering the blood pouring out of her mouth at an alarming rate, she wouldn't be for long.

"What is your name, Kunoichi?" The woman looked over at her, glaring. Sakura shook her head, lowering herself to the woman's side. "My teammates will be here within seconds; you will die in moments. My knee caved in your ribs and punctured your lungs. My chakra blades had already pierced your organs. You don't have long left. I just thought I would give you the recognition you deserved; it's not often to see such strong kunoichi." The woman closed her eyes and Sakura saw tears gathering in the corners of them.

"Sayori. My name is Sayori," she whispered. "Please, kill me now. I want it to be over." Itachi was there. Sakura could feel him, and then hear him as he stalked to her side.

"Sayori..." She looked up at Itachi, knowing he had heard the woman's request. "Do we need her interrogated?" Itachi shook his head curtly, and Sakura nodded. "Good bye, Sayori." It was simple for Sakura to send a few charges of chakra to the woman's heart and brain, giving the woman a relatively peaceful and painless death. Sakura sighed, looking down at the kunoichi, before she stood back up. The three other ANBU had arrived in the clearing.

"We need to get the three chuunin and two jounin back to the village now," Sakura remarked, suddenly beginning to feel the wariness that the extreme healing and intense fight had taken on her body. The three ANBU wordlessly picked up two nins each, leaving one ANBU only holding one nin. Sakura glanced over at Itachi, who had his blue eyes narrowed at her. "I can still walk," she mumbled, trying to take off into the forest.

She wanted to absolutely hate him when her legs gave out from underneath her after the two mile mark and he was right there to catch her (expecting me to be too weak to finish the journey, she hissed in her mind), but Sakura couldn't because she knew that he wasn't considering her weak, simply exhausted. He knew the limits of her stamina, after all, and he knew she had been pushing at them.

"You did have a full shift at the hospital today," he reminded her, seeing her stubborn glare, as he carried her through the trees. Sakura sighed, again knowing he was right but still hating him for it, and nodded.

"It seems like you're always carrying me somewhere after I collapse," she murmured, feeling unbearably sleepy. She felt a bit uncomfortable in his arms, not so much because she was in his arms, but more because they were flying through the air and dashing upon tree branches so quickly that it made her head spin if she even tried to look at her surroundings.

"I am always in the correct situation to carry you; that is all." Sakura rolled her eyes at his informal tone.

"Just coincidence then, huh?" She knew he had twitched his lips in exasperation at her. "How were the others? Was Shizune there to take care of them in the hospital?" Itachi nodded.

"She wanted me to inform you that you are to remain home and regain your stamina and chakra before you return to the hospital." Sakura smiled, nodding, almost cozying up to Itachi. She was able to stay half-alert, even when reaching the village.

"I need to go to the hospital," she mumbled. Itachi shook his head, tightening his grip on her.

"My orders are to take you home," he responded. "You will not go to the hospital and continue expending what minimal chakra you have." Sakura gave a soft laugh, closing her eyes, nodding.

"I thought I'd try, at least," she told him. "Those genin... I want to know how they... are."

"Shizune-san looked at them and said that you did a good job. Sakura," Itachi looked down at her, his mask glinting in the moonlight, "you are exhausted. The effort you are expending to keep yourself awake is unnecessary; I will not allow anything to harm you." Sakura laughed, still noticing, despite how tired she was, that he had dropped the "-san" from her name.

"Thanks, Ita- Black Cat." She had caught herself, especially seeing his glare through the mask. "Sorry," she whispered. Luckily, all the other ANBU members had split apart from them, heading towards the hospital.

"After I take you home, I must report back to the Hokage. I'll return home afterward- tomorrow, we can check on the patients." Sakura smiled, nodding.

"Thank you." Something about the fact that he was willing to go to the hospital with her, calling her home his... it gave her chest a bit of a warm feeling. She hadn't realized how much she had grown to appreciate his company, how much she began to value his opinion, but somehow, she had certainly grown close to him.

It was an assuredly good feeling. Sakura allowed herself to take comfort in the way his arms were holding her up- one hand beneath her knees, another holding her waist. They were warm and surprisingly gentle. She couldn't remember the last time she had been held like this... it was enjoyable.

Slowly, she drifted off to sleep, knowing that she was safe in his arms.


"Sakura, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be home resting!" Sakura smiled, laughing lightly at her blonde-haired friend.

"I didn't know you had duty today, Ino. We came to check on those ninja from last night." Ino nodded, smoothing down her medical skirt. Glancing up, she finally noticed the quiet, shadow-like Itachi.

"Oh, hiya, Arata-kun!" Ino winked at Itachi, obviously flirting with him. Sakura rolled her eyes, trying to fight down her instinct to stand in front of Itachi protectively. Itachi nodded his head in greeting.

Leave it to Ino to flirt with any male that is sexy. No matter who he is.

"So, Ino-pig, can you take us to the nins?" Sakura huffed out her question, exasperated at Ino's obvious distraction.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, c'mon. They're doing really good. Shizune said that you did an excellent job, and that most of the work she did on them was relatively simple. Just some broken bones and stuff like that. It looks like you took care of all the internal wounds and all that."

"Well of course," Sakura told her, frowning. "I mean, I had to stabilize them for the trip home. I didn't want anything to go wrong when I couldn't stay with them." Ino nodded, leading the two through the corridors of the hospital.

"Oh, and I'm here today, Billboard-brow, because of you. Shizune called me in to fill in for you, since Tsunade-sama ordered you to stay home and rest. Since you had to go out and do that midnight emergency or whatever." Ino rolled her eyes. "Little miss hero."

"Jealous, you pig?"

"If only; after all, what do I have to be jealous of from you?" The two continued their banter down the hallways, until Ino finally gestured at one of the doors. Sakura nodded, Itachi following her inside. Ino followed the two in, sighing loudly when she saw Sakura pick up the clipboard for the patient.

"You're off duty, Forehead. Let the nurses that are getting paid, like me, check these things!" Sakura frowned, still not putting down the clipboard.

"You gave her the medication?" Sakura gestured to something on the board. Ino huffed, nodding.

"Yes, Sakura. I am not incompetent." Sakura nodded, finally putting down the board, taking in the sleeping genin. "This was the worst one. But she's doing fine, yeah?"

"It looks like it." Itachi came up behind Sakura, placing a hand on her shoulder. She retracted her hand that was slowly inching towards the genin to check her vitals. "I know, I know, I shouldn't be checking her because she's in perfectly fine care. But it's habit." Sakura glanced over at Ino, seeing the blonde's mischievous smile and double raised eyebrows. "What?" Sakura asked, frowning suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Sakura knew that whatever Ino wanted to say, she would not, thankfully, say it in front of Itachi. Sakura gave Ino one more suspicious look, but glanced up at Itachi when he started to speak.

"We should check on the others." Sakura sighed silently, nodding to Itachi's suggestion. Ino led the two around the hospital, checking on the thirteen shinobi from the night before. Only two were awake- the chuunin that had originally came back to the village, and the jounin that had warned Sakura about the kunoichi who was going to ambush her.

"I wanted to thank you," Sakura told the jounin softly, standing next to his bed. The man raised an eyebrow. "If you hadn't given me the tip that another nin was out there, I'm not sure I would've reacted fast enough to deflect her blow."

"You saved all of our lives, Haruno-san. It was the least I could do for a fellow Leaf shinobi. Especially our healer."

"Still, I deeply appreciate it. The woman was an extremely talented ninja and if I hadn't been aware of her presence, I'm not sure I would've been able to protect all of us." The jounin inclined his head, appreciating her thanks.

"It was the least I could do," he repeated. Sakura gave him a smile, her hand latching onto Itachi's arm.

"Well, we'll leave you to let you rest. Have a good day," Sakura bowed her head, pulling her silent partner out of the room. Ino raised both eyebrows, her eyes pointedly staring at Sakura's hand on Itachi's arm. Sakura frowned, glaring at her best friend, and removed her hand. Ino merely grinned in response.

"Sakura, we're going to have to hang out again. How about this Friday?" Ino's tone was light, but Sakura knew that Ino would not take no for an answer. "I already checked your schedule and you don't work this Friday. Neither of us do, for that matter." Sakura winced, trying to think of a legitimate excuse, especially since Ino had just taken her favorite excuse away.

She was drawing a blank. "Sure, Ino. Sounds like fun." Ino smirked, making Sakura wince further. She just knew Ino was going to grill her on her relationship to Itachi- Arata- and she wasn't going to stop until she got sufficient answers.

"Good. I'll be over at four to help you dress." Sakura fought down a groan. "No, no excuses. I will be over. The last time you hung out with me, you looked like crap."

"I did not!" Ino rolled her eyes.

"Bull. You wore a black skirt and red vest. Laaaame." Sakura glared. "Remember, Forehead, four o'clock Friday. I'll be there!" Sakura sighed.

"Of course, Ino. I'll be waiting." Sakura and Itachi parted from Ino's company, leaving the hospital. The two fell into silence, which Itachi found rather odd for his pinkette roommate. Glancing over, he saw her brows creased in thought.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" She looked up, almost startled, but sighed.

"I keep thinking back to that kunoichi- Sayori. She was so strong and... I dunno... it just makes me wonder about kunoichi in general. She hid her good looks so she could gain respect. But... the way her life ended... it's just..."

"You don't want to end up that way?" Itachi suggested. Sakura bit her lip, nodding.

"Yeah. I mean, I don't think she had a family or anything. She just sort of accepted her death. I don't want to end up that way- dying alone on a battlefield. I don't want to... go out that way."

"Your pity on the enemy is amusing," Itachi told her. She looked up, surprised. "And, you will not die that way. I cannot imagine you dying on the battlefield. And if you were to die on the battlefield, I do not think you would die alone."

"Why's that?"

"Because you have too many close companions that would give their life to protect you. That woman did not." Sakura nodded slowly.

"Yeah... yeah, you're right. Thanks, Arata-kun." Sakura smiled brightly at him. "I feel better now!" He nodded. Keeping her smile, Sakura grabbed his arm, tugging him away. "C'mon, let's go to that cute little dango shop over there!"


"Ack! Ouch!" That was the first thing Itachi heard as he walked in the door. "Ino! Ino! Stop!" Then he heard girlish, cackling laughter.

"Sakura?" he called out, removing his ANBU mask.

"Arata-kun?" He winced, hearing a few crashes and stumbles. Turning, he looked up the staircase, seeing a strange sight. Sakura looked slightly disheveled, but that wasn't what attracted his attention.

The woman whom he had lived with for the past three months was wearing something he never even imagined she owned. For all his time spent with her, he could only remember seeing her in her medical outfit, her regular shinobi wear, or casual clothes that included a skirt and red vest. But nothing like... this.

Sakura fidgeted, tugging down the hem of her dress. Itachi tried to snap his eyes away, but looking at her, he couldn't believe this was the same workaholic, overly professional, serious kunoichi he had come to know.

She was wearing a short, black, lacy dress. It barely went down to mid thigh; Itachi was almost positive that if she were to bend down, he could easily see up her skirt. It was form fitting, except around her thighs, where it flowed loosely. The bodice of the dress was silky red, with a silver diamond between her breasts. It was generously low-cut, and only held up by two thin red straps. Her legs and arms were bare, except for a silver bracelet on her right hand.

"You weren't supposed to be home yet," Sakura whispered, tugging on her dress again. "Oh, I had hoped you'd never have to see me like this." There was a note of horror in her voice, and absolute mortification.

"Sakura, put these on!" The other voice was Ino's. Itachi watched as a pair of black-heeled sandals were chucked at Sakura. She caught them, startled.

"I finished early. Are you going out tonight?" Itachi responded, feeling a smirk beginning to tug at his lips. Sakura nodded.

"I promised Ino I'd hang out with her today. She's been over here since four o'clock working on me." It was nearly six. Itachi started up the stairs, watching as Sakura's eyes widened in horror.

"Why are you coming upstairs? Nononono!" She went to push him back down, but he avoided her hands, finally smirking.

"I have to change, Sakura," he told her, gesturing towards his uniform. She sighed, but stood out of the way for him to come up.

"Sakura! Put those shoes on now!" Sakura groaned, leaning against the wall, slipping on the black sandals. Straps covered her toes, so only the tips of her red painted toenails showed. A thin strap buckled around her ankle, and one more thin strap went down the center of her foot. The heel had to be at least four inches, likely five inches, and it was a thin stiletto-like heel.

"Happy, Ino?" Sakura retorted, surprising Itachi by how easily she walked in the heels.

"Yeah; now come back in here and fix your hair! Did you put on that eyeshadow?"

"Yes," Sakura replied, rolling her eyes. Itachi glanced over, seeing her smoky-looking eyes- thick mascara brought out her eyelashes, while black eyeliner lined her eyes, and black eyeshadow covered her lids. She even seemed to have a thick coating of lip gloss on- light pink lip-gloss.

"Where are you going, Sakura?" Itachi asked lightly. Sakura shrugged.

"Hopefully somewhere that this outfit won't make me look ridiculous." She sighed, walking back to her room to brush her hair. Itachi slipped into his own room, getting some clothes, and then heading towards the bathroom and taking a shower.

When he finished, Sakura was just getting ready to head downstairs. Her hair was kept straight, pulled back into a high ponytail. A diamond choker was at her neck, with matching earrings dangling from her ears.

Ino came out behind Sakura, wearing a short black dress, too. It was one shouldered, with black lace covering the black, tight-fitting bodice. She wore similar shoes to Sakura, with equally tall heels. Her make-up was nearly identical to Sakura's, and while Sakura wore silver jewelry, Ino wore gold. Her hair was also pulled up into a high ponytail.

"Hmm..." Ino looked at Itachi, a bright light coming into her eye. "Arata-kun, would you like to come with us? I'll pick out something for you to wear!"

"No thank-you, Ino-san. I wish to rest." Sakura audibly sighed in relief. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You wouldn't enjoy yourself," Sakura explained. "Come on, Ino. If we're going to go, let's go." She gave one more tug on her dress, letting Ino go down the stairs first. Sakura turned to face Itachi, smiling softly. "How did your mission go? You're not injured, are you?"

"It was fine. No, I am not injured." She nodded, shifting awkwardly.

"I... um... I'll be back later." Sakura rubbed her neck, nervously. "Uggh, I look ridiculous," she muttered, beginning to step down the stairs. Itachi did vaguely agree with her- she did look ridiculous, but not in a bad way. More in a very impractical way. Still, he did admit that she did look... what was the accurate word? Attractive?

"You look nice, Sakura," he told her softly. His compliment shocked her; he could tell by the way she visibly stiffened. But she turned, smiling.

"Thank you, Arata-kun." She continued the rest of the way down the stairs, and as she turned, he could have sworn her face looked much redder than regular, almost as if she were blushing.


"So... Sakura..." Ino's tone was low and dangerous. Sakura took a drink of her fruity cocktail, trying not to look at Ino. She knew what her best friend was going to ask. Or more like, pry. The restaurant (more like a bar) had dimmed lights, with a thumping bass and music in the background. Absentmindedly, Sakura allowed her fingers to tap along with the beat.

"You're going to fill me in on your relationship with Arata. Don't say there is nothing there, because I know there is." Sakura ran a finger around the rim of her cup, smiling mysteriously, not looking at Ino.

"We're just friends."

"Bull. When two people can communicate silently like you two did in the hospital, it always screams more than just friends. He's either your best friend, like your brother, or someone you love."

"We have a complicated relationship," Sakura replied. Ino sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Every relationship is complicated for you. You can never just admit that you have feelings for someone, can you? No, ever since Sasuke, you've refused to date anyone." Sakura frowned, looking down at her glass. "So answer me honestly, Sakura, do you like Arata?"

"It's not that simple... I mean," Sakura took a sip of her drink, trying to gather her thoughts, "we are close. But I don't want to like him and then expect something to come from our relationship." Ino nodded, interlacing her fingers underneath her chin. "And after Sasuke... I just didn't want to deal with that type of emotional roller coaster again."

"That is true. He did sort of do a number on you, didn't he? Okay, I can see why you'd be a bit turned off the whole relationship and love thing. But Arata seems like a really decent guy. He respects you and acknowledges you, which is a whole heck of a lot more than Sasuke ever did; he spends time with you and your friends; he takes care of you, it seems like; and I know I heard him compliment you on the way you look tonight. Those are positive signs. Anyways, Sakura, a guy wouldn't want to live with you for so long if he wasn't interested. For real."

"But there is more to Arata than meets the eye," Sakura murmured. That made Ino's grin grow larger.

"That's a good sign! If you know that there is more to him than what's on the surface, then he's let you in. He's comfortable around you."

"That's not exactly what I mean." I mean that he's actually a previous S-class criminal who was killed by his younger brother, the same younger brother who he loved so much that he was willing to go against his orders and spare him. The same man who was ordered to kill his entire clan by his own village... He's not exactly the most emotionally grounded.

"Sakura, just try to look at the positives for once. Don't think so much into it." Ino's smile was comforting and she reached across the table, holding Sakura's hand. "For once, just let yourself feel. No thoughts. Just let whatever emotions come to you stay. If that means you want to start a relationship with him, then let it blossom into whatever that turns into."

"It's not that easy, Ino. I don't... I don't think I can handle another Sasuke."

"He's not going to be another Sasuke. It'll be different this time. You're older, he's older, you're already living together, you're both friends... it's already different from Sasuke. A clean slate, Sakura. Stop letting emotional scars hold you back." Sakura finally offered her own easy smile, wishing that she could do just what Ino said.

"I'll try, Ino. I really will." Ino nodded, grinning as she looked at Sakura's nearly empty drink. Waving her hand in the air, she signaled for a waiter.

"Another round of drinks here, please!"


Sakura knew something was wrong. She wasn't sure what, but she could feel it. Her chest was constricted and her body sweaty. Looking around wildly in her pitch-black room, she couldn't understand her fear. Her senses were going into hyper drive and her chakra was sparking through her veins.

She had been in a deep sleep, after working all day at the hospital. It was a regular night, as far as she could tell. The pain in her chest grew tighter, her nerves on edge. Sakura trembled as she got out of bed, her breathing quickly increasing.

What was wrong with her? It hadn't been a nightmare, she hadn't had any type of drug or alcohol (the last time she had had alcohol had been with Ino, about a week ago, and that hadn't made her feel this way at all), and she hadn't overtaxed her body at the hospital for once.

Her hand trembled as she touched her doorknob. The trembles turned into shakes, spreading through her whole body. Even though her breathing had turned into pants and then gasps, she felt like her chest was squeezing together so tightly that she was suffocating.

Itachi would be able to help her. Sakura opened her door, feeling her head whirl as she walked across the hallway. She opened Itachi's door, and finally figured out what was wrong. He wasn't there- she remembered now about his mission, another S-class one, which he had left on the night before- and he must be the reason she was feeling this way. The only cause of that would be, though, if something was wrong with him.

Her body was reacting this way because something had happened to him. Sakura usually had a keen sense of his chakra and location, but at the moment, her chakra was so out of control, she couldn't sense him at all. Placing her hands against the wall, bracing herself, she tried to focus. She concentrated on her chakra link to him, feeling for her chakra within him.

It took more concentration than she expected, leaving her breathless, but eventually she was able to sense him. She could tell that he was on his way back to Konoha, but he was still far. She could feel from his chakra levels that something was seriously wrong with him.

Her chest coiled even tighter together, leaving her sucking in air, but to no avail. It had to be all in her mind, but she had never expected their bond to be so deep that she could feel him like this. Gripping the walls, she wondered what she could do for him. He was much too far from Konoha for her to go racing out to find him- she didn't even know where to start. And in the state she was in, she wouldn't get very far.

"Itachi..." Sakura bit her lip, her mind racing. Was he dying? He had to be dying for her to feel this way. She could try to hone in on her chakra and transport directly to him- it would be the same concept as tagging an area with chakra to return to at great distances.

This was the best idea she had, but Sakura knew she couldn't transport out of her house blindly and without supplies. Rallying her strength together, she rushed back into her room, throwing on some shorts and a shirt. She grabbed her bigger medical bag that carried all her scrolls, healing tools, and medications, and then grabbed a spare pair of her boot-sandals.

Concentrate... Sakura made the necessary hand signs, focusing with all her might on the bits of her chakra she sensed from him. It was a distorting sensation as she whipped from one place to another in the blink of an eye.

She landed ungracefully on the ground, hissing as thumped against the hard rocks. She hadn't made it exactly to where he was, but close enough that she could easily trace him. The pain in her chest grew as she rushed forward, becoming so great that she was seeing black dots flit across her vision.

"Who's there?" It was another ANBU member. Sakura stepped from the bushes, panting, as she held up her hands in surrender. "Haruno-san...?"

"Where is Arata?" she gasped, her eyes roving over the two nins still standing. Their eyes widened, taking in her sudden appearance. "I need to find him!" A strangled cough is what answered her question. She whipped her head around, seeing a body propped against a tree. "Is that...?"

"He took a heavy blow to the chest," one of the members whispered. "We can't... run back fast enough." Sakura finally noticed that they were all bloodied and wounded. All the chakra levels in them were dangerously low. "Why are you here?" Sakura felt the pain in her chest expand, beginning to reach through her limbs. She shook her head, walking over to Itachi.

Sakura lifted up his mask, panting heavily.

"Sakur-" Itachi gave a strangled sound. Sakura shook her head, lifting her heavy arms to his chest.

"I'm going to save you," she whispered, drawing chakra to her hands. She healed the wound, sealing together the skin. Looking back up at him, she could tell he was still pale. "We need to get you home," she whispered. "There is something wrong." He nodded, understanding that Sakura was referring to her jutsu.

"My team," he told her hoarsely. Sakura nodded, turning to the two other ANBU. Quietly, she healed the two weakening nins. They nodded their thanks to her, and turned back to shoulder a body. It was the corpse of one of their fallen comrades.

"We couldn't retrieve the other member..." one of the ANBU told her. Sakura nodded, understanding. Whatever the mission was, it was brutal.

"We need to get home," she told them. "Please, I'll help Arata. You two lead the way." Itachi slung an arm around Sakura shoulders, while Sakura wrapped an arm around his waist. The two followed after the other two ANBU. Despite Itachi's weakened state, he was still able to keep up with her. She was beginning to feel immensely better after healing Itachi, and though there was still a pain in her chest, it was considerably numbed. Her chakra was feeling more at rest within her body, and her overactive senses had calmed down. Sakura could only surmise that by stabling Itachi, or maybe by being next to Itachi, it had eased the effects of their chakra bond.

It took several long hours to make it back to Konoha, and at the village gates, Sakura faced the two ANBU members.

"I'm taking him to be treated. Can you two make the report?" They nodded.

"Haruno-san, how do we explain your appearance? Did Tsunade-sama send you?" Sakura hesitated, shaking her head.

"I... Tell Tsunade-sama I'll talk to her about it later. Tell her I'll explain everything then." The ANBU nodded, parting ways, though they thanked her beforehand.

"We would have died without you; or at least have lost Genji-san." Sakura nodded.

"I know. Excuse us." Sakura was able to make it home with Itachi still hanging onto his consciousness, but as soon as she entered the door, she felt his frame go limp. Sakura used a bit of chakra to carry him downstairs, back into her lab room where she had originally revived him.

He didn't even stir when she placed him down on the bed and took off his shirt, showing how unconscious he was. Sakura placed her hands on his chest, letting her chakra filter into his body. As she had feared, the jutsu she had used on his body had been weakening. His body went through more extraneous situations than what her jutsu had prepared for.

The chakra that had stimulated his cells- her chakra- was running out. It explained how he had become so wounded. With his body beginning to crash, he was weakened. Sakura wanted to cry because she hadn't noticed. He had been doing so well! What had changed?

She wasn't sure what to do for him. She needed to do something, and it had to be a fast something. Sakura bit her lip, clenching her fists. The chakra within him wasn't holding... it was almost like it was fading away and his cells were dying. He was going to die.

She winced, thinking back to Heiwa. Hadn't her dog gone through this same problem? She had been able to pump more chakra into her puppy, but that wouldn't save Itachi. It wouldn't remedy the problem. What could she do? She had to make a chakra recycling system, or something of the sort. How, though? How could she do something like that? Sakura glanced up at her wall, pacing around the room. Briefly, her eye caught the small picture she kept on her counter. It was one of the typical Naruto-Sakura thumbs up pictures that littered her house. Really, she kept too many pictures of Naruto around the house.

Sakura stopped, her eyes darting back to the picture. The idea flashed through her head, and she broke out into a grand smile, shaking her head at the picture.

"Once again, Naruto, you save the day." It was a crazy thought, but Naruto had a type of chakra seal on him- though of course, his was to seal the Kyuubi. But it was a type of chakra seal, nonetheless. Sakura could use that same principle to regulate Itachi's chakra. By implanting a seal on his chakra core, she could make sure his chakra kept stable and would be able to keep chakra in his cells. This way, he would not suffer sudden weaknesses, like he just had.

Of course, such a jutsu was not something Sakura knew right off the top of her head. Gritting her teeth, she rushed out of the room, praying with everything in her that she had a book about sealing jutsus. It took her a few minutes to finally find one, and a few more minutes to find one that would work for Itachi, but finally she did. Quickly, she hurried back to Itachi's still body, setting the tome in front of her. Sakura did the listed hand signs, drawing her chakra to her hands in the correct way.

It took her a few tries to actually get the jutsu to work, but when it did, Sakura was left watching the seal drain her chakra. Gritting her teeth, she activated one of the Yin-Seals on her wrist, feeling a bit of chakra flood her system. A bright green light surrounded her and Itachi as the chakra reformed into a seal inside his body. Finally, as the seal finished, a blast of chakra sent her reeling backwards.

Panting, she stood up, seeing a small green circle with a cross within it materialize on his torso. It was tiny, but enough to show her that the seal was completed. Sakura placed her hands back on his chest, carefully examining his body. It took her about another hour to be completely satisfied that the seal was regulating his chakra correctly; as well as taking that time to heal all of his wounds he had sustained in the battle, but she eventually deemed him good enough. Groaning, she slumped back into a chair, waiting for him to awaken. She did not have to wait long, as she had suspected.

"Sakura?" Itachi opened his eyes, rising slightly.

"How are you feeling?" His audible breath was enough to tell Sakura he was still in pain. "Where does it hurt?"

"Chest," he muttered. Sakura nodded, pressing her hands back on the tender skin that she had healed in the field. She sent a bit of chakra to ease the pain, and then withdrew her hands, feeling unsteady on her feet. "Sakura? What did you do?" He had observed her carefully, and knew that her state was something caused by chakra depletion- a typical occurrence of hers after she had healed extensively. She went back to sit on her chair, but stumbled, her head whirling. Itachi grabbed her hand, pulling her down on the bed beside him.

"I messed up," she mumbled. "I never noticed that your body was losing my chakra that keeps your cells stabilized. When you went out on your mission, the potency of my jutsu had been weakened considerably. In essence, your body was quickly shutting down. That was why you were injured, I'm sure, and it just rushed your near death. I felt you dying- it woke me up. It seems our bond is much stronger than I realized. I was able to transport out and save you, and your two teammates, and then I brought you back here. To fix the problem, I've put a special chakra seal inside you, to regulate the chakra in your cells. Every so often, I'll have to strengthen it, but at least this way, you won't have that problem ever again."

"Two teammates?" he asked her quietly. She nodded.

"The other two were already dead by time I got there. I'm sorry. It's all my fault. If I had noticed your body's state, I wouldn't have let you go out on that mission. I know you have a flawless record of always succeeding and getting your men back alive, and I ruined it. I'm sorry, Itachi."

"It's a bit of a stretch to blame yourself for a mission you had no part in. Do not apologize. What happens, happens." Sakura nodded, letting her head slump against his shoulder. "I'm assuming you have to report to the Hokage, much as I still do?" Sakura nodded. "My teammates must have been seriously wounded if they allowed you to approach me so easily," he mused.

"They were exhausted. I don't think they were thinking clearly when I arrived." Her eyes slid shut, and she felt her exhausted body slump against his. "We should both rest for a bit," she told him dazedly. He nodded, feeling his own bout of tiredness. Too tired to get up, both fell against the bed, sleeping rather soundly.


"...And it's due to this chakra seal that I can sense him. That was why I arrived," Sakura concluded, having already spoken for nearly fifteen minutes about healing Arata and the bonds that had been made between them. She had refrained from speaking anything about reviving Itachi, and had made it seem like the bond was merely due to intense healing. Tsunade nodded at the end of her explanation, sighing as she took in her apprentice's appearance and the Itachi-twin's worn appearance.

"Well, it was good luck that you could sense him. I would have lost one of my finest shinobi if you hadn't. Arata, I expect a full written report on my desk tomorrow morning. Sakura, I'll be talking to you later about this chakra seal and your medical jutsu that made it. But not now; I've got too much to do. Both of you take the next day off and rest. Good work, you two. Now, dismissed!"

"Tsunade-sama? When will the funerals be held for those nins?" Sakura asked her mentor timidly. Tsunade looked up, her own expression showing what sadness she felt at losing some of her nins.

"In three days," she told them quietly. Sakura and Itachi both nodded, exiting the room.

"Let's get something to eat," Sakura told him, quite subdued. They didn't say much, even while they ate at Ichiraku, and would have remained as solemn if Naruto hadn't come bursting into the restaurant. The two regarded the blonde curiously, as he began to blurt something into his two friend's ears.

"We'vesetthedate!" Sakura raised an eyebrow, clearly meaning she wanted him to slow down. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. We've finally set the date. To be married. Her dad finally accepted the engagement and we're going to get married in four months!"

"September?" Sakura asked carefully, trying to figure out the significance of that month. Naruto nodded.

"My mom and dad got married in September. We're going to plan it on the same date." That made Sakura smile, and she nodded, patting Naruto on the back.

"Have some ramen, then, Naruto. On me. To celebrate!" Naruto's eyes lit up and he wormed himself in between Itachi and Sakura, making Itachi scoot over a seat. As Ayame brought over his bowl, Naruto immediately stuffing half of it into his mouth, he turned back to Sakura.

"We want you to be the maid of honor!" he exclaimed, spewing noodles over her face. Irritated, she flicked a noodle off her face, fixing Naruto with a stern glare. He grinned sheepishly, swallowing his food before he started to talk again. "Hinata-chan agrees that you should be the maid of honor. You've done so much for both of us; we really couldn't think of who else would be better than you. I wanted Sasuke-teme to be my best man, but since he's still being dumb and staying in the prison, I figure I'll go with the next best thing! His older brother!" With that, Naruto whirled around to Itachi, who had arched his eyebrow at the jinchuuriki.

"Naruto, what have I told you about calling him Itachi?" Sakura hissed, clenching her fist. Naruto rolled his eyes, nudging Itachi with his elbow.

"Call him whatever you want, Sakura-chan, but I fought and talked with Itachi before. This man reeks of Itachi's scent, their chakra signatures are the exact same, and they fight the same! It's obvious to anyone who has talked with Itachi before that this is the same man." Sakura grit her teeth, growling a low warning to her best friend.

"Itachi was brought back to life in the war, remember? Can you explain how this same person, who is very much alive, could be the same dead man you fought with?"

"Well, I just figure I'm gonna have to be patient until you explain how you did it. But don't worry, Sakura-chan, your secret is safe with me! I understand why you wouldn't want anyone to know." Her face was flushing with anger, and gently, Itachi placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Either way, Naruto," Itachi began smoothly, "if I were to be Itachi, I'm sure you understand all the repercussions of why such a thing would not go over well in the village." Sakura gaped at him, incredulous that the man had nearly admitted to being his former self.

"Arata," she hissed, narrowing her eyes dangerously at him. Itachi sighed, nodding. The two fell silent, while Naruto looked from one to the other, his eyes glowing with confusion, that slowly turning into a smug knowing. Sakura caught a glance at his smug look and turned her glowering face to him.

"What, Naruto?" He erupted into a smile.

"You two are so funny together! You communicate with those silent looks just like Hinata-chan and I do!" Sakura's lips twitched and she finally smiled, finding it useless to hold onto her anger with such an exuberant best friend. "So, you'll be my best man, right, Arata?" The older shinobi nodded. "Good! Awesome! I'll be your best man when you get married, too, Arata!" Itachi opted not to comment, instead turning back to his own bowl of ramen.

The three lapsed into silence, eating quietly, until Naruto began to speak again, though his tone was much quieter. "Itachi wasn't that bad of a guy, Sakura-chan," he began softly. "He seemed pretty okay during our battle. He didn't want to fight me."

"I know, Naruto," she responded softly. Glancing over, she saw Itachi's stiffened shoulders. "Let's drop it, okay? I just… I understand." The two best friends shared a look, both a curious questioning to what the other knew, and a deep understanding that Itachi wasn't what he seemed to be on the surface.

"So, what date was it in September?" Naruto grinned at the thought of his wedding, exclaiming a joyful, "The sixteenth of September!" Sakura nodded, vocally swearing that she would be there, no matter what.


"So. Itachi. What was up with that whole conversation thing at Ichiraku? I feel like you might have left some things hidden that I might just need to know about. I was under the impression that you couldn't remember anything you did while you were a puppet. Care to fill me in?" He met her fierce look, sighing softly.

"What makes you think that I remember that time?" Her eyes narrowed.

"Don't play with me, Uchiha. You and he said something in coded language that had to stem from that meeting when you were dead. That means that you remember something." He ran a hand through his hair, sitting on the couch. Sakura stood imposingly in front of him, her hands on her hips. "I don't appreciate all of our hard work going down the drain because you and he share some type of bond that you never informed me of. From what I recall, the last thing you said you remembered was fighting with your brother. You seemed surprised to hear about Sasuke's abandonment of the Leaf. If you had talked to Naruto, though, during the War, you would have already learned about that."

"I did not mean to tell you lies. To be fair, I did not immediately remember my experience as a puppet. If anything, it had felt like a faded dream that was at the reaches of my subconscious. However, when you explained about me being a puppet, I did vaguely remember the event. But it was not clear until after you had explained everything about Sasuke and Madara. You jogged the memory loose, and then I could reflect on everything that had happened between Naruto and me." Sakura let out a deep breath, her hands falling off her hips. She slumped into the seat next to him.

"I just don't want you to lie to me, okay? I just wanted… I want you to trust me." He nodded, seeing her downcast look.

"Madara was the one to inform Naruto of my true mission. Kakashi, Yamato, and Naruto are the only ones who knew; besides Sasuke, who was also informed by Madara; and Naruto promised me then that he would not reveal the truth behind the massacre to the village, so that it would not stain the Uchiha's name." She shook her head softly, looking up at him in amazement.

"No wonder you're so far out of reach. You're so self-sacrificing, never wanting glory, but you have the best abilities out of most of the shinobi in the village. You're immensely intelligent, able to plan for things others wouldn't even imagine… You're at the top, a special tier made only for those of the very best. You're too perfect."

"I was taught by someone very close to me," he remarked vaguely, "how to be a true shinobi. I followed in his footsteps to protect the village."

"I sometimes wish I could understand everything that goes on in your head. Even now, when I feel like I'm the closest person to you, I realize there is so much I don't know. I sometimes wish I could be at the top with you." It was a comforting gesture, gentle and tender, something she had never expected from him. He slowly brushed a piece of her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She looked at him, her eyes betraying her shock.

"You are at the top with me. You have your own strong qualities that I couldn't even try to imitate. We are different, but the tier we share has become rather crowded with many of our friends. Shisui, Naruto, the Fourth… We're all there." He lowered his face to hers, gently resting his forehead against hers. "The village has changed for the best; I'm glad you've given me another chance to experience what I had missed."

"I… you…" Sakura barely breathed, hearing Ino's words echo in her head, "For once, just let yourself feel. No thoughts." She swallowed nervously, closing her eyes as his breath lightly fanned across her face.

"Always stay at the top with me. I can't lose you." Her eyes opened in shock, her mind reeling at the implication of his words.

"Ita… Itachi?" her voice trembled, coming out slightly high-pitched. His hand brushed over her hair again, slowly coming to rest of the back of her neck. Sakura could feel her heart speed up, as she tried to figure out the sudden obvious romantic interest Itachi was showing her. Was it just the conversation? Had their feelings been growing for one another that steadily?

"Sakura, I appreciate everything you've done for me." She let her eyes fall shut again, feeling the sudden need to have him kiss her. The situation was so perfect… all he needed was to lean in the final two inches and kiss her.

Instead, he gave her head one final stroke, gently pressed his lips to her forehead, and stood up. Sakura was left dazed as she heard him softly pad up the stairs. She reached a trembling hand to touch her forehead, taking in a deep breath. Her heart raced as she thought of the soft lips against her forehead, and giddily, she smiled.

It wasn't exactly a kiss, nor was it exactly a love confession (or even a "would you be my girlfriend" type of confession), but she didn't want to rush their relationship. That was enough for right now. They still had time to see what was going to evolve and develop between them.

"I'll always stay at the top with you," she mumbled, smiling. Or if we have to, we'll sink to the bottom, or fly above the sky. But I'm not going to leave you any time soon. We're in this together, Itachi. For how long, only time will tell. But we're sticking it through to the end with each other.


XxX


I like this chapter. It's actually one of my favorite chapters I've written. We finally found some SakuraxItachi action. I like writing them as friends. It makes everything uncomplicated. Oh, by the way, I had a blast writing Ino and Sakura's scenes. They were my favorite part of this chapter. Girl time is always fun :D

And the three things I want to explain this chapter are:

1. The Akatsuki nail-polish question? I've always wondered that. Why do you guys think that Akatsuki wore nailpolish. Tell me in a review! And while I'm on random stuff from the chapter: I totally had a reference picture for Sakura and Ino's outfits. And I lost both dress pictures and shoe pictures! Argh. I spent over an hour looking for Sakura's dress before I finally gave up. It was a pretty dress, too... :(

2. Itachi's new chakra seal- I hope that made sense as to what Sakura did and what went wrong with the jutsu. A lot of people guessed that Itachi would experience the same thing that had happened to Heiwa, and they were right. Except, it was a little more deadly for Itachi. To explain: Sakura's chakra began to fade from his cells because the more he worked, the more he burned it off. It took a few months to totally lose a large enough chunk that would harm him. To repair him, Sakura placed a type of chakra recycle system that recycled her chakra in his cells through his body. So pretty much, since her chakra is only there to keep his cells functioning, the seal keeps her chakra recycled, while making sure that Itachi uses his own chakra to fight with. I hope that makes it more clear XP

3. Itachi remembering about the puppet and all that jazz- If you remember back to when Sakura first revived Itachi, she asked him what was the last thing he remembered. He responded with fighting with Sasuke. That's why Sakura thinks he lied to her about remembering being a puppet. Itachi's reference to his and Naruto's conversation from the manga is when he says something about there being repercussions in the village if they found out who he is. This line stems from Itachi's plead to Naruto about not telling the truth about his mission because it would mar the Uchiha's name, since they were traitors. Itachi's line in this chapter was Itachi's sly way of reminding Naruto not to speak a word about Itachi's true mission or identity in the village because he didn't want to bring down the name of the Uchiha Clan.


Next Chapter:

Sakura may just get her wish of getting a mission. And even better, she may just get it with Itachi. But it may be that she will be doing her mission with the actual Itachi Uchiha. The Itachi Uchiha that killed his clan in cold blood to test his strength, the same S-class, fearsome, emotionless Akatsuki member of legends. Sakura isn't so sure she's going to like this persona of Itachi. He seems to be a far cry from the one she has befriended.

Next Chapter: Team Up!

Hold your breath...!


So I want your opinion: What were your thoughts on the Itachi/Sakura scene at the end? Did anyone think they were actually going to kiss? And who thinks Sakura has developed a crush on Itachi? Thanks for all the reviews, too! We reached the 200 mark! :O You guys are awesome!