A/N: I'm very sorry for the delay in posting! I was moving, and still am, actually :)

As I already said to those who asked, yaoi is in this story, but marginally, and meant to be an element of fun. It's not my intention to offend anyone. Please, just enjoy the story :-)

And I was asked which one of my stories is my favourite. Hm, good question. They are all somehow special to me, since I planned them and wrote them down. However, there is one that was not planned, and just... blurted out. It's "Show Me Your Heart"; I put a lot of myself into it, but without any ideas before.

I really, really thank you for being so nice in the reviews you wrote. They made me smile so much.

Oh, and, just so you know... I have nothing against little cliffhangers...

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CHAPTER 11 – SAKURA

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The work of the Senju-Uchiha couple continued as usual. They were getting busier and busier, but they weren't preoccupied by it. If their lives became hectic but the village improved because of it, it wasn't a problem. After all, that was their objective since the beginning.

Still, even if they had a lot to do, they refused to neglect each other. They continued to spar, share meals and work together in the evenings at their home.

Once, after a very demanding training session in the morning and heading off to their respective works, they agreed to meet for lunch, but Sakura didn't show up. She usually told Itachi if something was up at the hospital, or she sent someone else to explain her absence.

That time, however, she didn't let him know anything. Itachi waited for her as long as he could, and then went looking for her.

When he arrived at the hospital and let his chakra be recognized – in order to be able to enter the building –, he saw the nurse at the entrance very distracted. She seemed afraid. It was odd. She was an accomplished and sensible woman, chosen by Sakura to be at the entrance hall because of her calm nerves in dealing with every situation. But right then she was scared.

When Itachi arrived near the first patient's room, he could hear a voice from inside. It was his wife, screaming at the top of her voice.

All of a sudden, the fear of the nurse wasn't so odd anymore.

"–COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE, AND YOU TWO WERE RECKLESS IDIOTS! YOU BETTER MAKE SURE THIS NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN, OR I WILL TIE TO YOU TO THESE BEDS FOR A MONTH!"

A fuming Sakura slammed the door open, only to find Itachi in front of her. She blinked and focused her gaze on him. Understanding downed on her.

"Oh kami, I forgot to show up for lunch, didn't I?" she mumbled, more to herself than to Itachi. "Itachi, I'm so sorry, I promise I'll make it up to you. It's all these stupid morons' fault." She sent a deathly glare to the 'morons' that happened to be Naruto and Sasuke, who were currently in two beds of the hospital, tied securely with chakra bonds. They gulped.

Itachi raised one eyebrow at his wife. Inwardly, he was glad she wasn't shouting anymore. Her fuming face had been downrightly scary.

Sakura sighed. "These two 'fell from a tree' during their patrolling turn," she explained, voice dripping with sarcasm. "They were actually too distracted by each other to notice that they were in mid air and not on the tree anymore. They broke a few bones, nothing serious, but very childish nonetheless. Still, their condition requires at least half a day of complete rest under observation at the hospital. But apparently, these two are above what medicine says. They tried to leave without us noticing. As if that's possible. Unluckily for them," and she sent another glare at the two ninja, who shivered, "they fell again, and hurt themselves another time. Right after we had just healed them." She turned fully towards her victims. "What do you think, that I spend my time idling around, waiting for someone to get hurt and heal them afterwards?! Did you even think of the consequences of your actions?! No, you clearly didn't. Now you will pay dearly for it." And her lips stretched in a saccharine smile. Even Itachi had to inwardly admit that it was creepy. "Ino," she called, and her personal assistant, a now skilled medic after Sakura had trained her, hurried towards her. Sakura indicated the two patients. "Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke are to remain tied to the beds until tomorrow morning. They are allowed to eat, but only at meal's time. The most important thing," and her smile became wider, "is to keep their beds separated. Let's see if keeping their hands off each other will teach them a lesson."

The two ninja became scarlet and tried to protest. Naruto spluttered, "But Sakura-chaaaan! What if we need the bathroom?!"

The usually kind pink-haired woman shrugged, showing them no mercy. "Too late for that."

Naruto and Sasuke, still red, tried to say something but, ignoring them, Sakura closed the door and, taking Itachi's hand, went towards her office.

As they reached it, she took off her medical attire and quickly took her coat. It was getting quite chilly outside. Summer was definitely over. She smiled at her husband, who had been waiting for her patiently, and walked towards the exit of the hospital with him. She gave a few instructions to the nurse at the entrance, who looked now very relieved, and then they left. As soon as they passed the chakra barriers and were outside, it was Itachi who grabbed her hand, guiding her towards one of his favourite restaurants. After all, she had said she would make it up to him, and he was going to take advantage of that in more ways than one.

However, there was something he wanted to ask her. "Sakura, are you adverse to Naruto and Sasuke's relationship?" he asked.

She lifted her gaze, startled. "Of course not. Why do you…? Ah, that," she realized, and shook her head. "No, I'm very happy for them. It's obvious they are made for each other. But they must learn to restrain themselves in some particular occasions. This time, when this accident happened, they were on patrol around the village. What if someone had attacked? They can act all lovey-dovey as much as they want, but not while they are on duty. That's what I was trying to make them understand. I hope they got the message."

Itachi chuckled softly. "Probably not, knowing them."

She chuckled as well. "Yeah, you're right." She seemed pensive. "I'll shout at them a little more tomorrow morning before discharging them."

Itachi tightened his hold on her hand and allowed a rare smile to grace his lips. His wife was able to make him feel relaxed and happy.

They went to lunch at Itachi's favourite restaurant, where they talked about the two knuckleheads a little longer, before changing the subject and deciding that Sakura was to prepare a wonderful meal that evening, to apologize for involuntarily standing Itachi up at lunch.

As they were about to finish lunch, they were interrupted by a member of Itachi's strategic unit, who needed to exchange some confidential informations with him. Sakura politely gave them some privacy, waiting near the entrance of the restaurant. While she was standing there, an elderly woman came near her.

"Excuse me, Sakura-sama," the woman said, bowing respectfully. Sakura smiled at her. "I was hoping to have the opportunity to speak with your husband, Itachi-sama, but I can see he is busy. Therefore, I apologize for my rudeness, but can I speak with you instead?"

The pink-haired woman nodded, wondering what it could be about.

The woman smiled. "I merely wanted to thank him for everything he is doing for my family. His efforts are very appreciated by us all. What he has done," she took a long, shaky breath, "is incredibly kind and compassionate. And I must thank you as well, Sakura-sama," she continued, looking up at her with respect. "Your marriage is what made everything possible."

Sakura was a bit disconcerted. What had Itachi done to deserve such thanks? Nevertheless, she smiled again and replied gently, as usual, and the woman bowed again before leaving.

Itachi was still speaking with his subordinate, as Shisui entered the restaurant. He spotted Sakura and greeted her with ease. She smiled back and, as she opened her mouth to return the gesture, the thought of the woman from before crossed her mind.

Therefore, she said, "Shisui-kun, I'd like to ask you something."

Shisui looked at her curiously. "If you want to know why I'm here, it's because last night Shizune-chan forgot her scarf and I've come looking for it."

Sakura shook her head. "No, no, I would never prod in your personal business. No, what I want to ask is about Itachi."

Shisui was all ears now. And he had a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"A woman approached me and asked me to thank him for her for 'everything he's doing for her family'. Problem is, I don't know what he's been doing, and I was wondering if you did."

Shisui had a very impish smile now. "Itachi-kun is still the same reserved person as usual. He would have told you sooner or later, but there's no harm if I tell you instead. Do you remember when, at the beginning of this peace, you and Itachi-kun demanded something concrete to be done about the war victims?"

Sakura nodded, wondering where that conversation was going.

"Well, to make a long story short, there wasn't enough money to complete such a project," Shisui explained, with a wicked light in his eyes. "So Itachi-kun has been giving his personal money to support this. He's been paying a good half of the expenses. And since building the houses for people in need of them was top priority, he helped with that, too. Concretely, I mean. He has really been investing a lot of time in that."

Sakura was shocked. She hadn't known about all that. Sure, she had been told that maybe the project was financially difficult, but since there hadn't been any other protests later, she had not really thought there could be any more problems. Seeing her quite traumatized, Shisui patted her shoulder knowingly.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan, you already know your husband is a great man. Even if it doesn't seem he tells you everything. I'll go looking for that scarf now. Bye!" And he left.

As if he had been magically summoned by her thoughts, Itachi appeared next to her.

"We can go now," he said, smiling at her. Seeing her still shocked expression, he frowned a little. "Sakura?"

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